WFH – The Three-letter Acronym We’ve Lived By

WFH – The Three-letter Acronym We’ve Lived By

Working From Home

Working from home quickly became both a way of life and a skill to be mastered over the past 12 months. 

But whether you pine to be back amongst colleagues or love working from home, we know it can be a challenge to minimise the everyday home distractions and (re)create a professional environment.

How can print help you master working from home? 

In this article we answer how print can help you maximise your productivity when working from home, as well as some tips on how you could reduce isolation within your virtual workspace.

A selection of branded clothing on a pink and white background.

Dressed for Success

The hustle and bustle of the office rush can be a key component in maintaining a rhythm for the day.

But when the boundary between home and work is blurred, it can be so easy to roll out of bed and just open up the laptop.

This is why we think it’s  important to dress for success.

It isn’t just about how you are dressed for that unexpected video call or whether you are wearing tracksuit bottoms with a more work-appropriate top (guilty).

Instead it is more about the mindset that comes from the process of getting ready for the day ahead. When we get ready for work, we are also getting ourselves ready to be efficient and productive in the office.

But when your office is at home, this process of dressing for success also involves dressing your workspace.

To do this, we suggest exploring ways that make you feel like you have just stepped into the office mindset. Our team have seen customers create branded products for their remotely working team members.

Have you considered some stationery items with your company logo?

What about polo shirts, hoodies or face masks?

By investing in your team offline, you can help reduce those feelings of isolation that WFH can bring. It can also encourage a productive work atmosphere, which maximises both customer and employee engagement with your company.

Want to be even more creative? 

How about designing bespoke zoom backgrounds for your customers with their own branding?

It is a lovely way to stay connected with your top customers and if shared on social media, these personalised products could be a great marketing technique for you both.

How to effectively work from home

To paraphrase Forrest Gump: working “(from home) is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get”. 

This is especially true when a dog starts barking, your wifi connection fails or Dave the delivery guy arrives with another new lockdown purchase (woops) during an important meeting. 

Our top tip for a positive work from home experience is structure.

Creating a general outline of the day ahead each morning, can help to reduce the risk and impact of the disruptions.

It also means that you can arrange important video chats at the time of day where you experience the least disruption at home, or organise walking calls, so you can get some fresh air and those steps up at the same time.

By proactively managing the predictable, you can approach those unexpected disruptions more effectively and efficiently than ever before.

Man working from home at a desk with computer and print products.

Routine

The flexibility of the WFH day is perfect for the early birds and night owls among us. But what about those hours between 9-5 that Dolly Parton was talking about?

Our answer: routine, routine, routine. 

If you haven’t guessed, we are big believers in trying and testing different routines until we find the one that works. We also know that the true challenge is actually sticking to it. 

So, why not try a 7 day challenge to get yourself started?

  • 7:30 The morning process: wake up, shower, get dressed and have breakfast.
  • 8:50 Check your schedule: identify the tasks that you need to do that day.
  • 9:00 Start work: plan a daily catch up with your team to establish priorities and check-in on how they are doing (wearing your team polo-shirts of course)
  • 10:30 Coffee break: grab a drink away from your screen for around 10 minutes.
  • 12:30 Lunch: try to arrange to have lunch at the same time as others or prepare your meal the night before, so you can enjoy your time doing whatever you feel is best for you.
  • 2:30 Coffee break: grab a drink away from your screen and get some fresh air.
  • 5:00 Closing ceremony: make sure to send that last email just before you log off and shut down your computer.

If this structure doesn’t work for you, try starting with at least a rough outline of your day and plan to do the challenge with your team to keep yourselves motivated!

Our Experience

Much like many of our customers, our team have been predominantly working from home for the past 12 months and hope that the country will start to open back up soon.

However as it is expected that a large number of people will continue to work remotely, we recommend that you follow these steps to continue to use print to your advantage and make the most of your time. 

Stay safe print friends.

P.S. Our final top tip is that you start thinking about how you could prepare to go back into the office. We recommend exploring our corona essentials, including protective screens and floor stickers to keep you and your team safe.

We would love to hear your tips about working from home. Please share them below!