After years of mastering productivity and leadership in a shared office environment, many successful leaders have been forced to work and lead from home over the last two years. While some love working remotely, others miss the office and hate working from home.
In this masterclass episode of the One Next Step Podcast, LZ and I acknowledge that working from home isn’t for everyone. We’ll diagnose why someone may not like it and help customize a personal work environment that enables that person to thrive even if their organization is remote.
Here are some takeaways:
1. Integrate as many social interactions into your week as possible.
Working from home doesn’t have to be a solo experience. Add socialization into your day. Schedule a lunch or two per week with friends or your spouse. Take the dog for a walk and say hello to neighbors.
And, occasionally, be sure to work outside the home, setting up shop at a coffee shop, community space, library, or somewhere you can get work done while being outside your four walls. You need to be able to see people and have outside social interactions.
Having a change of scenery can be the boost you need. One of the best things about working from home is the flexibility of being able to work from anywhere in the world.
2. Treat remote work like any other office-based job.
Get up. Get showered and dressed. Do your hair and makeup — or both. You need to feel like this is a professional job and look the part. Sure, it’s OK to let your hair down and stay in pajamas every now and then — after all, that’s a great benefit! But don’t let it become the norm.
Studies have shown that it really makes a difference psychologically when you go through the actions of going to work and don’t stay in pajamas with bad breath all the time!
Getting dressed and feeling confident in what you’re doing — and the space you’re doing it in — is a game-changer. Keeping your workspace clean and inviting will give you extra energy during the day and clear up your brain space.
3. If you work with a great company that does everything right when it comes to remote work — and you still hate it after giving it a try — then find another company!
Do some inventory about where you're working. Perhaps the problem is not where you are working locationally, but it's the culture of the place you're working.
Life is too short to be miserable. Don’t stay in a situation you hate. There are still good companies out there that don’t do remote work or limit it.
Find one of those companies, get back in an office setting, and get back to loving your job.