by Tapiwa Matsinde
Social-distancing, self-isolation, and lockdowns have forced us to change the way we live and work. One of the biggest adjustments brought about by the pandemic is the overnight shift from going into the office to working from home. And the sudden change means not everyone is prepared, not to mention parents who are also having to work around home-schooling and keeping their kids entertained.
As a freelancer and creative business owner, I have been working from home for over a decade. It suits the way I work and I love the freedom and control it gives me over planning my time. But when I first started working from home I had to go through a long period of trial and error to find out what works for me. Here are my tips on how to make working from home work for you:
Dedicate a Space To Work
Sort out where you will be working from and set it up as you would your office at work. Having a dedicated home office or studio will make the transition easier, but not everyone is lucky enough to have a spare room. So living rooms, and dining and kitchen tables are being transformed into makeshift workspaces and classrooms. The key is to find a corner or area where you could place a desk or move your table in order to separate your work and living spaces, and set boundaries between work time and personal/family time.
Create A Routine
Your company may have given you guidelines on what they expect from you to ensure you get your work done, but working from home involves distractions, and requires resisting the urge to do home life things. Creating a routine will help you to plan work and family life time. If you need quiet noise-cancelling headphones may help. Interestingly one of the difficulties in settling into home working is missing the background noise of office life so you could find apps that replicate it.
Be Mindful of Your Time
While you can -for the most part- leave your work at your workplace, 24/7 connectivity, and having your work within easy reach can make it difficult to know when to switch off. Set start and finish work times, and switch your devices to airplane mode if you have to. If you are a freelancer or entrepreneur let your clients know when you are available through conversations or adding the information to your email responder. Take your weekends, rest is important to our well-being. If you are on flexitime or work for yourself this doesn’t have to be the traditional Sat-Sun it can be what suits your schedule. Being mindful of your time allows you to be fully present when doing your work and spending time with your loved ones.
Learn To Say No
When you work from home family, friends and neighbours can see you as being available to accept deliveries, do the school run, ferry them to appointments and more. (This won’t be as much of an issue during lockdowns when most of us are at home, more so when they ease). You need to learn to say no by being strict with your time. This means using conversations or your actions to explain to those who are making demands on it when you are not available and when you are- genuine emergencies being the exception. It can be difficult to enforce at first but once others know what to expect and that you are not budging they will become more accepting.
Be Part Of A Community
Working from home can be isolating, which can negatively impact mental health. Being part of a community both on and offline keeps you connected to others. This is especially important in the days when we are restricted from going out and where online communities have become a lifeline. The right community will encourage and motivate you, be a source of inspiration, advice, feedback and light relief, and help remind you that you are not alone. Your community can be small made up of people you know and trust or something bigger like Lionesses of Africa where you get to meet and interact with different people.
Look After Your Physical and Mental Well-Being
Factor ‘me time’ into your schedule to take care of your well-being. Just as you would in the office take tea breaks to stretch your legs, and rest your mind. Exercise, and if you can safely do so go outside. Do things that bring you pleasure. Focusing on what you need will help you cope with the change.
Working from home is an adjustment but you can successfully make it work for you.
Tapiwa
Tapiwa Matsinde is the founder of atelier 55 an acclaimed platform that shines the spotlight on Africa’s designers and creatives by sharing and selling their work. Through her consultancy Tapiwa curates for and advises organisations, galleries, and museums interested in African design, connecting them to designers for global opportunities that increase their visibility. Through the atelier 55 Academy Tapiwa helps startup and established creative entrepreneurs develop and grow international standard brands that command attention. Tapiwa is the author of several books including Contemporary Design Africa the first art book to showcase and survey a generation of innovative designers from across the continent and beyond who are putting the diverse expressions of African design on the world’s stage. Tapiwa’s podcast Behind The Design introduces an inspirational series of conversations with some of Africa’s exciting designers.
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | WEBSITEBehind The Design Podcast - https://www.atelier55design.com/category/podcast/
More articles by Tapiwa
