Image: David Martyn Hunt [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr
Home-working tips for harried humans
Earlier this week, I asked the Research Fortnight editorial team to email me their top tips for working from home. This, of course, is one thing journalists genuinely know lots about. Just about every hack alive has had a period of unemployment, which in the trade we call “going freelance”.
Enriched by this experience, here is our advice.
1. Look after yourselves
Most of my colleagues focused on wellbeing rather than efficiency, which is entirely legitimate, given the context. What’s more, you will never improve your efficiency if you’ve devolved into a sad wreck by the end of the first week.
I’ll add a plea to all you high-performing perfectionists out there: go easy on yourselves. Many of you will not only have to work from home but also care for children and elderly relatives. If this is your situation then ignore the smarty-pants pointing out that Shakespeare wrote King Lear while quarantined during the Great Plague. What you are doing—caring for loved ones—is more important.
2. Look out for each other
Looking after others is an excellent way of improving your own wellbeing so we should make sure we practise physical isolation, not social isolation.
“Human contact with colleagues seems to die out in the afternoons,” warns Research Fortnight reporter Pola Lem. “Make sure you pester at least a couple of them so you don’t feel like you’re working in a void.”
“Consider setting up a virtual coffee or pub trip with your colleagues,” says Research Fortnight editor Sarah Richardson. “It can help with feelings of isolation. And you know that you miss their hot takes really.”
Dear reader, you cannot imagine how often I will remind Sarah over the coming months that she “misses my hot takes really”.
3. Focus
This is likely to be tricky for those shouldering care responsibilities. “Decide at an early stage what your top priority is—your current work project, kids’ education, keeping the dog entertained, what you’re having for dinner, the state of the kitchen…and stick to it,” says Harriet Swain, HE’s comment and features editor. ‘Multi-tasking’ is a myth, our team agreed.
Focusing can be especially difficult for those living in noisy households or struggling to cope with marathon trombone-practice sessions downstairs—my situation. “If you find listening to music on headphones too distracting, head to YouTube or a music-streaming app, search for ‘white noise’ and see which tracks work best,” advises Craig Harris, chief sub editor.
“Despite possessing a fear of flying so intense that close family members now refuse to go on holiday with me, I can maintain a Zen-like focus for hours while listening to the dull, calming hum of a Boeing 747.”
4. Take breaks
Regular breaks help focus, they don’t disrupt it. But we all need to ensure we are taking real breaks and not just feeding our anxieties.
“Actually close your computer when you take breaks,” says Pola. “Creating a barrier between work and relax time is especially difficult when you work from home and snapping shut your laptop for 15 minutes makes a big difference.”
Similarly, if you haven’t been for your one government-mandated trip outside to get some exercise, make sure you do so.
5. Sort out your set-up
No one from the team suggested buying any expensive kit to cope with home working, but Daniel Cressey, Research Fortnight deputy editor, did suggest one item: “Get a self-adhesive whiteboard. You won’t regret it. It’s a roll of sticky-back plastic allowing you to turn and surface—a door, wall, small child sent home from school—into a whiteboard. Then you have a surface you can keep a running to-do list on.”
Once you’ve sorted your set-up, don’t start setting your home-office habits in stone. In fact, as Rachael Pells, our freelance reporter, pointed out, low-key yoga in work hours becomes a possibility. Which brings us on nicely to our final tip.
6. Be flexible
Chris Parr, HE’s assistant editor, has a thought for those caring for children or parents. “You might not be able to follow much of the advice about effective home-working practice to the letter. You may need to be flexible. Nobody likes working unsociable hours, but it might make sense to put off tasks that can be completed in the evening.
“That might go against other advice you hear about structured working, but it will sometimes be necessary and might even allow you a bit more quality time with your loved ones, too.”
James Brooks is assistant editor for Funding Insight
This is an extract from an article in Research Professional’s Funding Insight service. To subscribe contact sales@researchresearch.com