For some of us, the home office working environment might be new and difficult. For me, it has been years of practice, love and hate, serenity and ‘it is never enough’, creativity and overwhelmed, connectivity and loneliness, high energy and demotivation.
I am starting today this daily post with the intention to support you-us with tips on what is supporting us-challenging us and to open up a platform for exchange and support.
Tip 1
Look Out the Window
take a break, a deep breath in and out, looking out the window, the sky, the surrounding, the sunshine as it is right now shining in Berlin. Disconnect shortly with your concentration, task, meetings, get a small break to renew your attention and energy.
How does this work for you?
Tip 2
Get Out at least 1x/day
In those days, not all of us can even go out…what can you do to get the feeling of getting out of your home? i.e. go out on the balcony, open the window…
In Berlin, I can still go out, in a lot of places, short fresh air walks are still possible. Walk a few steps OUT SIDE, look around which new place or something new that you can see today which you haven’t seen earlier…to get a NEW SIDE, to get energized, to get envigorated…
Here a picture of a view of Alexander Tower in Berlin which I have never seen earlier…even if is a few steps away from my homeoffice…
How is this for you?
Tip 3
Get Dressed!
Get Up timely, take a shower, get dressed!
In my early days of home office, the temptation was big to either check quickly just after waking up what’s up at work-email or dress comfy to make myself comfy in my home office. In fact, not a good idea, to neither get into the mood nor to sustain motivated and concentrated, not to speak about the vibes being send out to your business network!
So, get dressed! As if you were going to the office-meeting your clients-having a meeting-holding a workshop.
Tip 4
Dedicated Working Space
Create yourself a dedicated working space as Your Home Office. Depending on the space available, it might be a closed room, a dedicated office space or part of your living area-kitchen-bedroom which you transform into your working environment for the day/week. It is as important for ourself than for our new ‘co-workers’, which might be your partner, kids or anyone living with you, to give us the space to focus on our work. It is a way to create boundaries and invite working spirit.
How does it go for you?
Tip 5
Take Off to your Home Office
How we get started has a great impact on us, our motivation, our concentration, our mood, our efficiency, the connections we will make with colleagues, clients and customers. This is true in general, and even more important at our Home Office.
Have a ritual in place which represents your take off to your Home Office Week.
I will start with opening the window, putting some music, cleaning up my desk, checking the schedule and projects of the week, then I will take off myself in setting an intention how I want to bring myself into that new week. For me, this week: focus on what is most important.
How do you get the week started?
Tip 6
Overwhelmed?
Too much to do, too many meetings, too many frantic happenings, from one to the others, without feeling any satisfaction nor fulfillment, just pressure, bringing me down….This sneaky judgment of not doing enough, of it could be more, of so much to do still….
OR on the opposite no motivation, not knowing where to start, being stopped or just wanting to hide away….
Do you know this feeling of overwhelmed?
Well, obviously this can happen everywhere, and still for me, this feeling is coming much stronger when working from Home…
What is helping me? Taking a break, having some distance, refocusing, looking out the window….
How is it for you? What is helping you?
Tip 7
Focus Time
How many distractions are pulling you away from your work? Sometimes I found it hard to have quality focus time in my home office.
What’s really useful is to create time slots to only focus on your work, ie no private chat, planning… then take a conscious break to bring your attention on your private topics.
Studies have shown that high performers focus with full attention on one area for at least 45 min to 90 min. Then our brain needs a break to recharge.
I definitely can work best, when I dedicate some time to my ‘private’ matters during lunch break and after finishing my working day – this is always a great feelgood factor.
Stay Healthy, stay focused-
Tip 8
Get out & contribute
This post is coming later in the day as I am just back from my first time blood donation. There was a calling that the blood banks were going low in Berlin, and although I am scared of needles & Co, I decided to go ahead and do my share. I am coming out invigorated, moved and motivated, in spending this time being in a completely new environment, doing something good and meaningful for the greater, for people whom I do not know.
This is really key for us – disconnect from our world, spend our time into something which we won’t get anything in return….and in fact it is more than rewarding….especially in those times.
Try it out & let us know how it moves you.
Tip 9
Closing down
And getting ready for the weekend is so important, even more in our Home! I personally like to take some time, to wrap up my working week, look at my achievements, at what I have done, at what I am happy about, at what brought me satisfaction, as well as to set up my priorities, planning & to dos for the coming week. Key is to get the feeling of closing down, of transitioning into the weekend, of satisfaction. We all really need a different rhythm and activities during the weekend as a contrast to the working week, to get our mind free, our energy up and boost our immune system.
Have a nice weekend, enjoy your home and stay healthy!
Tip 10
Do more in less time through structure and break
To structure our working day and week is essential in a home office environment, to support focus time and productive work. Our brain can only focus 100% max. 90 min. Bring structure into your work and give yourself some rewarding breaks in between to relax and recharge.
You will do more in less time and feel more satisfied, motivated, energized and joyful!
Have a healthy, productive and fun week ahead!
Tip 11
Kids at home?
Make it clear for all at home when you are at the office. It might be useful to have a dedicated working space where everybody else knows that you are at the office or not. Also clearly communicate the time frame, agree on timing for breaks and joined activities, before starting to work.
Enjoy your kids and your family!
Tip 12
Do you feel shut in?
In German ‘Fällt Dir die Decke auf den Kopf?‘…for some of us, it has been 2-3 weeks already in the home office…Again, I really enjoy it a lot, and still often around mid-week and especially in this very special situation, I get the sensation of ‘too much’, of all is a burden, of I want to get out!…then it is hard to find motivation, to be focused and to find inspiration. What has been helpful is to really notice this pattern, to stay with this unpleasant feeling and observe it as if there was a distance…and don’t forget to give yourself a nice treat! i.e. be in the sun, read a good book, drawing, cooking a good lunch, singing breaks,…
How is it for you?
Tip 13
What do you enjoy most in your home office?
Our brain is wired to look for the negative, for problems, for what isn’t right, for what needs to be different to feel good. I invite you to take a couple of minutes to really appreciate what you have right now, what are you most enjoying in your home office, what are the benefits of working from home? This appreciative questioning strengthens our neuronal pathways and shifts our habitual pattern towards gaining more appreciation for what is available right now.
Wishing you Happy Eastern & enjoyable days in your home office!
Tip 14
Have you found your working rhythm at home?
It took me a while to figure out my daily rhythm when I started to work from home more frequently. My days were getting too long, too intense, with very little breaks. My energy was just diminishing during the day.
It is essential for our brain to have a generative break each 90 min, so check how best you want to plan your power breaks.
For me, after several trials, I found the best is to start working only after my morning routine, go out for a walk after my lunch break and have 2 smaller breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon to uplift my energy.
I am curious to hear about you.
Tip 15
Lack of concentration?
Yep, this happens, right? Lack of concentration, dizziness, lack of clarity of mind?
Rub your ears. So simple might you think? Yes, rub your ears. It equalizes our right and left side of the brain, brings focus and clarity in our mind, and activates all acupressure points.
So, just try it out! It is too simple, rub your ears! And sense the difference before-after in your mind and whole being.
Tip 16
Where do you put your attention in those time?
Each of us might have a very different experience and reality during this corona crisis. Some of us have no professional activities right now, some others have reduced their working time and some of us are currently really busy …I suspect that we might all share the feeling of uncertainties, of not knowing where all this will bring us…How do we get along with uncertainties might be again very different for each of us.
Key is for all us to acknowledge all passing emotions and especially the less comfortable ones, be with it, let it pass through you and take their message along…emotions are pure energy in motion, where they are in motion, you get more energy for yourself!
Tip 17
Zoom Out
When stress arises, our body contracts. Cortisol is being released in our system. Our mind and 5 senses tend to zoom in. It is also called amygdala highjack. We lose the connection to our cognitive capacities and to our conscious mind. In those moments, it is key to pause, disconnect and zoom out. Then, we access our state of big picture thinking, innovative and creative thinking. We can then consciously decide on our next move.
Have you noticed this happening more often in the last weeks?
Tip 18
Leadership
What kind of leader are you and want to be?
As in all crisis, the current one can be the chance to become more of who you want to be. Being in our home office might give us the opportunity to take time for reflection.
How do you want to lead your company, team, family, friendships, life?
I want to be inspiring, compassionate, give space for people to share what they like most, what moves them, what they are longing for and for ideas to emerge creatively. I am committed to learn and share, make others feel empower and reveal more of themselves. I want to hear what is being said without words.
What about you?
Tip 19
Why compassion matters in leadership?
Those unusual times bring the chance to practice more compassion. Compassion towards oneself, compassion towards others. I define compassion as being with my own feelings and the feelings of others with openness and non-judgment in a way to really be in touched with them, accept them, give them space, without being carried away by them or being put off balance. In cultivating compassion, we cultivate our resilience, our observation skill and ultimately strengthen bound with others.
When is compassion showing up for you?
Tip 20
Remoted Teams
What is the biggest challenge you are facing with the lockdown?
What surprises you most in this new working environment?
Ask yourself those 2 questions in reference to your team(s).
Bringing more awareness to both sides of each experience enlarges our perception, our appreciation and our learning. From that place, we can cultivate resilience, build stronger relationship with others and be more fulfilled and effective in our endeavors.
Tip 21
Take a rest, go offline
Some of us are really overworked, perhaps feeling overwhelmed. For all of us it is key to give us time and space to regenerate, rejuvenate, and as most of us cannot even go out, it is hard to create distance from the working environment. Use this coming weekend to really disconnect, maybe going completely offline from all digital tools, services and way of communicating, at least for a couple of hours at a row. What about taking more time to be with yourself, maybe even doing no-thing for a while?
Wishing you a restful weekend!
Tip 22
Connect to say hi!
In business most of our communication is around a meeting, a goal, a project, a specific outcome. In person, the human connection might flow easily naturally. In digital communication, it might be necessary to connect more consciously with the other person(s). Connect just to say hi! In person or in groups. Or at least take some time at the beginning of the meeting for the connection to happen as a human connection.
With whom will you connect today?
Tip 23
Why empathy can be stressful?
Can you feel into others? Currently I can feel a lot of pain. In feeling this pain in others and in myself, I can get really stress, distress and even burnout, as if the energy of the emotion is depleting me.
In reverse, if I can feel it with the intention of making it better for the other person or for myself, then I can actually get energized. How comes? Through a conscious intention I can stay with the emotion, it is almost as if I were looking at it from all edges, holding it without judgement and letting it pass. Then I can ultimately get energy from it. I will call this compassion.
When are you showing compassion today?
Tip 24
What is happiness 4u?
Independently of how your working environment looks like right now, I can choose to ask myself what is happiness for me?
All is currently uncertain, unpredictable and unsecure, I can choose to make my happiness dependent on all those external conditions, which I do not have any influence. Or I can choose to look into myself, reflect on what makes me truly happy, on the sources of happiness, on what does happiness mean to me – all those internal conditions on which I do have an influence. You might even feel joy, a deep sense of joy.
What are you finding out for yourself?
Tip 25
Embodiment
Thank you for following me the last 25 days, I really enjoyed sharing with you daily some inspiration for adjusting to the new home office environment. Key now is to embody all what is useful to you. What do I mean with embodiment? Important is to integrate into our days what is supporting and strengthening us as a new habit, as a new way of living.
Which from the below tip would like to have more in your life right now?
I am very happy that these posts gave you support, strength and practical tools. I now wish to let this evolve into a different format with a weekly inspiration card or question of the week. I am also preparing to offer webinars and online interactive formats very soon, additionally to the ongoing 1-1 coaching offers.
Stay in touch. I am always happy to receive your comments, messages or email.
Stay healthy, stay happy,
Fabienne Stay tuned, follow my posts on LinkedIn