As an “idea person,” entrepreneur and expert organizer, I’ve compiled this list of 50 Ways to Work Smart. There are ten things to do now before your work is closed (if not closed already) and 40 things to do from home. If your office is already closed, you can still implement many of the items on the first ten list. Think of this as an opportunity to work differently, innovate and shake up your routine. There needs to be a positive side of disruption. If you need help innovating, I’m happy to help. Email me at brittawmckenna@gmail.com.
PREPARATIONS TO WORK FROM HOME BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE OFFICE (If you are still working at a place of business)
1. Understand your HR policies regarding work from home during extended emergencies and adhere to them.
2. Take your laptop and power cord home every night.
3. Create a critical papers file of anything you might need to access for next 30-90 days and take it home with you every night.
4. Survey your team to find out what technology collaboration tools they use.
5. Organize, announce and train (if needed) your team/organization on Microsoft Teams or free technology tools (i.e. Shared Drive or options like G-Suite, Airtable in addition to your server access offsite; videoconferencing tools like Skype, Zoom or Hangouts; productivity apps like Slack, Asana or Basecamp are available, some with premium services). Private, encrypted free texting is available on apps like Signal. Use chat features/channels/texting in programs to push and share immediate information without phone text charges.
6. Move your team meetings online now to practice (if needed).
7. Match tech savvy staff with tech-challenged staff in a “buddy” support system. Pair your tech savvy staff with tech-challenged personnel NOW to get team tech parity. Organize and implement this on a shared spreadsheet like Airtable or G-Suite so you assist pairing and can monitor progress.
8. Clean out your work refrigerator. You’ll be thankful you did when you get back to work after the all clear.
9. Clean up your desk and sanitize your workspace, including your keyboard and phone.
10. Back up your computer files on an external hard drive and/or server.
WORKING FROM HOME
1. Establish a COVID-19/Emergency Response team to deal with issues regarding the pandemic and how it is affecting your organization and staff (this can also be done if you are still working from your office).
2. Have your CEO or President schedule regular messaging with staff using a webinar or use other online platform to provide comprehensive updates and instill confidence and a sense of control. Email is one tool, but gets easily lost/deleted.
3. Ask colleagues what they are struggling with working remotely and create resources for them. Encourage them to email a designated person or share challenges on a virtual whiteboard so solutions can be crowdsourced. Here is a review of some virtual whiteboards to get you started.
4. Create a comfortable, dedicated workspace, away from TV and other distractions.
5. Evaluate your morning routine and modify your personal schedule to compensate for zero transit time to work. Get dressed to help shape your state of mind.
6. Visualize your day each morning (flow) and what you need to accomplish; write down your “to do list” if helpful or add workflow to a tech tool to hold yourself accountable. Revisit this list at the end of each day to track progress.
7. Establish a caregiving schedule: If you have a child/children/dependents at home, set up a schedule with anyone at your location to take turns watching them with “heads down” work time.
8. Be available – by telephone (if you have a job like a teacher and you don’t want to give out your phone number, set up a temporary VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) number and send it out to your class). Higher ed online collaboration tools like Blackboard are the best place to keep assignments and communication in one place. Scheduling tools like Calendly or You Can Book Me are good for folks to sign up for your office hours slots. If you are looking to identify time for a group to meet, try When2Meet or try a Doodle poll to find common time.
9. Plan alternative communication channels. Email boxes are already getting jammed, so make a plan/schedule to connect regularly with your colleagues or clients using other technology channels.
10. Host a Slack Stand up meeting with your teams to report in daily, weekly. It is an app that you can have on your phone and computer.
11. Create a break space in your home, away from your workspace.
12. Schedule and share a 15-minute virtual cup of coffee break a couple times a day. Use that time to invite staff to check in with you one-on-one (videoconferencing preferred, but phone is also fine).
13. Review your emails and digital files – delete and file, sort by size of the email and attachments to save precious space (your IT team will thank you).
14. Review company/department marketing plans and make decisions now on how things should pivot as new markets unfold and others fall off temporarily.
15. Network! Go through that pile of business cards in your drawer and digitize them. Connect and reach out via LinkedIn or write a handwritten correspondence to gain attention and stand out from the sea of emails.
16. Write that blog you always said you’d write.
17. Start a podcast or pitch a topic and your credentials to someone whose podcast you’d like to be on as a guest.
18. Send HR your thoughts on company HR policies regarding working at home or extended emergencies now that you are living it.
19. Handwrite notes of encouragement and appreciation and mail USPS to your staff. Later on, write and send a thank-you note to a colleague who has done something nice for you during quarantine or been a leader to recognize their efforts (send to work if you don’t have their home address and they’ll have it first thing when they return).
20. Write a LinkedIn recommendation for your mentor, peer or colleague you admire.
21. Sort through work photos, put in files for social media posts, marketing, presentations and then trash those you don’t need. P.S. Photos take up a huge amount of space and your IT team will thank you (again).
22. Create a new wellness plan for yourself. Some gyms are closed, so evaluate what you can do in and around your home and do it. If it is safe to invite a buddy to workout with you, keep social distance and schedule now. A walk in nature for fresh air can be restorative in many ways.
23. Create self-care time; pause to meditate/pray/breathe/center yourself. Remember, this is temporary.
24. Cue up your social media posts on a service like Buffer, Later, Loomly or others (paid). Do you have advice to offer during these trying times? Then jump in and offer it to help others via social media/owned media channels.
25. Order carry out or have food delivered from your local restaurant to help keep them in business during the quarantine period.
26. Share lunch with someone (in person if you live nearby, practicing social distancing and other precautions) where one of you brings lunch to the other.
27. Research the next conference you want to attend and get a budget together for it. How about applying to present at a 2021 conference?
28. Organize and hold a virtual fund raising drive to support your local non-profits hurting from the pandemic. (How about a food drive for the local food pantry as an easy one with local impact?)
29. Work on that presentation or new curriculum you’ve been putting off.
30. Host a webinar on your topic of expertise or sign up for an interesting webinar to learn something new.
31. Send out/complete personnel evaluations for the year (if possible) early for once!
32. Distribute links to/complete any mandatory online training (sexual harassment, ethics, diversity, new employee, etc.)
33. Create/send out a staff survey to plan next professional development or retreat day to get ideas from your team using Survey Monkey or make it more fun on an app like Kahoot doing it real time.
34. Update your resume and social media profiles. Repost critical information sent from your marketing team if instructed to/relevant to your industry.
35. Play your favorite music!
36. Update your current budget for next quarter or develop one for next year.
37. Sign-up for an online class or MOOC (Massive Open Online Class) to improve your knowledge/skills.
38. Order new office supplies so they’ll be waiting for you when you return.
39. Plan a welcome back gathering at work.
40. Remember to tell your colleagues how much they are valued. We all need positive affirmation and encouragement, especially now!
The bottom line is to be smart on how you work and live until this virus is under control and gone. It is easy to panic if you are tuned into the avalanche of media stories and conflicting information. Be a leader and share facts and knowledge about what you know to help others. Keep your social distance, don’t put yourself in large gatherings and wash your hands. Here is a video I made about the new, proper hand washing technique I learned last fall at spine school before surgery. A PS note to the video is to use a paper towel or use your elbow to turn the water off to maintain sanitation, which I neglected to model.
If you need someone to bump heads with to get new ideas or direction, I’m offering free one hour virtual cups of coffee through March 30 afternoons from 1-5 p.m. You can access my calendar to schedule time HERE and I’ll try to be of help or suggest resources.
Stay safe and work smart. We’ll get through this together. Namaste.
