Work from Home In The Time of COVID-19: Thoughts from Jeff Smith
Hello everyone out in the world. Unless you live near me and have seen me running or picking up groceries from Kroger, I have not seen anyone. It is definitely a weird time. I know some of you are extra stressed—thank you to all of our healthcare workers. Keep up great work! I know many bankers are putting in extra hours trying to figure out how to get loans to people. I feel a little guilty that my days are quieter than usual, and while staying at home is the right thing, I do wish I could be doing more to help others. Anyone else feel that way?
Okay, we are now about 4-5 weeks into working virtually. If you are struggling to get into a routine or pattern with your work and get in sync with your co-workers, TTI has created a great assessment that you can take in about 10 minutes. This assessment generates a 7 page report outlining your main communication style. It has tips for your style on how to be more effective working from home. It also has some great tips on how to interact with other communications styles. This will be a good tool for when we get back to working in offices as well.
We are able to offer the tool for free, so click here to take the assessment.
Please email us if you have any questions about your report. I hope you learn some new insights.
After you have taken your assessment, I warmly invite you to join me on Thursday April 30th, 2020 at 3:00 pm EST for a webinar. I will talk about tips from the report and from our experience working with other companies. If interested, please follow the link to sign up today!
Another challenge I have heard leaders are having is leading their team meetings and how often to be doing 1:1’s. I watched this video from Simon Sinek’s organization, and I thought it did a great job of demonstrating a great team call.
Please click here to watch and look for tips that you might use for your team.
A few tips I took away were:
· concentrate on building relationships
· share positive shout-outs and recognition
· give each person 2-3 minutes to do their report with someone being a timekeeper
· turn off your notices so you can concentrate on the call
What did you take from the video?
Finally, I am hearing from a lot of remote workers saying how tired and overwhelmed they feel. This is normal as change of any kind can be draining. Now, many of us are working from home (maybe at the kitchen table), some of us are also part-time teachers, and there is no escape at the end of the day like going out for a nice dinner with friends.
I have heard a few tips from clients that I’d like to share:
1. Pick 2-3 things to accomplish per day
2. Try to not have more than 3-4 zoom calls per day-it can be draining to be this intense every day
3. Take breaks-go for a walk; go work in another room; take time for lunch, etc.
4. Block your day—put when you are working on x project at y time
5. It is okay to finish early or start later or take a 1 hour break in the middle of the day
6. Choose a process or project that you want to implement when you get back to the office. Find someone to work on this with. The creativity will do you good.
7. Try to do something helpful (could be a compliment; a note, etc) for a customer, your community, or for an employee. Doing something nice gives you a lift in your day.
8. Maybe start a new hobby-yoga, walking, gardening, etc.
Thank you for all you do as leaders. Keep up the good work and take time to connect with your team and to also recharge your own batteries! Let us know how we can help you!
