Get into the Groove
This February, it is time to get back into the Groove
When Leaders took that leap of faith just short of a year ago, who’d have believed how much more productive we’ve been than initially expected.
Brilliant. But now, the monotony is getting a little too much for even the smartest of workers. Advocates of smarter ways of working have become tired of the pandemic and exhausted with working from home too. We feel stuck in a collective rut and we’re seeing some questionable work behaviours.
It’s the same picture for our Teams. Many don’t have the energy to think about much more than getting through the day. Home schooling, printer problems, broadband issues, the Amazon man knocking during that sales pitch, the dog barking to be let out – you know the score.
And having been launched into enforced remote working for almost a year now, it is fair to say that many of us are on remote working autopilot. So, this February, why not break the unhelpful patterns and re-establish healthy, productive and successful routines within your team?
Let’s get back in the Groove. After all, it is very nearly Spring!
De-mark home and work.
Routine is the crucial element in a successful smart workers toolkit – whether working from home or in the office. And it’s not just about starting the day with a shower and getting dressed in the morning, albeit that’s great advice. It is time to review where work begins and finishes and create a structure that suits each individual’s productivity and responsibilities. Are you a morning, afternoon or evening person? Are you team taking breaks routinely? How do they shut down from work at the end of the day?
Top Tip – Discuss with the team how each might arrange their own unique personal commute each morning and evening. A walk round the block with the kids or the dog, up to the paper shop or just a gentle stoll through the garden
Avoid Burnout
We’ve been juggling so much just recently that nothing seems to get the right level of attention, does it? All this multitasking we’re practicing can demote it from a valuable skill to an unproductive hindrance. Focusing on one task at a time sounds like it’d be less productive, but it can end up making us more productive. Once the outcome is achieved, we turn the attention to the errands.
Top Tip – Be a role model – get that To Do list out. Write down the outcomes you need to achieve and plan out undisturbed time for those jobs. I know that can be tricky with the kids at home – but maybe they can learn to do the same too!
Mabel at the Table
In the first days of homeworking, we set ourselves up at the dining room table or the dressing table in the Bedroom. ‘It’ll only be for a couple of weeks,’ we said. It wasn’t. 11 months later, how many of us are sitting at the same desk with the same uncomfortable chair?
Of course, most sensible business Leaders are reviewing their workforce model and Home Working may be just one feature of that model. Meanwhile, even if your people have the tiniest of apartments, encourage them to find space that provides energy and inspiration until they can return to the office. It will help their wellbeing.
Top Tip – Help your team to break out of seeing remote working as a temporary solution. It’s here to stay as part of a balanced workforce model. Allocate a small budget for each person to set up a comfortable and productive workspace.
Overdoing it
One recurring theme we have noted during lockdown has been the anxiety emerging from the workforce rather than Leaders. Organisations adopted survival tactics because of the uncertainty of the pandemic. In turn, Employees, fearful of losing their job, tended to agree to every Zoom request, every email, every phone call – even outside working hours. It is an understandable fear but has left many people feeling overwhelmed. This February, is it time to get your team organised?
Top Tip – Understand each of their team member’s work patterns and preferences as a start. Do your really know what they are?
Look to the Future
Do some future planning. Whether that’s a new business product, your new workforce model or improvements to productivity this summer. Why don’t you start planning and get the team involved too? Brains that start thinking about future opportunities, naturally break the cycle of only looking at the immediate landscape ahead.
Is it time for your team to prepare for what is coming next? We think so. Do you?
Top Tip – make contact with us . We’ll help you build a smarter workforce and get your leaders back in the groove
