By Becky Linklater, Management Accountant, andpartnership
How I ate my frog!
Today I "ate that frog", I will never forget a workshop I went on explaining all of this back in my days at Boots and it has stuck with me ever since. This task I have been putting off for over a month!! Anyway, today I bit the bullet and got it done and do you know what? It only took me about 15 minutes but the time I’ve spent in my head on it has been a lot longer believe me.
This got me reflecting, why did I choose now to do it? Well, the kids will be home any minute and the noise levels are likely to increase, meaning my concentration most definitely will decrease.
How I'm finding hybrid working
Hybrid working is the topic of the moment but how is it actually working for me?
The benefits
I love the fact that I can sit at my desk in my gym gear (when I have no meetings booked in) and I’ve found I love to work intensely from 4pm-6pm something I wouldn’t do if I was commuting, I usually walk at lunchtime as historically I had half an hour for lunch so wouldn’t have if in the office.
I expected my steps and overall movement to be less when in fact the reverse has happened, it doesn’t matter if I finish a workout at 7.30am as I still have time to pack the kids off on the school bus, have a shower and get to my desk in time and with the walking at lunchtime I am hitting that daily goal of 10,000 steps as a minimum!!
As a result my mood is better, I’m nicer to be around (might need to check with my family on that one) and I have more calories to play with as I’ve moved more, it’s a win win.
The drawbacks
However, there are days I crave for that interaction of others and Jeremy Vine on BBC radio 2 talking about rabbits eating flowers on gravestones just doesn’t cut it.
I miss people, real people, my colleagues, I miss those nuggets of information about a client you just pick up on that might help to get that invoice paid on time or the keyboard shortcut someone is explaining to someone else on the desk next to you.
When the chaos of the last year has settled I look forward to having the best of both worlds and moving forward with much better balance than I had when I took for granted going to work.
Tips to make hybrid working work
There are a number of helpful strategies I'd like to share. They are:
Take regular breaks away from the screen.
Think about your most productive time/s of the day (and the most unproductive) and allocate tasks accordingly.
Make sure there is a clear divide between home and work. Don't be tempted to 'just check my emails' when you have finished for the evening.
Work flexibly (after all that is a major benefit of working remotely). Don't be afraid to take time out during the day and work in the evening, if that is convenient.
If you can, arrange time in the office/on site, for the tasks that would benefit face-to-face interaction. This could be a one-to-one catch-up, team meeting, etc.
Stay connected (no matter where you are working). Make sure that you are using tools like Teams, Whatsapp, etc so you can check-in from anywhere.
Why not contact us to find out more about how we are supporting organisations with their hybrid working including team and leadership development.