With Christmas around the corner, most employees will be looking forward to a break from the office. While some will be busy wrapping presents (and fretting over cooking the turkey perfectly!) new research shows that 70% of people will be using this time at home to catch up and get ahead for the next year. With that in mind, work communication tool Flockย is advising workers on the best way to keep on top of work during the festive season.
Know your team
You may be working with a skeleton team over Christmas. So, if youโre working from home, ensure you know whoโs working and when. Make sure you have their contact details and working dates, and if possible, add them on your workโs instant messaging app for quick and easy communication.
Plan your time
For many of us, working from home seems like the perfect opportunity to get our heads down and tick items off our to-do lists. But in reality, the lack of a structured work day and other distractions (read excitable children, day-time TV, and pile of laundry) may make this less feasible. To stay on track, plan your time, or even set appointments in your online calendar to make it easier to stay on track.
Follow the five minute rule
This tip is super simple. If you have a task that you know will take less than five minutes, make the most of being away from immediate distractions that are in abundance at the office (e.g., your colleagues or the biscuit tin) and get it done now!
Take a break
From time to time, all of us are tempted to work through our lunch breaks. But studies show that letting work eat into your lunch time is counter-productive, and that scheduling a break will instead improve your work quality and ability to concentrate!
Schedule meetings
Coordinating and setting up a meeting can be tough, and this becomes so much more difficult if youโre not working from the office! But with most modern work messenger apps such as Flock, scheduling meetings even when working remotely has been made far easier. You can easily schedule an efficient video or voice call, ultimately cutting the time wasted on all the back and forth that can occur via email. Scheduling meetings also adds an element of structure to your day. So, if your skeleton team is spread across geographical locations, you can schedule a quick daily stand up via a video call.
Have the right tools for the job
Do you get anxious about transparency, access to work documents, and being a part of work-related discussions? Donโt worry, the fear of missing out is real! Research shows that nearly half of usย find it hard to relax when we donโt have access to work emails. Thatโs why itโs important to choose tech tools that help you stay connected even on the go. If youโre keen to stay online, make sure you download your messaging app to your phone so that you can monitor activity and have files at your fingertips while youโre out and about during your Christmas break.
