Working from home. Turns out I'm a bit shit at it.

[LemonRedwood]

Started a new job a little while ago. I cover a large area and there's a also a big push in the organisation for "smart working" essentially enabling employees to work from anywhere (ie reduce unnecessary travel to reduce all the petrol claims).

Today was the first day I didn't actually need to be anywhere. Except 1 meeting this morning and my colleague lives quite near me so we had our meeting in a local coffee shop. So I then came home in order to "work from home".

Well, I turned on my computer. Then I cleaned the kitchen. Did 4 loads of washing. A Tesco shop. Put the bins out. Sent one email. Made one phone call.

I might be one of those people who just works better at work

Soontobe60

Speak to your internet supplier- why is your internet poor? Speed? Unstable line? Do you have fibre in your area? Unless you live in a rual area you should be able to acheive high speeds and a stable connection.
What speed do you have at the moment?

@Soontobe60 have you tried a wired connection for internet? Our work from home office that we use occasionally is at the top of our town house and signal is poorer there, so we use a wired connection into the laptop.

I sometimes WFH but achieve far more than in the distractions of the office however I treat it like the office as a previous poster does, get a brew head upstairs, have a break to make a fresh brew but don’t do anything home related unless it’s in my break. I can be audited very easily as to what I am doing at home so I need to ensure I actually do the work I should be doing.

"One thing that I've found helps is to arrange weekly calls for the morning of my WFH day. That gives me something to focus on and I can spend the rest of the day working on the action points from the calls."
^ this!! Organise your day so you have calls/ specific actions for the day & you'll be far more productive. I've done a day a week minimum from home for over 6 years & love it. I also think having a dedicated workspace at home helps, I work at a desk set up just like work & with no tv in the room. Stop the faffing!!

I work from home at least a day a week and Im either glued to my seat and forget to drink or I’m doing washing, shopping. I can’t seem to find a happy medium.

I do like the idea of having a little burst of productivity as if that makes up for tossing it off for a couple of hours afterwards

In my office, these productive bursts are just known as “working”

Yes to earmarking certain tasks for your WFH days. I know there are certain things (like big writing projects as mentioned above) that work really well at home. I do take longer breaks at home but that's because I am much more efficient. In the office I rarely take a lunch break, but there is a LOT of chat and I feel quite distracted.

If I really need the best of both worlds I take my laptop on the school run and walk straight to the library after drop off. It's quiet but has a productive atmosphere.

I like to mix up my tasks to give some variety, so two hours on one type of activity, then some paperwork, an hour of packing, then sit with a coffee and order supplies.
I oftenwork evenings too, but I save that for stuff I can do sitting on the sofa and chat to family members at the same time- I call that my "low level" work, often involves pliers and a little metalwork.

I used to work 10 hour from home and 10 hours from the office. I used to shake up which hours I worked when as a refresh. The last thing I’d do before stopping for the day was write a list for the next day while everything was fresh in my mind. Sometimes I’d pinpoint 2 or 3 things that were the most important to get done but it depended on the day.
Failing that: www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/i-work-from-home

If you had work I think you are really cheeky. You even actively went out of your workplace during the working day. (if you were at Tesco longer than you would have been if you were on say a lunch break from the office.)

I did a click and collect the night before and picked it up on the way back from my morning meeting.

Can I ask what you do? As a teacher myself I’m interested. X

I now work for the local authority as an adviser. So still in education. So far, when I've actually had stuff to do, I love it!

What is it you all do where you can get away with skiving for so long??

As above. And as lots of PPs have said, I'm in kind of a transition phase. Not just with the WFH side. There's been a hell of a lot of induction stuff and my manager has made sure I've been shielded from quite a bit while I'm still finding my feet. I've mostly shadowed other people and been working on documentation and policy so far.

Everyone in the organasition uses outlook to manage their time. Mine was very empty yesterday. I like the idea of a to-do list first thing. (Trouble is I will write down a load of stuff I've already done at the top, just so I can tick it off, and then think I'm "ahead".)

That article's very funny, Thatnovembernight. Fortunately, I'm not quite there yet! And I will be out and about most of the time

I've been WFH part of the time for ages. I am champion faffer but I now use Pomodoro which is 25 min timer for work and 5 min timer for something else (I have to get up or my legs and back get sore). 5 mins is make a cup of tea or put the wash on or put DD's pants back in the drawer.
I also have a timer (Rescue Time?) on social media and eBay on my browser and a blocker (Stay Focussed) on some apps on my phone.

This is all very interesting as I'm soon to be made redundant from a job I've been in for many many years, which is extremely flexible. It has definitely become more so as the years have gone on. But, I also work for a small, close knit team. Everyone is officially "agile", no set desks in the office with the expectation that everyone works from home twice a week. Unofficially, most people work from home whenever it suits them. Everyone has a laptop and there are no desk phones as we use skype, etc. We can't get away with not working when at home, because you can see if emails are being responded to, etc. And there are deadlines, whether you're in the office or not. However, there is the understanding that if there are no imminent deadlines and nothing outstanding, then there is no point in pretending to be busy. Everyone has busy times and less busy times. In the office, you're trying to prove how busy you are the whole time. At least at home, you can use that time to catch up on the washing and clean the kitchen. Obviously, there has to be trust between a team and manager, but we're all grown ups and are treated as such. We know what needs to be done and we know the best environment in which to do it.
Having said that, I am being made redundant soon as my biggest concern about finding a new job is that I'm so used to this flexibility, and the understanding that we all know how to manage our own time effectively.

@Thisismynewname I left a very cushy WFH job last year because I wanted career progression. I got an office based job at a higher level and let's just say I didn't last very long. I was screaming to get out of there by 5pm on my first day and quit a week later. It was much, much harder than I realised to go back to an office based job.

I have now found another WFH job and now realise it's the only way I can work.

I'm self-employed, and mostly WFH. Generally, I love it, but it has made me realise that I am very easily distracted unless there's an imminent deadline. Lists and timesheets (when I'm working for more than one person) are key, but also working in a way that suits me. I'm a morning person, so I start early and do all the things that involve thinking then. I tend to switch off after lunch, so I go for a quick walk round the block then come back and do more routine work. I also try and switch from one task to another to keep my interest levels up. Having said that, I shouldn't be on Mumsnet now, so its definitely a work in progress!

It was an extra-long day in the office today so I'm glad I got all the washing done on Friday

I've found it quite difficult transitioning to a "normal" job after being a teacher. I keep telling people where I'm going and how long I'll be, justifying every minute I'm away from my desk - they don't care because it's not like they're covering my class while I'm gone.

I use a productivity timer: 25 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes of putting on the washing/making tea/skiving...and then start work again. I get a lot done this way!

Those of you who use productivity timers - are they apps on your phone or do you have them on your pcs?

I think they are what I need. I am fairly sure I have inattentive adhd (both kids are diagnosed) and I desperately need some structure

I started a job where I could work from home in the new year, initially found it the same

what I try to always try to do now is set an alarm, 1 hour solid work alarm goes, 30 mins something else, as soon as it goes off back to work

I found towards the end I got in to what I was doing and skipped the break altogether but still managed to get some washing on etc

@Almahart I use my Alexa tbh, get her to play a song when I'm due the end of the working segment

I tried to go to work today but came home via GP as felt too unwell. Going to try and do paper work at home. Lurking on her for tips!