Working from home tips

We all agree. Working from home is not the same as working in the office. We miss the chat over coffee and the shared lunch. Working from home is just a lot less fun. But we make the best of it and that is why we have managed to collect the necessary tips & tricks for this second week so that you can spend the working week indoors as best as possible and hopefully you can go to work energetically.

1. Start the day with a walk or a bike ride, of course taking into account the precautionary measure of the RIVM to keep at least 1.5 meters away from people you meet on the street. This way you start your day energetically and create a... rhythm for yourself. Enjoy the time you normally spend traveling.
2. To maintain your focus and energy during the day; get enough rest and do something every hour stretching exercises, like these. When you take a break, don't sit behind your laptop. And don't forget to hydrate: drink enough water.
3. Make it fun for yourself and your colleagues! Introduce a different theme every day for the daily team call (did someone say fancy dress party?) and organize catch-up sessions, like we did last Friday during a digital version of our VrijMiBo.
4. If you miss people around you: create a digital meeting with, for example, your roommates from the office, so that you can still go remote collaboration. You hear others tapping, going to the toilet, drinking coffee, etc. You can ask a question in between if you want. This way you are not working alone! We start every day with a digital check-in. We discuss the work for the day but also check how everyone is feeling. There are plenty of useful apps for this, such as Teams, Zoom, Google Hangout, or Houseparty (see app store) that provide a connection.
5. The Issuemakers are real 'news junkies'. As tempting as it is to scour all the content, we recommend limiting this to one few checks a day. By continuously checking the news or social channels, you become quite distracted, and perhaps even frustrated or anxious, by the many messages surrounding the corona crisis.
6. Working from home all day makes it easier to blur the lines between work and private life. Therefore, make sure you leave it at the end of the working day consciously closes, by putting your laptop away and getting outside again.
7. Make sure you sufficiently relaxes and recharges in the evening and your free time. The current situation demands a lot from all of us. In order to stay sharp, it is important to rest when possible.