At a time when smart working is a mandatory condition for most of us, with technologies we discover that we know how to work well even from a distance, without having to confront each minute, finding space for concentration and space for sharing depending on the need. We have seen that this is often even better, we are more productive. But we are also able to discover this " new work landscape ", decidedly more domestic and to seek not only opportunities to be productive but also to grow professionally and personally, bearing in mind that this environment in which we move will be modified by our actions also in unexpected manner. After all - and those who practice it for some time know it -at the basis of the "philosophy" of smart working there is precisely the idea of being able to obtain a better balance between working life and private life . As underlined in the Copernicus research. The new landscape of work conducted by Studio Carlo Ratti Associati (in collaboration with Copernico, BNL and Arper) The modern worker is "nomadic" in space but also in the organization of his time , and as such, tends to intertwine moments of work to private moments, sometimes overlapping them. Now the ability to move in space is definitely limited. This gives us the opportunity to live our days in a more conscious way, transforming the spatial limit into development opportunities. We don't always succeed, sometimes we seem to work 24 hours a day, with many inputs that include caring for the home and children, but we can try: the important thing is to get organized.
How to transform home working into smart working
Those who are used to working for objectives and in flexible contexts, those who are part of a consolidated community such as that of coworking and flexible offices, are now trained to distribute their time well between work, development of relationships and time for themselves. But those who do this exercise for the first time may find that maintaining this plot in a healthy and conscious way is not always easy . It takes a lot of experience and a lot of practice. Here then is Copernico's recipe for a "balanced" smart working from home:
Staying productive and connected with your team
Keep thinking about the future
Treating your physical well-being
Reinforcing mental well-being and creativity
1. Stay productive and connected to your team
How can we continue to be productive remotely? How to keep relationships between people alive right now? The basic steps are three: Take advantage of apps and systems to establish shared goals or make appointments in order to help everyone manage and meet deadlines. Microsoft Planner, Trello, Asana are the most used apps; Install and use video conferencing systems for use between colleagues, co-workers, customers and suppliers. Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts Meet, Slack, Zoom and Skype are just some of the possible alternatives; Do not forget the sociability among colleagues: in this period in which some of them could be completely isolated (because singles, away from the family, etc.) you can still leverage technology also to keep alive those important moments of sociability that go from the break coffee for the celebration of anniversaries, such as a colleague's birthday or a business anniversary.
2. Keep thinking about the future
Sooner or later this crisis will end. It is therefore good to use your free time at home not so much to think about the opportunities that we are losing in these weeks, but to those that we will be able to seize when we return to normal. How to do? Organize networking calls in the middle of the working day with that person met during a conference and whom we have often thought of contacting (this is the right occasion!); Follow webinars and Facebook groups to update and learn new things, here are some tips on Copernicus appointments: https://www.coperni.co/it/eventi; Redoing websites, arranging online archives, thinking about all the things that can be carried out without physical presence; Look for new potential customers.
3. Take care of your physical well-being
Working from home risks making us all become a little lazier, because we don't have to move and everything is within reach. But the ideas for staying fit and taking care of the person are many. And they can be done together (even with children, if they are at home with us!), As an opportunity for team building, because together, there is more motivation. Yoga, stretching, cardio activity: in the middle or end of the day, to relax the muscles, release tension. Many gyms and personal coaches are launching free sessions of streaming motor activities. Here then you can organize group lessons, even with colleagues; Try not to let go: working from home in pajamas is nice and gives some satisfaction for the first few days, but after a while it risks becoming a cause for inertia and loss of concentration. Maintaining the distinction between home and work clothes (even if much more casual than usual) remains a great way not to forget about our personal care. And it will allow us to be ready for video calls!
4. Support mental well-being and creativity
As we anticipated at the beginning, working in smart working from one's home can lead to an overburn. But it is possible to avoid this risk through some small precautions and above all by remembering that even from home we can maintain an active and healthy social life! Here are some small tips:
Establish timetables . You can review the normal ones: you can attack first since potentially everyone can start working half an hour after the alarm sounds. Or maybe even later because you prefer to sleep a bit more and stay on the PC until later ... there is no traffic to return! The important thing is that there is a routine. Set coffee time, daily meeting time to update yourself and customer response time. Stopping continuously is counterproductive: at any time, its activity;
Are you missing on Friday night at the cinema together? Just decide which film and set a time. During the viewing it will be fun to exchange comments and impressions in the work chat or in one created for the occasion;
Or is the classic weekly aperitif between colleagues missing? This too can be easily organized from home through videocall tools;
Do you want to give yourself to collective reading? We can meet to finish the day with Fiesta immobile, the idea launched by Alessandro Baricco and the Holden school in Turin. At 18.30 on Radio Casa Bertallot a writer or writer read the pages they love most for half an hour. It will continue until the end of the emergency, as long as it is needed. As for the “in the room” appointment, in this case too you can make an appointment for group listening, at a distance;
Do you prefer a virtual visit to a museum? There are really many museums that are offering free visits to their exhibitions or collections these days. There are those who direct on FB or IG and those who upload videos, those who still publish photos. Why not choose to visit one museum per week?
Do you want to find a nice idea to get people involved? You can create a playlist shared on Spotify: in turn each person of the company or office suggests a song that is included in the list;
Finally, let's not forget that we are not alone. We must not be afraid to ask for help. There are many people who do not see a way out at this time or who feel trapped. These days there are many professionals who provide individual counseling and remote psychological coaching for managers and professionals in crisis. And in this period there may be many who need it.