When You Return to Work, Keep Your Good Work From Home Habits
After several months of working from home, you’re finally coming back to the office. Like it or not, it’s going to be a significant transition. In addition to adopting the “new normal” of wearing masks, sitting behind acrylic panels, and navigating one-way aisles, you’ll have to re-acclimate to a traditional office environment.
That doesn’t mean, however, that you should completely return to your old ways. In other words, the experience of working from home probably helped you develop some positive work habits that (without a pandemic) you might not have adopted.
Make the best of this by keeping these habits and applying them to office life. Here are some examples.
How to Transition Back to Work After Working From Home
WFH Habit #1: Going Paperless
When you were suddenly the one paying for ink and paper, you probably lost the urge to print a hard copy of every important document and email you received. Now that you’re back at the office, you’ve regained access to unlimited copies. But that doesn’t mean you should use it. Save some trees by keeping things electronic as much as possible.
WFH Habit #2: Only Meeting When It Was Necessary
Notice how much more you and your coworkers got done when you weren’t stuck in meetings all day? Obviously, some meetings are necessary to make sure everyone is on the same page and moving projects in the right direction. But too many meetings can be a distraction. Find the right balance and stick with that.
WFH Habit #3: Eating Out Less
How much money did you save by making your own lunch every day? And how much healthier was the food you made when compared to fast food burgers and fries? Now that you’re a master home chef, set aside a few minutes every morning to pack yourself a lunch. Your pocketbook and doctor will thank you.
WFH Habit #4: Eliminating Use of Single-Use Cups, Plates, and Utensils
When you were working from home, did you drink from a Styrofoam cup and throw it away? Did you eat off of paper plates using plastic forks? Of course, you didn’t when you had cupboards full of real kitchenware. Do the environment a favor (and save your employer some money) by using reusable dishes and utensils at the office.
WFH Home Habit #5: Leveraging Electronic Communication and Productivity Tools
When you lost the ability to walk over to a coworker’s desk, it forced you to communicate electronically. Sure, it was awkward at first, but now you’re a master of virtual meetings, instant messages, and using digital collaboration tools to track and manage projects. Keep those skills sharp because even though you can once again walk over to a coworker’s desk (wearing a mask, of course), mastery of digital tools maximizes the efficiency of both you and your team.
