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Working From Home is Hard Work

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Working From Home is Hard Work

Though working from home (WFH) is not a new concept to many people – it’s a practice that has been gaining in popularity over the last number of years – however, many of us were given no choice but to work from home due to Covid-19 and we learned working from home is hard work.

I think it’s fair to say that most of us appreciate the opportunity our employers have offered to continue to earn a wage throughout this crisis. Many, like me, have come to prefer working from home, though it isn’t ideal for everyone.

Perhaps you are simply more extroverted and prefer to interact with other people or you may not have the space for a separate office.  My “office” is the corner of my living room but as it’s just me and Arthur (my cat) it works very well.

However, if you have family at home, having a desk in the corner may not be ideal.  You’re going to have to make more of an effort to concentrate no matter how supportive your family is!

And for others, while they may be able to get much of their work done from home, their job would be much easier in an office setting.

But, even those of us that have taken to WFH like ducks to water, there are days when it’s difficult to power through for eight hours.

Whether it’s from feeling under the weather or suffering from lack of sleep or just “one of those days”, there will be times when you find it difficult to stay focused.  And that’s okay. There’s many ways to break up your work day into chunks of time that will allow you to still get work done while relieving some of the pressure.  Because, let’s face it, our employers are entrusting us to work from home and that trust should not be abused.  I’m sure that your boss also has “one of those days” as well and would likely understand.

If you’re simply having trouble adjusting to WFH, here’s a great article from MindTools to get, and keep, you on track.

If you’re really into the swing of WFH but just having the odd rough patch, below are some of my suggestions along with some professional advice to give yourself a break but still get the work done.

Exercise:

I have found that when I’ve been restless it’s not usually the work getting to me, but lack of exercise.  Now, I’m certainly no gym rat and won’t even run to catch a bus, but even I know that going from the bed to the sofa to drink my morning tea then straight to my desk isn’t a good idea.  You may not be commuting to work but you still need to have a transition from “home” to “work”.

For me, it’s walking.  I try to get out every morning for a good walk.  I’ll be honest in that there are some days when the snooze button and I are best friends, but even if you can only manage a 20 minute walk, it makes a big difference.  I try and fit in another walk after work or dinner and ideally a quick one at lunch.  I’ve even begun incorporating some stretches into my workday.  And while I may be about as graceful as an elephant in a tutu, it helps!

Here’s an article from Readers.Com that details the benefits of stretching along with some specific stretches you can do at your desk.

Give yourself a mental break:

Sometimes it’s your mind that’s tired or frustrated and you need to give it a break.

If I’m feeling frazzled or frustrated, I like to make a cup of tea and go sit on the balcony for five or ten minutes – a backyard is awesome if you have one.  Otherwise just go to another room, as long as it’s away from your desk; but be sure to leave your cell phone, laptop, iPad or whatever behind.  (Take the tea, leave the cell phone, come on, Godfather, anyone?)

The point is to just sit, be quiet and let your mind wander.  To be honest, your brain will probably focus on work. But don’t grab hold of any of it, just let it flow and you may end up with a solution to a task or problem you’ve been struggling with – or just come back to your desk a little bit calmer which really is the goal.

Here’s a fantastic article from Medium.Com on how to give your brain a break.

Finding work that isn’t “work”:

Most of us have various aspects to our jobs, so maybe take some time to do something that is still work related and of value to your employer but not the core of your job; perhaps conducting research or writing a blog!

Proper eating habits OR “Are cookies a breakfast food”?

As you have probably surmised from my comments regarding exercise, I am not anyone’s idea of a “health nut”.  However, it is important to eat proper meals at reasonably proper times.

If you’re like me, making tea in the morning is challenging enough, don’t tell me to cook breakfast – it’s just not going to happen.  Perhaps brunch but isn’t that what restaurants are usually for?

However, even I can find something healthy in the morning – instant oatmeal, whole grain toast, or if that’s still too challenging try some fruit with a small piece of hard cheese or hard boiled egg.  You can boil up enough for a few days ahead – and if that’s not your thing you can buy them already hard boiled in little plastic pouches – go figure!

Eating regularly scheduled meals will help keep you on a proper work cycle.  Let’s face it, if you’re eating lunch at 3:00 in the afternoon while WFH, are you really going to be that productive for the rest of the day?  Unless you’re one of those people that normally eat later meals – though personally, I would never last that long – I’d be “hangry” by 1:30!

Anyway, I’m not going even going to attempt to provide nutritional advice – I’m someone that firmly believes potato chips are a food group – but decent eating habits will help you stay focused, and you don’t have to take my word for it.

Here’s some advice from Harvard Medical on foods to help you stay sharp

Just remember, we’ve all had to get used to WFH and if you have those days where you struggle to stay focused, there’s ways to make working from home, well, work!

Entrepreneurial State of Mind

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Entrepreneur mind

Being an entrepreneur is an innate trait that some are born with and some aren’t. It’s a mind set that many with this gift can’t seem to escape. They see the world as a large opportunity and continuously seek ways to seize the moment.

The world has seen its fair share of entrepreneurs who have succeeded and others who have not. It truly is a high risk, high reward life style.

Companies such as: Microsoft, Apple, Virgin, Tesla & Amazon all began as an idea on a piece of paper, by larger than life personalities that once started out in their parent’s basement. After countless trials and tribulations, these individuals were able to successfully penetrate a market and become king pins of their respective industries.

However, this success certainly didn’t come overnight. It’s a known fact that even these successful would-be billionaires were once on the verge of being homeless, surviving on the standard college diet of ramen noodles and living out of the back seats of their vehicles. It was only their entrepreneurial instinct that kept them pushing through these hard times and as luck would have it, their hard work and determination paid off.

Then, you have the other side of the coin.

In the early 2010’s, the world became obsessed with the reality TV concept of seeing entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to investors on shows like Dragon’s Den or Shark Tank.

These shows gave the everyday viewer a chance to see what entrepreneurs were coming up with, prior to their multi-million dollar success. Some shined through, while most failed to develop a concept that could wow not only the investors, but the audience who were watching the show. In some cases, the feedback went as far as telling these individuals to “stop putting money into this and walk away while you still can” or “this is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard of”.

One thing to be taken from the countless seasons of good ideas and bad ideas is that the mindset of the participants never veered from their end goal of being a successful entrepreneur, regardless of the feedback they received.

Whether you possess this way of thinking or not, it’s important to remember that each person has a place in the world to be successful.

Most importantly, any good Entrepreneur needs the proper space for their ideas to develop and grow. That’s why The Rostie Group provides Offices of all sizes so you and your new growing team have a place to make your dreams come true!

The Office Industry is Changing

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Office Industry

Okay, so when is the office industry not changing? This may be a general statement in the world of ever-growing technology and real estate pricing. But, the business centre in a conventional sense is becoming very hard to define.

What is your work environment like? Are you a start up or do you have 40 employees? Do you primarily work at the same desk or find yourself always on the go?
In the past, there have been clear cut destinations that business owners have found themselves drawn to, based on a multitude of criteria. For example, finance companies worked in structured environments with rows of cubicles surrounded by water coolers; graphic designers worked at large communal tables in brick and beam buildings that formerly hosted industrial assembly lines.

They didn’t mix.

But what if these companies could find themselves rubbing shoulders with each other? Could a world filled with both left and right brain thinkers possibly get along together?

The shared office space industry certainly thinks so, and companies are beginning to prove them right.

With industry giants such as Regus & WeWork competing at either ends of the shared office space spectrum, we find numerous office providers who are starting to position themselves somewhere in between – with no clear cut definition of their target market.

A once relatively unknown industry is now being considered by multibillion dollar per-year companies, as it presents a cost-cutting method to operate their businesses with a strict fiscal bottom line in mind.

Once considered feared competitors to be reckoned with, the global recognition and media attention that these industry giants are garnering actually benefits the smaller shared office space providers.

How, you ask, can small businesses benefit from the ever growing giants within an industry?

I pose this question to you – have you ever had a pizza from Domino’s? You know the price, the quality, the speed of delivery, the shape, size, and consistency, but you’re never wowed by the end result. It is a quick alternative that hides itself behind flashy marketing and a cell phone app. They don’t know you, the customer. They don’t know the specifics of your order (unless you tell them, time after time). They are a generic food factory servicing the masses, without the ability to cater to each of their clients’ immediate needs specifically.

Now, have you ever eaten at your local pizzeria, owned and operated by a family in your very own neighbourhood? These are the same people that know you by name, face and voice. They know that you live on the same street and know that you don’t like too many black olives. They may even be charitable enough to sponsor your child’s soccer team, or better yet, allow you to pay them back next time when you find you’re short on cash. At the end of the day, they’re friends.

The point, very simply, is that people like to pay for a service that is specific to their likes, wants and needs. Sometimes choosing the largest company in the industry is not the best way to proceed.
This is where privately owned business centres secure their slice within the industry (pun absolutely intended). It is very common to have business owners move to these smaller outfits after stints with large corporations. They do this because they are unhappy with the giant’s inability to cater their services to the specific requirements of each company’s business practice.

So, I challenge you to consider all elements of this ever-changing industry when selecting your next office space provider. Whether you’re a financial giant or a start up app developer, why go with Domino’s when you can choose an experience that is fundamentally yours?

Like they say, you never know who you’re going to meet.

Click here for more information about available Office Space at The Rostie Group.

Egg Painting Competition

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We’d like to thank everyone so much for coming down and joining us to paint some Eggs.

We’ve discovered that it’s actually a very nice way to de-stress. Very relaxing and creative. And no, you don’t have to be an artist to enjoy painting an egg.

Here is a Gallery of all of the eggs! All of them are great!

[envira-gallery id=”9269″]

But of course, there can only be one Winner! (At least this time)

Congrats Puneet!