5 tips to work from home more effectively - Knowledge Hub Team

Here at Placecube, Knowledge Hub's parent company, working from home is the way we do things everyday. Being a digital company, we make use of a range of collaboration tools, including Knowledge Hub itself, to communicate with each other, share documentation, build on ideas, collaborate on documents and much more.

Working from home can take a little bit of getting used to, especially if you usually work in an office environment. We asked our Placecube colleagues, some of whom have been working from home for a number of years, what their top tips are for working from home effectively. 

1. Place
It might seem easy enough to work from home while sitting on the sofa or laying on the bed.  That’s not really the case if you’re planning to work from home long term and avoid any surrounding distractions. Phil points out: “You need to work in a dedicated room or location so that you can lock your head into “I’m here and this is where I work”.

2. Breaks
People often think if you’re working from home, you’re taking it easy.  Well, that’s not the case. As Dawn suggests: “Remember to take breaks, it's very easy to get sucked into something and not move, which isn't good for you. In an office, you chat to people or go and make tea.”

3. Equipment
You may have your laptop or PC at home, but sometimes it’s the simple things that you may have forgotten to bring with you. Michael suggested: “If you have been using a mouse in an office environment, it’s worth having one at home as well.  Using a trackpad can take a little while to get used to and sometimes a mouse works better for certain types of work over a trackpad.”

4. Noise
Silence is golden, but if you’re not used to it, it can take its toll.  Phil hints: “If you are used to being in an active office space, then have the radio on to generate some background noise. Even having the TV on in the other room can help, as the varying adverts / tv shows can generate good white noise / background noise.”

5. Connected
Just because you can no longer turn around or lean over the desk to speak to your colleagues, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to stay connected. Adam says: “Keep in regular contact with colleagues, to avoid becoming isolated”. This may be through regular catch up calls or just checking in with your colleagues.

It would be great to hear more top tips - whether you’re new to working from, work from home on an ad-hoc basis, or full time - we’d love to know what works well for you, so please do share here, so everyone can benefit.

And don’t forget, keep collaborating, communicating on Knowledge Hub!