After this week's announcement, the nation is being encouraged, to yet again, work from home if at all possible. Many people we speak to are open to continuing this way and see it as the new ‘normal’ for a long time to come.
Others, are handling the transition of remote working differently and struggle with staying focused, controlling their time and keeping connected with their team. So let's share some insight how to keep the creative juices flowing! Stepping into a more open & communal workspace is great to be around others, but not an option so easily achieved under new government guidelines.
Switching up your working environment or home office space can be amazing for you imagination and creativity. Working from home offers an opportunity for real comfort and efficiency, but be sure to separate your work space off from the rest of your house.It’s important to make your designated work space new and exciting, so you want to spend time there. It sounds stupid, but a good chair can certainly increase productivity. This is your space and a great chance to bring your personality including photos, artwork, motivational quotes and even plants, as injecting a bit of green creates a breath of fresh air and is known to be the most relaxing colour to the human eye.
And yes, after a while… the look of your office may not excite you any more. Get creative, mix things up now and again. Buy some LEGO! It’s all well and good having a good looking office but how do you remain focused on work? Being in the same space for hours on end can sometimes drain you of your creative juices and endless coffee doesn’t always cut it. We’re all guilty of hitting that afternoon slump once in a while and it's time to recharge. The simple answer… get up, move around and step away from the screen. Change your environment, whether it be going on a walk, calling a friend or listen to music. Refresh the mind and you’ll be ready to hit the next task at hand upon your return. A simple to-do list is a great way to keep yourself organised, motivated and productive. Using a calendar with set tasks scheduled out for certain times throughout the day doesn’t work for everyone, but certainly works for us.
Use the last 20 minutes of your working day to plan for tomorrow and have an idea of what needs to be accomplished. If you feel more creative in the morning, use this time to your advantage.
We find a shared calendar with your colleagues works very well and this way, they’ll know when you’re free to talk and when you’re busy. To most of us, being 'at work' includes human interaction and communication. While we are working remote, the next best thing from face to face meetings for us at Imaginize is using Slack. Slack is a great tool for videoconferencing and communication which also allows us to remain organised and keep a record of all projects we work on by using dedicated channels. This allows our entire team to collaborate and work successfully.
Maintaining meaningful collaboration is key and holding collaborative meetings with any new brief with our internal team is a must. As creatives, a lot of us used to feel like our designs always had to be completed before we can share them, this is a big mistake… sharing designs and ideas along the way and internal feedback from other creatives in your team will only ever increase the outcome and the best final result for your client.
As an addition, slack can be used in a non work related manor. We all realise how important mental health can be, now more than ever. Get creating a ‘random’ channel for conversations that don’t revolve around work! Getting your colleagues on one big ‘non work focused’ call on a Friday afternoon can be a great way to start the weekend and recharging for the week ahead.
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