Working from home – yes or no? We wanted to find out from SPECTRUM members. Meet Chin from Golden Equator, who shared his experience and some tips on WFH with us.
1. What are the biggest challenges of working from home and how do you deal with them?
I work in my bedroom, so there’s almost no distinction between the space where I work and where I rest.
How I’ve tried to work around that is to create boundaries mentally (and physically i.e., via associations). I liken my room door to Doraemon’s door. At the start and during my workday, when I open the door, it’s a workspace. This means I only use the table and NEVER touch the bed (sorry for those who love naps!). In the evening, when I open the door, it’s a bedroom. This means I don’t sit down at the table and ONLY use the bed.
2. What advice/tips can you give to other members?
Have very clear routines that mark the START and the END of your workday, more importantly, the end of day routine.
For example, to mark the end of my workday, I change from my work clothes (well, it’s really just another set of house clothes) to my home clothes, start cooking, open a bottle of wine, etc. The physical act of changing clothes is kind of a way to tell my brain that I’m done with work. Another super nerdy thing I do is that I switch off my work computer, clap once and chant out loud “WORKDAY IS DONE!” (I know, I scare my housemates, too)
3. If you were to describe how you feel about working from home with a song or a movie title what would it be?
Dear Evan Hansen’s “Waving Through a Window” (click here to listen to it on YouTube).
(P.S. I do look out the window during breaks and stare at people – in millennial term, we call it “people watching”, and also, the movie is coming out in September, hopefully I don’t have to wave through a window by then!)
Check out more interesting WFH tips from our members here!