We all know that change in traditional ways of working came without warning. One day, we were working from our offices regularly, perhaps seeing the occasional disturbing international news, but thinking that it would take longer to reach us, and the next day, we were locked in our homes with no possibility of leaving.
This radical change caused many people who had never worked from home before to start doing it and discover all the benefits that remote working offers.
Now that things slowly seem to be going back to normal, many people are returning to work from their offices, but many others have decided that they will not. And as in everything, there is a gray area, in which people who have decided to work in a hybrid way find themselves: leaving some tasks for remote work and others for the office.
However, finding the balance can be a bit complex. Therefore, here we’ll help you define the best hybrid work routine for you. Let us begin!
Several companies have chosen to give their workers the power to decide what part of the work to take home, and what part of the work to do in the offices. And although this autonomy allows everyone to organize themselves in the way they prefer, it also presents a new challenge: how to find the right balance?
If you can’t find the routine that suits what you need, this hybrid quality of the new ways of working will be even more stressful and messy. Therefore, as we always say, organization is key. Here we will review some of the points that should be taken into account when organizing your new work routine.
Identify Where It’s Best To Do What
To correctly place tasks in your work routine, you must carefully study the responsibilities they have and the different environments in which you have the possibility to take care of them.
Thus, you will be able to have a clearer idea of which parts of your work will be best performed at home, and which parts are best left for the office.
For example, for tasks in which you need to work as a team or have the collaboration of certain people, you could go to the office and take care of it there, on the other hand, for tasks that require long periods of focus, you could stay in your home and dedicate yourself fully to it in your comfort.
It is true that in some cases it’s not so easy to discern whether a task is better to do remotely or traditionally, but dedicating some reflection and imagining yourself in each of the environments when carrying it out will help you make a better decision.
You must keep in mind that it is important to invest your time and energy wisely: you do not want to miss a day of work that you could have completed in the comfort of your home by going to the office. But you also don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to go and work alongside your colleagues when you need to.
If you have a hard time distinguishing where you are performing better, there are certain things you can do to help you keep track of your productivity in both spaces. To record your productivity levels both in remote work and in the office you can:
Determine What to Measure
Some people see productivity as the number of hours they spend working, others as the amount of work they do, or how much progress they make on a specific task. Productivity, like any abstract concept, is something subjective and will vary depending on how you conceive it. Therefore, it’s important that you establish what you will measure itself.
Something that usually works for most people is dividing what will be evaluated into two parts: your results, and your mood at the end of the workday.
First, you can use time trackers such as Timing.app or the timer on your phone, in addition to keeping a list of the things you accomplished in the working day (how many designs you created, how many words you wrote, the number of problems you solved, etc) and for the second, you can download mood tracker apps, or even a handmade one, and detail at the end of the day how your mood was during work.
This way you will know where you feel better and you get results doing what.
Pay Attention to Patterns
Sometimes it is not the easiest thing in the world to have verbose results in the records. These can vary and be influenced by many factors that are beyond our control, therefore, you may notice some inconsistency in your productivity and mood throughout the week.
This should not seem strange or messy, it’s okay that these levels vary. However, the key to understanding what your main trend is is to observe the patterns.
What is repeated? What is it that stands firm through the changes and factors that influence the results? What causes a negative change in your mood? By asking yourself these questions, you can identify patterns in your performance depending on where you are.
For example, even if there is inconsistency in the results, it turns out that every day you brainstorm with your colleagues at the office you end up in a bad mood, while when you do them remotely, you end up feeling good.
This is the perfect example of how to make the best decision: start having the idea rain from your home and thus you will have good results and a good disposition to continue working, courtesy of your good mood.
Stand Up For Your Routine
Now that you have a much clearer idea of where you feel best performing what tasks, it is time to present the proposal to your boss, leader, or supervisors and get their approval to proceed and work that way.
An infallible tip that we cannot fail to recommend is that you present before them the productivity record that we told you to do before so that you can speak to them not only with words but with facts and results so that they themselves can realize that it is better for the interests of the company and yourself that you are allowed to have the work routine that you propose.
Normally, seeing the good results and hearing how this will improve the performance and productivity levels of the company, any leader will agree. But if your boss is still not completely in favor of the routine that you have created, you can suggest having a trial period, and depending on how it works in that time, make it permanent or not.
Remember that your productivity will be higher as long as you are comfortable with your workplace and aligned with the values of the company you work for, so you should always bet on your comfort and well-being, to increase the levels at which you produce and the quality of your work. In the long run, spending time creating a good hybrid work routine will pay off for all parties involved.
If you found this information useful, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we constantly share more content of interest to freelancers and entrepreneurs!
