#WorkingFromHomeLife

By: Sara McHaffie

Are you finding yourself suddenly expected to work from home, due to new social distancing policies in your workplace?

Here at Amina MWRC we have some staff members who have been working part of their hours remotely for some time, so we might have some helpful ideas if you’re adjusting to this new working pattern.

Our first tip is to embed as much structure as possible into your day.

Use a productivity app and make a clear schedule and to-do list. Basecamp or Trello are some ideas. There are lots of tips here for working from home.

Some of those might not apply in this situation, or in your own work, but hopefully many will be useful.

If you have a routine at work where you pray at certain times, be sure and set a phone alarm or add to your work calendar so you get a reminder in the same way.

Our second tip is to remember to start as you mean to go on in terms of comfort and health.

Create a dedicated workspace and ensure you’re as comfortable as possible. If you can, ensure you have a comfortable chair and stay conscious of your posture.

Do you have children?

From next week they may be at home with you for some time.

If this is the case, it could create some tension in balancing childcare time with work time.

Our first tip is that if you have a spouse who is also working from home, remember that you’re both parents and that childcare is a shared task.

Don’t leave it until a problem arises. Have a conversation about which hours you can expect uninterrupted time. If this is going to be a struggle between 9am and 5pm on weekdays, your line manager might be open to you working alternative hours if needed. Again, flag this up ahead of time rather than waiting until you’re struggling.

The BBC has some guidance about your rights and obligations as an employee here and if you’re a member of a union they may also be able to support you.

ProductiveMuslim.com has a great post on it.

This has further ideas and discussion about working from home while looking after a family.

Again, structure is your friend.

Our second tip is to have a timetable which you can tweak during weekly planning meetings.

This great example is circulating on Whatsapp groups but sadly we can’t find the original author. If you know who created this awesome schedule, please get in touch and we will give you full credit or remove the image, as you prefer.

You may have children who are happy to occupy themselves once they know what’s expected of them, or you may not.

Your child’s school is likely to be putting resources on ‘Glow’ and will contact you, if so. If you will struggle to enable your children to access content online, let the school know so they can accommodate this. Amina MWRC is working.

This is a testing time for everyone, but with prayer, planning, preparation and good communication, iA you and your family will get through this with the minimum of disruption to your work and learning.