Weekly Training Booster Ep#4: Make Working From Home More Effective

Join Andy Palmer and Darren A. Smith in the fourth episode of the Weekly Training Booster. This episode was about how to work from home effectively. Also, known as remote working. We discuss the M.I.N.D.S.E.T. mnemonic that will help you to work from home more productively.

You Can Read the How to Work From Home Effectively Episode Transcript Below:

Andy Palmer:

Okay. Good morning or good afternoon, depending on when you're watching this video. Welcome to this week's MBM Weekly Training Booster. So we're running these 10-minute videos all of you to help boost your training, with lots of top tips, useful techniques that you can apply, whether you're working from home or back in the office, which I know a number of us are starting to return to. Mentioning that, that's exactly what this week's about. It's about how to work from home effectively. It's about managing role, remote working, and bringing to life some of that stuff that we've all got going on, and how to overcome some of those challenges. So, Darren, good morning to you. Let's hear your first top tip about how to work remotely.

Darren A. Smith:

All right. So we've got an infographic on this and also a mnemonic. Mnemonic is just the Greek word for remember. And I'm going to offer this mnemonic, which is MINDSET. So imagine those seven letters and each one represents something. That's how we can help these guys work remotely better.

Andy Palmer:

All right. We won't talk through all of those letters, but if you were to grab one or two, which ones come to mind from MINDSET?

Darren A. Smith:

I think I'm going to go right over to here, to the S, S for sierra, but in this case, it's S for space. A lot of people struggle with working from home, and they've got used to it, but they're still now in a place where they're probably at the kitchen table. They might have the kids running around or the husband's coming in or it's the husband working and the wife's there. And it's a space. Now I get not everyone's got a place where they can have separate spaces, and I didn't for a long time. But if you can have a separate space, even if you make it a part of the living room or part of another room, it's much better, because otherwise, you're always at work and over time, you'll resent it. Because if you're at the kitchen table working, but then you're there eating, but then you're there doing the kids' homework, you're always working. So separate space is what S is for.

Andy Palmer:

Good. I like that one. I think you're right. It's that differential between, that's my home space and that's my work space. As lots of people are now embracing a hybrid way of working, whether that's being in the office for a couple of days a week. I think I heard the phrase TWaTs mentioned not so long ago. So just to clarify that, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. People maybe are in the office for those days, home for the Monday and Friday, or vice versa. But important to have that space. All right, good stuff. Good. I could grab a letter, but I'll let you pick one.

Learn how to work from home effectively with Darren and Andy

Darren A. Smith:

Okay. All right. So the next one I'd like to talk about is the N, N for November, but in this case, N stands for neat. I [inaudible 00:02:46] that a bit to make the MINDSET work, but I'm sure they'll let us off. Neat is about making sure... Again, that mindset is so important, which is why the mnemonic is MINDSET. We need three separate wardrobes. Now, I can only imagine anyone's bedroom, certainly not in mine. [inaudible 00:03:02] three separate wardrobes. In my head, I've got work clothes. This is what I wear when it comes to work. I've got clothes when I actually go into the office, and then I've got clothes where I'm just chilling. I try and make sure they're different; otherwise again, we blur the lines between work and home and all goes a bit crazy on our heads.