Flexible Work-Life Balance
With the European Championships (football) well underway, it seemed the perfect time to write this post regarding work-life balance and flexible working. With matches on at 1400, 1700 and 2000 every day, you want to be able to take advantage and watch right?! I will be anyway! And I can do that through my flexible work schedule. But it took a little while to get to that point…
The Covid pandemic has changed the world of work completely, making working from home the norm for many audio producers in various disciplines. Personally it made no difference to me as I worked from home prior to the pandemic, but it was interesting to see people I know go through the same range of emotions and thoughts as I did when I first started doing it.
The Dream
It begins as the dream; no commute, you can wear whatever you want, roll out of bed when you wish, spend more time with family… but the novelty wears off pretty quick. The realisation that your workplace can actually reach you whenever they want, 24/7, and expect a response hits pretty hard. Emails that you could previously leave until the following morning to respond to now require a response there and then. You feel compelled to work for longer, and actually end up spending the time saved from commuting on working longer. The lines between work life and home life become blurry and often overlap, making it hard to switch off and relax. You begin to miss the office or studio, the social dynamic of it, the team you work in. The structure that a morning routine and commuting gave you has gone, making everything less organised, creating a feeling of lurching from one thing to another. It becomes harder to get ahead of the day, instead the day runs you.
Not quite the dream anymore then.
Of course the above doesn’t apply to everyone. Many people have, and continue to, thrive on the new nature of working from home. Personally, I had to work at it and become far more disciplined and organised than I’d ever been in all areas of my work and home life. Below are a few things I’ve learnt along the way that may help others struggling in similar areas.
Reward System
My biggest enemy to productivity was lack of focus. Being in your home environment can bring many distractions, whether it be going to make a coffee (every 15mins), social media, whatever… but with no-one keeping you in check, it’s easy to procrastinate. I overcome this by using a reward system; I reward myself upon completing a certain task by getting a coffee, or something like that. After a couple of months lack of focus was no longer an issue, but it did take a concentrated behavioural change to achieve it.
Communicate with others
One thing I’d never accounted for when dreaming of working from home was the lack of social interaction. A few months in, I was longing for those moments around the pool table, or kettle, that I’d had previously with colleagues. Don’t get me wrong, I saw my wife much more (obviously a plus), but without football keeping me active and sociable outside of work because of the pandemic, I found myself missing the that social aspect of working within a team more than ever. Being able to nip to a friends’ studio next door to ask their opinion, or to vent about a poorly written script… I missed it, big time.
I spoke to a few fellow producers about this over recent months who have experienced similar. Since then I’ve made a conscious effort to reach out to other producers in my position more often, whether it be by phone, messenger or even email. Just chatting more regularly has created a more team-like environment, and while it’s no replacement for physically engaging with people, it definitely helps. It’s still a challenge to this day, but something that I’m working on, and will continue to talk about - something which is incredibly important these days in regard to mental health.
Structure
Giving yourself some sort of structure will help massively. Whether it’s timing yourself and working in blocks (eg work for 50mins, 10min break), taking a coffee break or walking the dog at a regular set time, whatever works for you. Ending your day at a set time will definitely help you switch off from work mode. I’m often guilty of leaving the computer on and dipping into bits through the evening... but when I force myself to turn it off and shut the door for the evening, it does help with separation and makes me more ‘present’ with the family.
Make Time To Enjoy The Advantages
Using the above tips can help you make time in the day for things you enjoy, and that is the true joy in flexible working; being flexible! Whether it’s going to the gym off-peak, lunch dates with the family, or in my case this month watching the European Championships (!), as long as you have structure, are organised and complete the work you need to complete, then relax and enjoy these moments. It actually helps increase productivity and will make you feel happier in your work life. Try it!
Cheers,
Adam.