Preparing to Go Back to Work

If you’re like many people these days, you’re working from home. The pandemic has turned our lives upside down to say the least and at times it seems like it will never be over. Take heart, this too shall pass and for some of us, the return to the workplace or office is already looming. Every company is or has been making provisions to bring back their workers. It’s not a matter of if their employees come back to the office, it’s a matter of when for many companies. If you’re among those who know when you’re going back or at least know you are going back at some point, you need to think about preparing for that.

When I say preparing, I mean my favorite topic, organizing! Both professionally and personally some of us have gotten a little bit, let’s say, lax. I know I have. Attending meetings in bunny slippers and getting to that pile of laundry when you get to it because you’re always at home has been fun but you had a routine before for a reason. You had to be a bit more organized to get everything done. You may not know when return to work day is for you yet but it’s not too early to start preparing for it. Here’s 4 handy steps to get you back in office fighting form!

1. Consider what’s essential

You may be wondering how in the world you got everything done before the pandemic in your work and personal life when you had to be in the office eight or more hours each day. Running to the post office or doing that load of laundry has become so much easier since we’ve been working from home. The flexibility to take care of personal tasks has been great even if it has come at the expense of workplace productivity. I like to use the 4-grid method of important/not important/urgent/not urgent. Things that are important/urgent I do first. Things that are important/not urgent I focus on next. Things that are not important/urgent I hand off to someone else to do or don’t do them. And finally, things that are not important/not urgent I simply don’t do at all.

2. Check your closet

Let’s face it, many of us have eaten our way through the pandemic. You may now have work clothes that simply don’t fit anymore. Depending on your wardrobe you may need to buy some new clothes or at least have some altered. And be realistic, you are likely not going to lose that extra weight in time and your boss is not going to want you to show up in sweat pants.

3. Make some choices

We’ve had a lot of time to think while we’ve been working at home during the pandemic. Maybe you’re excited about going back to the office but want to make some modifications. Perhaps you’d like to continue to work a mixture of part time at home and in the office or have flex hours. Perhaps you have concerns about workplace exposure to the virus. It’s perfectly okay to want to make changes and this is a great time to do it! Most employers are ready and willing to work with employees on accommodating their needs. You definitely won’t know until you ask so talk to your manager or HR person. It’s in their best interest to keep good employees in this uncertain time and if they are smart, they will work with the employees to come to arrangements that work for everyone.

4. Make a plan for your side hustle

If you’re like many small business owners who hold down a full-time office job in addition to their side business, you may have blurred the lines between them. The flexibility of working from home on your office job allowed you to slip into side hustle mode at will throughout the day as you multi-tasked for both. You’re about to go back to a schedule that doesn’t allow you to drop everything at your day job to respond to a client in your own business. Having an actual plan on how and when you’re going to handle both going forward will help you manage your time and your stress.

Do these 4 simple things and you’re return to work will be a great experience!

Eliza is the owner of two successful pet related businesses; Preferred Pet Partners, a pet sitting and dog walking company, and The Pet Business Coach, offering coaching and resources to aspiring or current pet related business entrepreneurs. She maintains two awesome blogs. One for pet parents https://preferredpetpartners.com/blog/ and one for pet business owners https://thepetbusinesscoach.dog/blog-page/.  Eliza also supports various animal rescue and shelter organizations. Eliza, her husband, and their three pets live in Nebraska. Visit her websites: www.preferredpetpartners.com or www.thepetbusinesscoach.dog.