With the increasing concern of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) globally, many individuals are being directly impacted both physically and financially. During these circumstances, it is understandable to be unsure of what the future holds. During these unprecedented times, it is important to be ‘alert but not alarmed’.

Many companies have responded to this outbreak by advising their employees to either effectively work from home or in some instances have divided staff into different teams, with some at home and some in the office on respective days. Therefore, we have put together some tools and resources to ensure you are able to still productively work whilst you’re at home.

Tools to support you while working from home:

Whilst working from home, you want to make sure that are you are still communicating with your team so that you are not completely isolated. A great instant messaging platform to help you and your colleagues collaborate is Slack. Slack allows you to create groups, share files and direct message individuals in a single application. Another app to support communication is Microsoft teams, which many people have already.

With the removal of face to face meetings, Zoom and Skype are effective platforms to either meet with internal teams or to organise meetings with your clients. Zoom offers video tutorials online that provide step by step guides on how to use this it.

You can easily get lost in time when working from home, so to stay on top of your projects and deadlines you can use Trello to create boards and work in an agile manner to create tasks for your team and action accordingly.(We use all of these programs for our staff.)

Some tips to help you work more effectively:

Set up a work station – this space should be used for work only, (that way when you’re there, your brain associates it with work and not a different activity).

Dress for success – studies have shown people are often more productive at home if they dress as if they are going into the office. Read – staying in your pj’s all day is likely to make you feel sluggish and ready for bed!

Establish a schedule – Every day,  get up at the same time, start and finish work at the same time, eat at the same time, exercise at the same time.

Schedule breaks – it’s easy to get into a rhythm and just power through, next thing you know you’ve been sitting for 4 hours and you’re completely drained. Work out what your ideal concentration time is.

Create a ‘To Do’ list – crossing things off a list will keep you focused on what needs to be done and give you a sense of accomplishment

Create a ‘Don’t Do’ list – Creating a ‘Don’t Do’ list will ensure you don’t ‘loose time’ by getting caught up in a distraction, eg don’t go on social media between this time and that time’, don’t turn on the TV until after…, etc.

Find time to exercise! This is a biggy, movement is important physically as well as mentally.

Schedule a meeting with someone every day – even if it is a 10 minute Skype call with a colleague. It is easy (and can happen very quickly) to feel isolated and disconnected with the outside world.

Get outside – it’s amazing what even 10 minutes of fresh air and Vitamin D can do for you. Why not eat your lunch outside every day and or take your calls outside? Whatever you do, get outside every day and breath!

Through the current challenges within the environment, it is important to focus on the variables we can control. Ensuring financial stability during this time is paramount; therefore having an effective working from home environment is as well.

Please reach out by calling (02) 9188 1547 or emailing admin@rpwealthmanagement.com.au if you have any questions regarding how COVID-19 could impact your financial situation or if you need help in these tough times.

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay strong. We will all get through this.

We are not taking face to face appointments unless it is absolutely necessary although we are still assisting our clients and new enquiries over the phone or via zoom/video conferencing.

Our Oran Park office services the Greater Sydney and NSW area including Campbelltown, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith, Fairfield and Macarthur.