How to get back into the working mindset
As we prepare to return to a new normal after months of working from home, how can you get back into a working mindset again? Read on for some suggestions.
The world of work changed as of March 2020, and in some industries, it’s likely changed for good. With the coronavirus pandemic shutting down offices all over the country, remote working became the new normal, and is still the way many of us are working today.
As we get back to normality, though, a return to the office – even in a reduced format – is on the cards for plenty of us who’ve got used to our new life at home, and with it might come a sense of anxiety about the potential culture shock ahead.
If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands, dare we say millions, of Brits who’s got used to working in their dressing gown and rolling out of bed two minutes before work starts, getting back in the office may well seem like a daunting prospect. The solution? Getting back into that more formal working mindset. Here’s how.
Dress for the office
Yes, we’re talking to you, dressing gown crew. While it might not be true that every worker across the UK is doing Zoom calls with just their undies on their bottom half, it is fair to say our collective work dress code has slackened off significantly.
And that’s okay, we’re sat in our homes so why would you fix your hair or don a blazer? However, with the office return and a need for a slightly more upmarket sense of style than joggers and slippers back on the cards, it’s perhaps time to think ahead.
Donning your work appropriate clothes again will help get you back in the mindset of office life. So, start upping your efforts on a morning before you head back to your desk.
Remember the little things
It will be a miracle if you return to the office for your first day back and remember everything you should’ve brought with you. With many of us having brought loads of office supplies, key tech equipment and general work bits home with us, it’s so easy to forget to take what you need back with you to work – be it your mouse, your notebook or even our laptop.
To counter this, make a checklist of things you must take with you before the big day. Packing the night before will probably help, too, so you don’t end up missing anything while yawning in the morning. And while we’re on mornings, it’s probably worth getting up a bit earlier on a day to prepare yourself for those earlier starts that come with a trip to the office.
Upgrade your transport
If your average journey this past 15 months has been about the distance of a trip to the local shop, then you’re likely to be in for a shock when you rediscover the dreaded work commute. That once highly bearable 25-minute cruise to work is going to seem like a European road trip the first few times you do it, so it might be worth thinking about what you’re doing it in.
Is making the work commute a bit better reason enough to invest in a car upgrade? Maybe not on its own, but if your current motor has been sat outside gathering rust and dust the past year and a bit, there’s potential for it to not be in the best of health. A new car answers those concerns, and gives you something to enjoy on the old ride in.
So, how does on get back into the working mindset in summary. Our answers are above, but you might have a few of your own, too. After all, you know what makes you tick, so don’t be scared to make changes to your lifestyle as you see fit in order to make the return to the office go swimmingly.
