Traditionally, most Training and Development professionals have a “standard” work schedule of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Sometimes it may extend past 5:00 pm, if needed, to complete work that could not be completed during the regular work day. But in the last fifteen years, the concept of a “flex” working schedule, where a part of the work week is spent working from home, has gradually become not only more and more popular and common, but quite coveted by many of us.
Why? Because working from home allows us to find a haven in our home office.
If we consider all the time spent in longer-than-necessary meetings, playing phone tag, trying to pin down people we need information from, and dealing with the distractions created by “interoffice dynamics” (sometimes simply boiled down to socializing at best), we may find that a significant chunk of our working time is lost each day. Additionally, our ability to focus on a single task for a block of time can be seriously impacted. In a home office, we are able to scurry away from all the constant distractions usually found in the office environment. And, if we know how to manage our time and ourselves, this can result in higher productivity.
Welcome to MY World
As a Langevin Course Leader, I travel all over the world to deliver our workshops. When I am home, I have many business tasks that I must attend to. Though our main office has a standard 8:30 am to 5:00 pm schedule, I do not. I have a flexible one—something for which I am truly grateful. I get the opportunity to focus on those emails, voicemail messages, and reports that need to be handled. I get to offer support to our clients who have attended courses and want ongoing feedback. And these days I also get to blog – which is a creative process I truly enjoy. But WHY, oh WHY is my flex schedule so meaningful to me? Well…let’s look at it from both the professional and personal perspectives.
Professionally, there are tasks that need to be completed by a certain deadline. Not having any office distractions allows me to focus on them and get them done. I have nobody stopping by my “cubicle” to talk about how their date was last night or their frustrations about their football team not winning. Having the ability to work from home allows me to follow my natural, internal clock. I am more of a night owl and am, therefore, more productive between 11 PM and 2 AM than I would if I worked from 8 AM to 7 PM in an office.
Personally, having a flex schedule allows me to catch up with family and friends whom I have not seen due to my busy travel schedule. I can take my parents to lunch and catch up on reading important industry literature that I might otherwise not have the opportunity to do. I go to the gym, get re-acquainted with my TiVo, and can rest and sharpen the saw since I can sleep late (which is impossible when I am facilitating a course).
Yes, there are tasks that need to be scheduled during the regular office hours that the Langevin head office and our clients keep, but other than that, I am able to create greater balance and productivity in my professional and personal life as a result of my flex schedule.
Making It Work
I consider having a flex schedule a privilege and making it work takes discipline. I DO have to follow a task list, a calendar, or some form of guideline to keep on track. I also have to coordinate with my supervisor to ensure that deadlines are met and that I am supporting the organization as necessary. But I KNOW, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I am still as passionate and excited about my job today as I was 10 years ago when I first started because my flex schedule allows me great work-life balance and THAT has a direct impact on my motivation and performance.
It also helps to know that, if I sit down to work on something and my brain is not responding as it needs to, I can go with my natural flow and come back to that task later when my ability to focus is there. I can then get it done in one sitting in a shorter period of time than if I push and push myself to complete it when my brain is just not really wrapped around it.
If YOU work with a flex schedule where you get to work from home any amount of time, I would enjoy hearing from you. Tell us about how you stay on track, how you manage your time and how you decide which tasks will be best for you to work on at the office and which to take home. In these times of “doing more with less” it is crucial we all share our best practices on how to stay productive as well as energized. I look forward to your input, comments and ideas.
José
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