As coronavirus and the resulting lockdown makes working from home the normal, we’re taking a look at people’s home working setups in our mini series, Where I Work.
We’ve gone inside the bedroom sanctuary of an intern and photographer, seen how one writer is working on a houseboat, met a barefoot athlete who has no chairs in his home, and saw how one mum set up a matching mini desk for her daughter.
Today we’re (virtually) hanging out with Veronica, 24, a digital marketer and part-time content creator living and working in Milan, Italy.
Veronica used to work in an office but the coronavirus pandemic and her city’s lockdown means she’s now working from her parents’ home.
Hi, Veronica! How has coronavirus changed your working life?
At the moment I live with my parents even though I’m planning to move out as soon as this coronavirus situation will be over.
I have always worked in an office so I can definitely say that the coronavirus outbreak has changed my daily life.
I’ve just ended my internship and I was supposed to start a new job in a new company, but because of the lockdown measures that Italy has taken I will have to wait until at least 3 April. In these weeks I have focused more on content creation for my social media channels.
Talk us through your working space
I think a nice and clean working space can boost productivity so I like to keep some of my favorite objects on my desk and shelf.
As you can see I have a thing for contemporary design vases, I even use one as a pencil holder.
I also keep a few magazines on my desk for leafing through when I need some inspiration.
Last but not least the right chair takes your working session to the next level. I opted for a rattan one and for some extra comfort I added a furry rug on it. Don’t worry, it’s faux fur!
What are your personal rules for working from home?
When it comes to working from home it’s important to set a schedule and stick to it.
Recently I have realized that weekly planning is a surefire way to increase my productivity – that’s why I like to use online tools such as Trello to organize my working days.
Also having a good morning routine and getting dressed rather than wearing my pyjamas for the whole day helps me a lot. To stay more focused I use productivity apps, blast some lo-fi hip hop music and diffuse some essential oils.
What’s a working day like for you at the moment?
Even if I don’t have to physically go to work my alarm goes off at 7.30. I like to carve out some ‘me’ time in the morning to work on my self-growth and goals, for example by reading a few pages of a self-development book.
Around 9 I start to work and begin with checking my email box. Then I shoot some content and write a bit.
In the afternoon I focus on editing the images or videos I took in the morning and try to catch up with marketing news and trends by reading some online articles or listening to podcasts.
Have you found working from home difficult?
It has been a bit challenging for me because even though I have a cosy and peaceful place where to work in, I miss face to face interaction and sometimes I tend to feel lonely.
What’s your advice to other people new to working from home?
I’m new too to working from home so the only advice I have is checking in with your colleagues as often as possible to maintain team cohesion and fulfill your social needs.
For example, you could set a regularly scheduled time for your team each week to catch up over coffee in a group video call!
Do you have a snazzy home office setup you fancy sharing? Get in touch by emailing Ellen.Scott@Metro.co.uk.
Share your views in the comments section below.
MORE: Where I Work: Jen, the UX content designer and writer working from home with a cavapoo puppy
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/31/work-veronica-digital-marketer-working-parents-house-milan-italy-coronavirus-lockdown-12482213/?ITO=squid
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