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MATTHEW GOLDSBROUGH

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Matthew Goldsbrough

6 Tips for Working From Home

Matthew Goldsbrough · Apr 2, 2020 · Leave a Comment

If you didn’t know what WFH stood for a few weeks ago, but now you’re “Working From Home”, this article is meant for you.

I started working from a home office more than twenty years ago, firstly when I had European responsibility for an American software company, and later in my own consulting business.

Back then, there was no-one to guide me and I made some mistakes. I hope to help you avoid those errors and enjoy your time WFH.

Make Your Space

Dedicate somewhere in your home as your workspace. It doesn’t matter how tiny it is, or where it is, but it has to be:

  • Where you can leave work in progress so that you can come back to it and continue instantly.
  • Where you can focus reasonably well. That means you’ll be out of the way of the TV and family members passing through.

Resist the temptation to eat in your workspace.

Impose a Routine

You have to be able to ‘go to work’ by going to your workspace, but equally important is the ability to leave that space and ‘go home’. If you can’t do that, the line between work and home life becomes uncomfortably blurred.

Choose when you will ‘go to work’ and ‘come home’ each day.

Schedule breaks. That’s important for your mental health – more on that later.

Dress For Success

Actor Alec Guinness once described how he ‘got into’ a character. “I start with the shoes”, he said. “If I can work up from the appropriate pair of shoes, everything else seems to fall into place.”

So, try dressing for work, for the regular hours you’ll be in your home workspace. Get out of those comfortable slippers or trainers, and wear something that starts your work frame of mind.

Be a Video Star

You’ll most likely be spending time on video calls. Don’t underestimate the power of the first impression you can make when on video. Look successful, and you will be successful.

In your dedicated workspace, try to figure out how to have a decent background behind you when you’re on a video call. Tools like Skype and Zoom allow you to substitute a nice picture behind you in place of your bedroom/kitchen/conservatory. Look for those options.

Stay Healthy

Your physical and mental wellbeing should not be an after thought. You need to approach this as if you may be working from home for a long time. Indeed, you might be.

Maybe not immediately, but soon, take a look at the ergonomics of the workspace you’ve created. Is your chair giving adequate support? Check if your desk and computer are at the right height. Search the web and Youtube for advice on desk ergonomics – there’s plenty out there. In my case, a stand up desk turned out to be very helpful. They don’t have to be expensive – this is an IKEA desk.

While WFH you must consciously do the stuff that happens naturally when you’re in an office environment. The chance encounter while making a cup of tea that you’re used to won’t occur. You’ll need to set that up deliberately by scheduling calls with colleagues to socialise, or calling people out of the blue to interrupt their day just as you would welcome them doing that to you.

Isolation or Independence?

Whether you feel horribly isolated or gloriously independent is a choice you can make. You can influence how you feel about your experience working from home, by making a decision to enjoy it.

Good luck!

Mentor Match-Up

Matthew Goldsbrough · Mar 13, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Yesterday was my first Mentor Match-Up day at TechManchester. It’s a bit like speed dating, meeting six entrepreneurs in quick succession, all trying to choose from a range of mentors.

It’s a really well run programme, under the direction of Trish, supported by Nicola and Natasha. The structure of the programme is well thought out, and there’s lots of information resources.

The 200th mentor to volunteer was in the session, which is quite a milestone. Judging by the talent of the mentors I met, that is a huge variety and depth of knowledge and expertise that the mentees can draw on.

I decided to volunteer as a mentor with this TechManchester programme to ‘give something back’. I was expecting yesterday to be all young Manchester people in their first startups, but there was quite a range, from PhD students with just the beginnings of their ‘great idea’ to businesses that have been running for a while. They all need help, and I’m sure they’ll be able to find the right match-up with a mentor from the array of talent that was there.

Now I have to wait a little while to see who has chosen me as their mentor. Interesting times ahead…

Moved.

Matthew Goldsbrough · Mar 1, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Don’t let anyone convince you that moving home is easy. Our move from rural Derbyshire to the centre of Manchester was exhausting, but is now complete.

Ready for new conversations, new contacts, new projects — in a rapidly evolving, vibrant city.

Manchester’s skyline by 2025 will be very different.

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