A Video Editor’s Guide to Working From Home
The truth is, working in isolation is nothing new for film editors who are conditioned to spend hours and days on end without any human contact. Perhaps being relegated to the confines of your home could be seen as a blessing in disguise without the distractions that come with working in an open plan office. In fact, it has been shown that constraints can actually improve creativity.
Whether we like it or not, we have to find ways to work as effectively as possible in these very strange times.
Here is a list of tips, tools and tricks to help make life in lockdown a little more manageable and enjoyable!
Develop a daily routine
Yes, that means putting your pants on. There is something about having a morning routine that conditions the mind into getting stuff done throughout the day. There have been many great articles written on the subject and the science behind it is solid. In the words of Tim Ferris “If you win the morning, you win the day.” The simplest of these routines is making your bed as soon as you wake up as it helps get you in a mindset of completing tasks. Set working hours for yourself and stick to them. It is easy to be tempted to do the dishes or sneak in the latest episode of Tiger King, so be disciplined with the time you set for doing actual work.
Set up a clearly defined work space
Get yourself a comfortable chair and a nice desk, ideally setup in a spare bedroom or designated space in your living room for instance. I would advise against a bedroom work desk setup. Put up a few photos and picture frames and make your work space somewhere you feel proud of. If you have a family or housemates living with you, it helps to have a headphones on / do not disturb policy. And if you haven’t already got a decent pair of headphones (preferably noise cancelling), I would highly recommend splurging on a decent pair. Consider it an investment.
Tackle the hardest things first
There is a great book called Eat That Frog, which goes into detail about beating procrastination. The biggest take out from the book is, start with the most challenging tasks first, while your brain is fresh. With distractions and fatigue building throughout the day, it’s not going to get any better. So, tackle more difficult, brain-draining tasks as quickly as possible, because all of our creative brains have a shelf-life.
Separate work and leisure time
It is super important for your productivity and general well-being to have a clear separation between when you are working and when you are not working.
Attention spans are in short supply and distractions are certainly not, so finding a focusing app is a great way to make sure you’re staying on-task. Pomodoro apps (The Pomodoro Technique is essentially a 25-minute focus timing technique) are simple ways to make sure you’re making the most of your time and staying on task.
With several options (check out Be Focused, PomoDoneApp, Focus Booster) these tools are one of the simplest ways to improve your workflow. They also help you to keep track of how much time you’re spending on certain tasks.
Batching Calls, Meetings and Emails
In most cases, phone calls and meetings don’t require as much mental effort as getting the actual work done. But, they’re incredibly good at derailing you. It’s a well-known figure that it takes, on average, 20 minutes to get back on-task after interruption. So, you may as well clump those distractions together. Set aside a block of time for calls and stick to it. Another tip is to have designated times of the day where you check your inbox and remove push notifications from your phone. Make sure the people that need to can get hold of you by picking up the phone and calling.
Don’t be an island
Be sure to check in with your colleagues and creative peers regularly. Not only will this help solve problems and flesh out ideas but also keep you mentally healthy. This includes sharing meaningless cat videos on Slack. There are also a plethora of online creative communities out there to be a part of.
Get Outside
Now I know this can be a little tricky given our current circumstances, but a little bit of sun on your skin goes a long way. Just 15 minutes a day has been shown to have a significant boost to your immune system which is essential to fighting off pesky viruses like our friend Rona.
Here are a few additional articles that I have found helpful in staying creative during Quarantine:
https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/why-imposing-restrictions-can-actually-boost-creativity
https://buffer.com/resources/7-examples-of-how-creative-constraints-can-lead-to-amazing-work