Use Standard Work While Working from Home

By Kate Newberg

These are daunting times for millions of people who are out of work. For those of us still employed we are feeling grateful to have a job, stressed about what the future holds, and those feelings are compounded for parents and guardians with children at home. In addition, people working remotely for the first time may feel frustrated and cut off from their normal work routine. Remember to go easy on yourself, and embrace the opportunities to improve!

As Lean practitioners we realize standard work is foundational. As Taiichi Ohno (the father of the Toyota Production System) said, “Where there is no standard, there can be no improvement.” This applies to working from home.

First, establish standard work hours, and try to establish a standard work schedule (e.g. 15-minute breaks every 3 hours and a 30-minute break for lunch). Doing this helps you develop a routine and establish some work-life balance. If you can have a dedicated office space, then make that space your office. Here are a couple of articles on setting up a dedicated workspace:

However, if you live with others and need to share space, set standards for how space will be shared (e.g. Pat gets the kitchen table from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m., and Parker gets the kitchen table from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.).This also requires sharing your schedules and being flexible. For more tips on establishing boundaries, check out this article from Fast Company.

Just as you would in the office, focus on clear concise communications, identifying priorities and working on tasks that are tied to those priorities so that you are generating results. Lastly, be kind and flexible to yourself and your co-workers.

Published by Kate

Kate Newberg is a problem-solver who partners with executives, managers and staff to help them succeed. After spending more than 15 years helping others develop strategies, improve processes and achieve operational excellence, Kate learned success comes from how well you connect with the people you’re trying to help. That is why she incorporates change management principles into all of her engagements. Kate is a principal consultant for GPS (https://www.governmentperformance.us/) – they work with organizations driven by their mission and not profit. She serves as co-director of learning and development on the Board of the Colorado Lean Network (CLN) and is the chair for the 2020 CLN Lean Summit. She strives to elevate the strategic importance of continuous learning as a means for individuals to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviors to help them to adapt to changes and excel in their workplace. She has designed, developed and taught multiple courses on topics such as problem solving, process improvement, change management, accountability, attention management and more! Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Grandview University, a Leadership certification from Oregon State University, a Strategic Leadership and Management certificate from University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign, and a Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt certification.

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