COVID-19 encourages some positive changes
There aren’t a lot of upsides to COVID-19. But Louise Dunning, from Noble Fox, hopes this will permanently change the way we work, travel and interact with clients.
“My work has always involved a lot of travelling over the last 15 years, for various projects and clients,” Dunning says. “Of late I’ve become more conscious of the volume of air and vehicle travel that I was doing, with the carbon footprint, time and cost being considerations”.
Buster and Louise in her office.
“So I’ve been thinking about whether I should be pushing to utilise video conferencing and calls more for project coordination. In Landscape Architecture it will always be important to get a good understanding of the site and conditions, where site visits are critical, but for review and coordination meetings there is no real need for these to be done onsite or even face to face”.
But even in the first days of self isolation she noticed clients more willing to accept video calls so their projects can continue to proceed. “Over the last 15 years technology has changed considerably,” Dunning says. “I used to have a lot of problems with skype but technology has improved considerably and the likes of Zoom are invaluable at the moment.”
The view from Louise’s office.
Because she’s always worked from home Dunning’s daily routine hasn’t changed much by being confined to her rural property in the Waihopai Valley, Marlborough. She has worked from home for periods on and off throughout her career, always being motivated by work and disciplined with set work hours.
The key is structure, she says. Run work hours, set times you will be in the office. “We have three children between us so in the holidays we split our work hours and leave. One of us is designated in charge so the other can work uninterrupted. If Nick is working then they are with me or vice versa. It works really well.” For now he is working for an essential business, so I am sharing my office with our 7 month old Walter and 14 year old Fox Terrier Buster, both good company!”
Dress as if you’re going to meet a client, she says. “It would be easy to roll out of bed and start work but I don’t think it gets your head in the right place. You have to feel like you’re at work.”
Louise’s co-worker Walter.
Exercise is another of her tips to working from home. “You need ideas on how you’re going to clear your head. Because I’m self-employed I can be doing a range of things within the day, design work, marketing, general administration and then be doing the accounts and they use two very different sides of your brain. So I try to take a break in-between tasks, like going for a walk or having lunch, before starting the next one. Especially important when working between multiple projects.”
Maintaining connections with other professionals is important too, she says, so you have people to bounce ideas off and check in with to stay connected. Its important to keep up to speed with the wider industry. “Especially currently working on my own, maintaining relationships with Architects, other consultants and contractors is brilliant for continuing to develop my own skills.”