How can you make working from home (WFH) work for you... even with kids? Sometimes you’re faced with a situation like the one we’re all having to deal with currently where our usual way of working alters quite dramatically. That doesn’t mean we can’t find positives in these new ways of working and really use this time to show how great we are at adapting to change! Because let’s face it, we’re all in this together, and when we all come together, we’re pretty great aren’t we?!
Whether you’ve got kids, well, just everywhere, pets to feed, plants to water, a new squashed desk setup to get used to or a fridge full of food trying to tempt you, all day, every day, and you don’t even know what day it is…we thought it might be fun to share a few thoughts from some of the Nuby family on how we’re settling in to working from home life, share what some of the teams roles are (sometimes it’s just fun to be a bit nosey), and some top tips they’ve found useful for getting used to this new ‘normal’…
Tip 1: Daily Exercise
Tip 1 is courtesy of our fun-loving Graphic Designer – Reid, who spends most of his time working on social content, packaging, designing marketing materials and product designs. Put simply, he’ll take any brief he’s given, and pump loads of creativity and colour into it, to make it look and feel Nuby. We often find him throwing dance moves around the office too, singing loudly without realising and planning the coolest trips with his friends (nearby, abroad and to Nando’s…). He has the work-life balance thing down to a T.
Reid’s top tip for working from home? ‘Fit in some daily exercise at the same time as trying not to fall into a hole of snacking…which is so easy to do! There’s loads of fitness videos you can access from home (Joe Wicks PE lessons are a great place to start, even for adults) but nothing beats getting outside for a bit of fresh air even if it’s just for a walk’ Trainers at the ready…!
And his favourite Nuby product? ‘the luxury blankets! The prints are so cute and can be used for years even when your baby is older…my dog Ella May might also have one or two because she’s like our baby…!’
Tip 2: Listen to music / podcasts
Tip 2 is from of our always happy, smiley (and very witty) Customer Service Team Leader - Emma who always does everything she can to make sure every one of our customers is looked after the best way possible (and quickly!) She’s like our product guru – if in doubt, we ask Emma!
Emma’s top tip for working from home? ‘Listen to music or podcasts through your earphones where you can (or just generally). Not only is it relaxing and allows you to stay focused but if you’ve got kids like me, it can help cancel out the sound of their arguing…’ – headphones it is then!
And her essential Nuby product during lockdown? ‘the Fun Watering Can because it’ll keep kids occupied in the bath and in the garden (when we get nice weather!)’
Tip 3: Stay hydrated
Tip 3 comes from Anth, one of our super resourceful Product Development Managers who sources, creates and innovates – all in a day’s work! He’s got ideas up his sleeves and isn’t shy when it comes to making up a song or a strapline to promote them (a wannabe marketeer at heart!)
Anth’s top tip for working from home? ‘Stay hydrated! It’s so easy to get carried away and not realise how little you’ve been drinking (tea, coffee and water would be my go-to beverages!). It’s also a good reason to get up and move around a bit’ We wouldn’t argue with that (and a bit of prosecco / beer on a Friday after work wouldn’t go a miss)!
And Anth’s favourite Nuby product? ‘the Thirsty Kids Stainless Steel cups! I won’t lie, I do drink out of these too but for kids they’re great because they don’t spill and are a really good size! They also keep drinks cool for up to 6 hours!’
Tip 4: Get up early!
Lovable Jill is one of our talented Sales team who’s always pushing for what’s best for her customers! She’s got the power to ‘annoy’ (her own words) and chase the rest of the Nuby team until she gets what she wants, when she wants for her customers but always with a cheeky laugh and smile on her face! She's also the office 'shopaholic' with one item or another arriving to her at least 3 times per day…something we’re all missing seeing day to day!
Jill’s top working from home (with kids!) tip is ‘to get up early before the rest of the house for total peace and find somewhere you can focus to work (the loft is a good hide out for me!) I’ve also been going with the flow and taking each day as it comes – if that means one day bath time is happening outside in a bucket…I’m going with it’ – a great one for parents getting used to having little ones around more than usual!
Jill’s must-have Nuby item? ‘There’s so many but it’d have to be the UV Dummy Steriliser that I use for sterilising Rosie’s hearing aids! It’s just so handy to have and doesn’t need water and doesn’t need plugging in or anything!’
Tip 5: Keep a routine
Rob is the master of animation and considers himself ‘an odd job man’ when it comes to other requests thrown his way - from digital images, photography, product design and video (he even works on Dr. Who animations in his spare time on some pretty awesome projects). We also found out recently that he appeared on Blue Peter a few times AND had some starring roles in plays when he was younger – so we think he’s really an undercover actor…
Robs WFH top tip? ‘If I had one tip for successfully working from home it would be to keep a routine (ideally the one you have when working in the office if possible) - waking up at the same time and getting ready for work each morning as you normally would. It could be so easy to work in PJ's but preparing yourself for a day at work by dressing for the office (even if it’s top half upwards only) really helps to get into the mindset that you're at work’.
Rob’s essential Nuby product recommendation? ‘the essential product for new parents I would opt for is the UV Dummy Steriliser as it’s a great portable way to ensure your babies dummies are germ free!
Tip 6: Be grateful for the little things
Our kind-hearted, thoughtful and mega-intelligent Insights Manager Lucy can often be found with her head in a spreadsheet or 10 but she wouldn’t have it any other way! Finding trends and analysing data is her thing so she can help guide us in our future thinking and decisions.
Lucy’s top tip when working from home is ‘Be grateful for the little things. This rainbow in the window has brightened up my new “office” and reminds me to be grateful for the little things, like a hot cup of tea and a hug from a little person who keeps popping in to say hello...
Tip 7: Blow away any cobwebs with early morning exercise
Tip 7 is from another of our creative Graphic Design team – Iain, who spends a large chunk of his time working on packaging, product designs, and creating mock ups for many of us visual people who need to see something physically to get it! He’s our in-office DJ too and can always be relied upon to bring some musical (or fancy dress) cheer to the office every Friday!
One top tip Iain has for WFH is ‘If you’re going for your “allocated” daily walk, run or cycle choose either an early (or late) time to aid social distancing - given not so many people walk their dogs, etc at 6.30am or later at night. Also, if you choose an early start, your exercise will blow away the cobwebs before you turn to the rigours of WFH 😊’
Iain’s essential product for new parents is based on his own experience with his two girls ‘I think every parent wants to keep things clean so I’d say a good steriliser that can sterilise a lot of bottles in one go like the Nuby Steam Steriliser & Dryer or the Microwave steriliser are a bit of a god-send. I’m always impressed by new technology too so the likes of the Nuby UV Dummy Steriliser would be up there too!
Tip 8: Socially distance yourself from the fridge
Kathryn is one of our in-house Product Development Managers who’s lively, outgoing nature and passion for products makes sure we bring the best products to the market as fast as possible – she’s always perfecting them until they’re right too and works closely with teams in the Far East and the USA to develop all of your baby needs.
Kathryn’s top tip for working from home is ‘learning to socially distance yourself from the fridge. It’s so close and so tempting to just snack constantly so I’m trying to challenge myself to avoid the fridge area as much as possible’.
Although Kathryn is involved in developing so many products, making it hard to pick an absolute must-have product, the one she thinks is essential for new parents ‘has to be the Steam Steriliser & Dryer, because of how quick & efficient it is and how bottles or breast feeding equipment come out completely dry after 30 minutes - no using wet towels!’
Tip 9: Take it easy on snacks
Dom is our snack queen (you can always rely on her to have a chocolate treat at her desk) and eCommerce Executive who spends most of her time online, working on the Nuby website to make sure products are available, briefing assets, content and photography and most importantly making sure we’re providing a positive customer experience.
And her WFH top tip? Like Kathryn’s, Dom’s top tip is to ‘take it easy on the snacks’ she even goes as far as suggesting ‘considering your fridge / snack cupboards as the enemy’. That doesn’t mean not eating healthy snacks and treating yourself now and again (as her little photo suggests she’s well stocked up for emergencies!).
What’s Dom’s all-time favourite, essential Nuby product? ‘I’d recommend the Pebble the Penguin & Pals Tap Touch Night Light as it’s just so cute and calming for little ones (even me!). The whole nursery range of products featuring Pebble the Penguin & Pals is actually adorable – I’d have to get all the items because they match, and I love a collection.’
Tip 10 (11,12,13,14): Put on a hoody. Put on a hat. Grow a beard. Save money and save the planet!
One of the sporty ones of the Nuby bunch, cheeky-chap Chris, is not shy when it comes to getting involved in numbers (and spreadsheets) and going above and beyond for all his customers. He’s another member of our super-star Sales team and is a fountain of sales and product knowledge any day of the week. He can also demo a breast pump better than most – something anyone should be proud of!
We asked for one tip and Chris gave us five… we’re grouping them under one officially but his wise words for WFH effectively are definitely one’s we think you’ll take note of… ‘Put on a hoody. Put on a hat (while working from home there’s no need to have the heating on using energy resources). Grow a beard. Save money and save the planet!’ Pretty profound and totally applicable to everyone we think…
Chris did have one stand-out product he would recommend to any parent; ‘it’d have to be the Double Digital Electric Breast Pump – the response from customers who use this product is fantastic, the minimal sound and portability makes a real difference to any mums’ feeding time. Having the option to double pump seems to be really popular amongst mums too now.’
Tip 11? (Or are we on tip 16? It’s like days of the week at the moment…who knows where we’re up to): Set up your printer in another room.
Our lovely Lauren, aka our Finance Assistant, supports the Finance Manager with ‘accounting’ related things that half of us don’t fully understand but we all know are very important for the everyday functioning of the business. She’s never tired of an invoice and is super organised ALL of the time!
Lauren’s top tip for making working from home, work for you is to ‘set the printer up in a different room! I have deliberately placed mine in the kitchen so I’m not sitting on my bum all day and to try and keep my steps up. The only downside is I end up picking up a treat on the way!’
The product Lauren would recommend as an essential for any parent is ‘the Trendz Grande No Spill Water Bottle because it fits 540ml of water!! A bigger bottle like this is so good because it keeps my son going all day long as he runs around the house and garden (and it doesn’t leak which is a bonus!). He also loves the funky robot print’.
There’s no right or wrong way to work from home it’s all about finding your way! It may take time to adjust but us humans are resilient and can adapt to change when we need to – right now is a real test of that. We hope some of our teams top tips can help you a bit on your WFH journey too – we’re certainly going to take note of many of them and combine them with a positive mindset from TODAY, focusing on the benefits of working from home (instead of worrying about the tricky / negative bits) including how it means no commuting, more time around our families to paint rainbows for our windows to thank key workers nationwide, and in many instances, less stress with being able to manage our workload without as many interruptions.
Don’t forget, we’re all in this together so stay safe, stay home and stay positive.
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