5 Techniques For Hybrid Working
Simple ways to help hybrid working feel easier today
Just because someone has been in a car, would we expect them to be able to drive without any lessons?
We’ve been hybrid working for a few years now. But who actually taught us how to do it effectively? Why do we expect ourselves to “just know how” without any supportive guidance?
Hybrid workers found that work intensity, longer hours, distractions, and difficulty disconnecting are common and damaging to wellbeing - Data
Each week I see over hundred people who find some aspect of hybrid working really challenging (in my sessions Enhance Hybrid Working and Stronger Hybrid Teams). Yes, there are benefits to hybrid working. But there are also drawbacks, and the ‘pain points’ differ from person to person.
You work hard. You care about doing a good job. It’s normal that hybrid working can feel difficult, we’ve evolved to work together, yet often we’re doing it alone.
This post shares five techniques that have helped many others with hybrid working. For each one, I’ve included a couple of ways you could apply it using the Tiny Habits Method (developed by Stanford professor BJ Fogg). A couple of these are things I do, others are what participants do and benefit from.
Many of the techniques will feel familiar and that’s okay. Just like getting healthy, the ‘recipe’ doesn’t change: move more, eat better. What matters is how we bring that recipe to life in our daily routines.
What’s one tiny step you could test for the next three days? Pick one and give it a go. We learn more from small experiments than from endless theorising and internal debate.
It’s normal to find hybrid working challenging. What isn’t normal is expecting ourselves to adapt to such a big shift without gentle guidance on how to make it work in practice.
Technique 1 – Create a transition ritual
When working from home, at the end of the day we expect our brain to easily go from ‘work mode’ into ‘home mode.’ This doesn’t give our mind long enough to adjust. It’s understandable why work thinking bleeds into home life. To help us adjust, try building in a short ritual to signal the end of the day. It could be a five-minute stretch, or a short walk around the block. This creates a mental boundary that helps the brain register that work has ended and home time has begun. Aim to do it at the same time each day.
When people commuted, they didn’t usually stay at their desks for ‘just 10 more minutes’, they had a train to catch. Today, our ‘train to catch’ can be a conscious journey into rest: a way to deliberately disconnect, cognitively recharge, gain perspective, and begin tomorrow feeling ready and restored.
Tiny Habit Options
At 5pm each day I go for a short walk around the park, and after my walk I enjoy a nice cold drink to reward myself for making the important time to disconnect.
After I close my laptop I put it out of sight and make myself a nice snack to acknowledge that I’ve done something important by switching off.
Technique 2 – Plan one meaningful connection
Hybrid working can leave us feeling disconnected. This can lower our confidence and cause us to lose perspective. Humans are tribal species, a lack of connection hurts. Aim to have at least one intentional connection each day. It could be asking a colleague how they are, phoning a friend on a lunch break, or chatting with a neighbour. Even brief connections boost oxytocin, the hormone linked to feeling bonded and supported.
Tiny Habit Options
After I make my lunch I call my brother for a gossip about what we watched on TV last night, this makes me smile.
After I finish my focus hour I text one of my family that I love them or that I’m thinking about them, this helps me feel grateful for the people in my life.
Technique 3 – Start each online meeting with a question of the day
When we are all in the same room social cohesion happens naturally. We talk about what we’ve been up to, how our day is going. It’s much harder to do this online. Nonetheless, social cohesion is important as it strengthens relationships and trust. It builds a powerful platform for valuable contribution during the meeting.
A simple way to do this is to start each online meeting with the question of the day: What are you watching on TV at the moment? What are you reading at the moment? What’s one nice thing you did at the weekend? You go around the meeting until everyone answers. This helps all meeting attendees feel seen and heard. People can answer to the camera or via the chat, whatever feels easiest for that group.
Tiny Habit Options
After I join a meeting I post a question via the chat and ask everyone to post a quick answer, I leave an emoji thanking them in advance.
After I book a meeting in my calendar I put a note to remember to ask the question of the day, I say to myself ‘it’s kind to help people connect’.
Technique 4 – Protect 1 Deep Work focus hour
Distraction is one of the biggest drains on hybrid work. The average knowledge worker is interrupted 120 times per day! Pick a one hour window in your day where you silence notifications and focus deeply on a single task. Studies show that protecting even one block like this improves both productivity and wellbeing. When we make progress with important work we experience the double benefit of reduced stress and satisfaction of making a valuable contribution.
Tiny Habit Options
After I open my laptop in the morning I check I’ve got a 1 hour block protected in the calendar for today or tomorrow for Deep Work, when it’s booked in I say to myself ‘well done me’
After I complete my 1 hour of focus I treat myself to 4 conscious breaths looking out the window
Technique 5 – End the day with appreciation
Hybrid workdays can cause residual stress to build up. It’s easy to lose perspective of what matters. Work stress can prevent us seeing the meaning in our lives more clearly. Take two minutes to jot down one thing you achieved and one thing you’re grateful for. This simple practice helps close the loop, reduces rumination, and signals to your brain that the day is complete.
Tiny Habit Options
After I close my laptop at the end of the day I note down on a piece of paper one thing that feels good to have got done
After I close my outlook I write down one thing in my home life that I'm grateful for, this could be someone I love or simply the nice meal I'm having this evening
None of this is rocket science. But the effect builds. One ritual, one conversation, one focus block, one boundary, one note of gratitude. These are the kind of small actions that make hybrid working more manageable. When we feel more effective our confidence grows. We feel more like the person we hope to be.
You are a good person doing your best, often in very challenging circumstances. That is the most each of us can do.
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
― Plato
This week I enjoyed:
Your pictures of Scotland: Photographs from around the country - here
The film Dead Poets Society — which I had never seen! - here
Need a hand? Feel alone? Don’t wait, contact someone today. You deserve support as much as anyone else. You are not alone. Reply to this message if that’s easiest.
Text Shout - 85258 - simple support via text, I used when I wasn't sure who to turn to
Call Samaritans 116 123 - no problem too small, I've used a couple of times, once during a relationship break up, once when one of my family said they were suicidal and I wasn't sure who to ask for help
NHS Every Mind Matters - simple and effective resources you can access immediately here