Memory or Recall: What’s your style?

Are you an extrovert? You must really miss working from the office. Are you an introvert? You must be really enjoying working from home. How many times have you been told that this is the case? and don’t get me started on whether you are a visual learner and therefore you need to be able to see everything. We all work and as we have to adapt, we learn to work from home in our own way right?

I spoke to a friend who is just starting out in his career and shared that he is finding it hard to recall specifics about his work and has to write everything down. My immediate note was to say working from home in the same environment doesn’t make things memorable as you would in different contexts. Maybe try to switch your seating around a bit when you know you have more important facts to remember. We haven’t caught up on this yet but I know when I remember my surroundings, I remember the content better.

I also spoke to another friend who is finding that she is firing on all cylinders. She is more experienced in her field and is now remembering everything without the distractions of office chit chat and background noise. She feels like she is delivering so much more!

I love the office chit-chat. You may be working on something and someone behind you says what you have needed to know and saves you 30minutes looking for the answer or may be discussing a topic that you are interested in learning about and can grow your career. Maybe this is a factor too? The friend who is early career learns from those around him so much more than trying to absorb online learning from home. There is a space for all of this. It could also be the type of work you do too. If you need no distractions to focus on intense, complex work or you need the discussion, network in order to deliver a shared goal. All of these factors influence the deliverable and you need the balance to get it right.

Anyway, I’ve just noticed (*been distracted*) by the shadows waving from the trees on my eldest top and now we are heading out into the garden on a lovely sunny autumn day. How do you work best?