“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times” – Charles Dickens
With social distancing becoming the new norm and working from home becoming mandatory across organisations, everyone is feeling at a loss about their routines and the effect these changes will have on their productivity. However, instead of falling prey to feelings of despair and panic, a change in perception is the need of the hour!
Working from home is an alien concept for a lot of people who are suddenly finding themselves in unchartered territory and this can lead to a lot of questions in everyone’s mind. However, the hallmark of creativity is flexibility – a mindset open to challenges and opportunities, alike! Therefore, the best way to deal with these uncertain times is to take all the necessary precautions while maintaining the work flow in the best way possible. Here are a few tips to make the transition to WFH, easier –
Create A Dedicated Workspace
To get in the proper mindset, the first proper step is to ensure that you have a dedicated workspace within the four walls of your home. Choose a corner, a room – as per your convenience and available space, and mark it as your own. Keep it as clean and de-cluttered as you would your work desk back in office.
Another pro-tip to enhance productivity is to choose an area with ample sunlight for your workspace. Sunshine can instantly lift your mood up and make you feel motivated from within!
Plan It Out
Any habit takes a minimum of 21 days to take root. Thus, to get in the habit of working regularly from home, at least for the foreseeable future, building a proper time-table and sticking to it religiously is extremely important!
Plan out your day, keeping in mind that you still need to give your work a minimum of 7-8 dedicated hours, despite being at home. This routine should include your meal times, breaks, and the working hours.
Furthermore, you need to ensure that your routine doesn’t get disrupted due to any reason / distraction whatsoever. Staying at home poses a host of potential distractions that can bring your productivity down but it is up to you to weed out those distractions in the most effective manner possible.
Suit Up!
As futile as it may sound at first glance, dressing up for work even while at home has actually been known to boost productivity. This is because when you put in that extra effort to dress in formal clothes rather than comfy home clothes, you subconsciously get in the work mode and find yourself motivated to work with focus and zeal.
Working in comfortable clothes may lead you to eventually relax and slack off, over time. Of course, this rule is not set in stone and you can still find ways to be productive without don-ing your finest suits.
Take Regular Breaks
One of the easiest way to stick to your schedule is to plan timely breaks as a part of it. Planning a routine without dedicated break time may lead you to either over-work yourself to exhaustion or take unregulated breaks that will down your productivity.
Thus, it is advisable to formulate a routine that includes regular breaks and to enjoy them. Working form home gives you the advantage of utilising such breaks to indulge in your favourite pastime – whether it is a hobby or simply relaxing in your favourite chair with a hot cuppa!
Breaks can be rejuvenating and help boost productivity, if used properly. Hence, be wise with your time!
Stay In Touch With Colleagues
With social distancing disrupting most professional setups and meetings, it is easy to lose sight of the bond otherwise shared with your colleagues and find yourself isolated in the process. It is of extreme importance that you walk that extra mile to ensure that you keep in touch with your team members.
The time spent catching up with your work-friends during office hours plays a vital role in building the overall strength of the team and also helps one maintain proper work-life balance. This human touch needs to be preserved and nourished even in times of social isolation.
What serves as a silver lining is the host of available options to maintain virtual contact with people across cities and even countries. Planned video calls, catch up meetings, and shared messages are thus going to play a vital role in determining the strength of your team – both emotionally and economically.
Conclusion
These are just a few tips and tricks to help you get through what is bound to be a very different and interesting work-life setup. We look forward to hearing more innovative ideas to help boost productivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance in these very unprecedented conditons.
