Amidst the growing fear and havoc that coronavirus has caused globally, companies around the world have asked their employees to work from home. While self-isolation and lockdowns are helping contain the contamination rates to some extent, work from home is helping maintain some balance and sanity in the already crumbling world economy. But how do you keep your sanity intact and work from home while the depressing news on Covid-19 keeps making the rounds in the daily news?
While work from home may seem like a super-relaxed and cool working proposition, it is not always a bed of roses. Sure, you can work from your couch wearing your sweatpants and sporting a shabby hairdo, work from home is so much more than that. In fact, if you don’t maintain a consistent and well-scheduled routine while working from home, you are bound to lose track and find yourself in untamed waters.
So, we’ve come up with a few tips that will help you ace the work-from-home game during these stressful and uncertain times!
Tips To Work Productively From Home
1. Create a regular work schedule
The first step to ensure that your work-from-home plan is a success is to set regular work hours. By planning a work schedule, you will create a harmonious and productive work atmosphere for yourself at home. While it is okay to take short breaks (just as you would while in the office), it is not right to fall prey to the temptation of procrastination. Proper work hours will ensure that you are both accountable for your work as well as the organization you work for. More importantly, you will get more work done productively within the set time frame.
Some crucial factors to consider while creating your work from home schedule are:
- When do you need to be officially available?
- At what time of the day are you most productive?
- How and when do you need to communicate with your co-workers and clients?
Read more: Jobs and Careers with a Prospect for the Future
2. Set boundaries for personal and professional tasks
For people who usually don’t work from home, it can be immensely challenging to work productively amid constant chit-chat and jibber-jabber of family or roommates. More often than not, friends and family tend to think that working from home isn’t actually “working” – since you aren’t in the office, you can do whatever you want on your computer or laptop.
This is precisely why you need to isolate yourself from your family members or roommates while working. Set boundaries for your personal and professional time and convey the same to your family. Likewise, you can convey the same to your boss and colleagues that after a particular time in the day, you will be occupied with your family and personal tasks. This helps to keep your personal and professional time compartmentalized helps reduce unnecessary stress.
3. Design a home office
While working from home, you will often get the tempting thought of working from the bed or that comfy bean bag or your couch, here’s an advice for you – don’t do it! The comfier you get, the more unwilling you will be to work. This will not only affect your productivity but also ruin your mindset to work from home.
That’s why we recommend that you create a home office for yourself at home. Either set up a separate room for your work or set up a table and chair in your bedroom itself. This will ensure that when you are working, you are totally in the work mindset. Also, keep your workspace organized. Organizing your workspace could give a sense of balance to the chaos that is raving outside!
4. Take planned breaks
Nobody can or should work continuously. Breaks are a must, especially in a stressful time like this. So, when you plan your work schedule, make sure to include a few tiny break slots in between. For instance, if you work for eight hours a day, keep a five to ten mins break in every quarter. So, four short breaks in total. In the planned breaks, you could maybe take a quick stroll around your house or garden, engage in light banter with your inmates, play with your pet, or enjoy a quick munchie.
Short breaks will help you break off from the monotony of work while also allowing your brain and body to de-stress.
Learn more: Remote Work: A Win-Win for Employer and Employees
5. Turn towards music
Someone once said very aptly that music is the food for the soul. Granted that work from home can become a monotonous and arduous task (now that you don’t get to see your colleagues and friends from work), music can always come to your rescue.
Create a work jam. It could be heavy metal, it could be soft instrumental music, or it could be a rap jam whatever floats your boat and keeps you sane. Music could be particularly helpful when you are doing repetitive tasks.
6. Keep in touch with your co-workers
While many of us are working from within the comfort of our homes, it is important to stay in the loop. Remember that the situation we’re in today is that of physical distancing and social solidarity. For people who are not used to remain within the confines of their homes (leave along working from their home!), this situation can be extremely challenging.
So, try to stay in touch with your family members, friends, and colleagues. Be the support structure for your loved ones and your co-workers in this time of need, and they’ll surely reciprocate. After all, we are all in this together!
Wrapping Up
If you follow these steps, working from home will get much more comfortable and convenient for you. A lot of times, when you feel depressed and don’t feel like working, remember you are privileged to be still working. You have something to keep your mind off the depressing and stressful situation that our world is in. Many people out there don’t have steady jobs anymore. So, be thankful and make the most out of what you have.
While you are saving a lot of travelling time, it is best to upskill yourself with latest technologies. Checkout upGrad’s top courses in Data Science, Machine Learning, Digital Marketing, MBA from LBS & Full Stack Development.
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What are the advantages of working from home?
The pandemic has introduced working from home on a broader level. Many people have enjoyed working from home very much as it gave them extra time to spend with family and friends. It also seemed less hectic as working from home saved the time spent travelling long distances to work. People saved a lot of money by moving into tier-2 cities with their families. Hence, more families experienced an increase in savings, time, and quality of life with the option of working from home. Due to these advantages, many people accept work from home when they are given a choice.
What are the disadvantages of working from home?
The disadvantages of working from home are also numerous. As time passes by, people tend to feel bored being stuck in the same place day to night. Restricted mobility also leads to various health problems. Also, working from home makes people feel lonely sometimes as they don’t have colleagues nearby to talk to and share opinions. It also limits the interaction with the seniors of the company, thus limiting the scope of learning and growth.
What to choose between working from home and the office?
It can be a tough choice choosing between working from an office. You should consider a myriad of factors before making a final choice, as the choice is going to have a massive impact on your future. Work from home can be a good option for someone wanting to spend time with family as it provides you with the flexibility to do so. People with kids generally tend to prefer that. It is also a good option if you are keen on saving money. You can minimise your expenditure hugely by moving away from metro cities where the cost of living is significantly higher. On the other hand, working from the office is beneficial for people who want to work in a proper working environment surrounded by peers and learn from their seniors.
