As the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting your doors hard, you are already on the brink of a lock down. A majority of the companies have started issuing orders for the employees to work from home. Amidst the virus threat, work from home sounds exciting right?
Until now, work from home used to be a luxury for a few people who enjoyed this luxury once in a week or once in a fortnight. Did you ever think that your company would ask you to work from home completely? In the initial days, work from home can be exciting and interesting. Afterall, you can save a lot of time and energy that you otherwise spend in getting ready and reaching the office. There is no need to hunt your wardrobe for a new set of formal wear as you have the complete liberty to work even in your shorts and the most importantly, you can work at the comfort of your home. So, you will have more time to sleep, exercise and be with your family. Interesting, is it?
A lot of people fantasize about working from home, but their dreams shatter as soon as they get calls from their laundry, the Netflix show that they left in the middle last night or the regular calls from the partner or other housemates for some or the other home chores. Thus, staying productive all the time while working from home can be more difficult than one thinks it is to be. Further, if the individual is a great co-worker, he/she might feel isolated when left to work from a desk in the room alone.
The time has struck – get up, eat breakfast, put up some comfortable clothes and sit straight only to focus on your work. Meanwhile, we give you some important tips that will help you stay productive despite working from home:
Set a comfortable location:
Choose a good location for your home office set up. We suggest that it should be any place besides your bed. Your bed will always make you extra comfortable and you might look for some rest every 15 minutes. Thus, avoid sitting in bed for your work. The location that you choose should associate you with your job. This simply means that get out of the couch and definitely from the bed to do some real office work.
Keep distance from your housemates:
It is your duty to create an office schedule and follow it with dedication. If you have an inkling that your housemates might distract you, you should ensure that you maintain a distance from them until you log off to go back to your house routine. It is important to set boundaries to create a healthy work environment.
Try to create an office like ambience:
While you are working from home, it is important that you create an office-like setting. If it requires you to place some décor accents that help you feel like you are sitting in the office, you should do so. Spend some time to define how your home office should look like. You can think over and create a healthy office ambience at home.
Start early and take breaks in the middle:
While you are not required to commute to your office, you will still wake up early as you have set your daily clock. Take advantage of your daily clock, wake up early and try to start your work despite of the fact that your family is still sleeping. This is the best time to utilize because there will be no one around to distract you from work.
Stay Connected with your colleagues:
Last, we would suggest that you stay connected with your colleagues. Whether over a video call or conferencing, try to talk to them so that you get the feel of working with them. If you are working with a team, you should ensure that you are communicating well to avoid deviations in work.
Besides what we just spoke, there can be many other ways that will keep you and your work aligned. Remember that focus and dedication is the key. Whether it is your home office or office office, without keeping your focus, you can get distracted anywhere.
Now when you know that you are supposed to work from home, prepare your mind to do so before you put the plan to action. We wish all the best.