Well! We can't escape it, our lives, work and our day to day activities all have been impacted because of the novel Coronavirus virus (COVID-19) outbreak, the pandemic which has got a firm grip all over the world.
With many countries going into complete lockdown, this has also led to a complete pause on travelling internationally and domestically including availability of basic necessities. Organizations are making sure of the safety of the employees and so they’ve asked them to work from home till COVID-19 spreads subsides.
Work from Home, the new Normal Way?
Work from home is now going to become a new normal way of working at least for a while, maybe stretching to a few months. Some employees may have never worked from home, it will be a new challenge figuring out how to stay on activities dealing with home environment and
to be as productive as in the office. There are ways to make work from home very productive, deliver results and avoid losing focus and set up a good workspace on how you can work and communicate. Here are some tips for creating a functional but productive work environment at home:
Setting Up a Dedicated Location
Setting up a specific comfortable space for yourself in your home goes a long way in boosting your productivity of work. A dedicated space also puts yourself into work mentally and you’ll have more focus to go through the day working.
Working in the same space each day prepares your brain to associate that spot with working and it will be easier to get things done. Behave it Like a real Job, even If you don’t have an office at home, push yourself to create an ad hoc custom space exclusively for work.
Instead of lying around in bed, working while lounging on the sofa, try to create a more specific space, this will also give signal to different members in the house that you’re at work.
Communication with Colleagues
While working from home puts yourself in isolation away from your regular work colleagues, which in itself can be a boon for your work productivity but, it is also important to have a proper channel of communication and social interaction just to have any updates related to your work or our mental well-being and team bonding. Collaborate online, as you work from home there is a lot of need to communicate effectively and requires a lot of communication through email, chats or video calls. Have a good internet connection to have any uninterrupted meetings and calls along also, share updates and assigned task activities and information.
Structuring and Prioritising Work
If you’ve got to certain structure in your office, please try and follow the same work structure at your home as well, some of the tips you can follow:
- Checking your calendar in the morning helps you prioritise your work through the day, you can plan accordingly as per meetings are scheduled without disrupting your daily flow.
- Setup your working hours to maintain a schedule
- Plan and prioritise your tasks
Keep your Meals time Intact
Working from home can provide you the flexibility, but keeping your lunch time as per schedule and skipping will provide a much needed break and a wind down. Some of the tips you can follow:
- Cooking your own Meal
- Not working while having a Meal
- Respect your Meal time