Work from home has been an accepted, even preferred, choice by professionals for a variety of reasons. It cuts across borders, saves commute time, is cost effective and allows flexible timings. Personal productivity is good in the comfort of one’s home with nil office distractions. Planning the day around a set work schedule is relatively easier too.
However, these benefits don’t ring true for people who’ve been inadvertently forced into it. The recent Coronavirus scare has left most people with no choice other than consenting to this alternate method of working. Work from home requires a different work culture and it can be tad stressful to understand and imbibe it overnight.
Being a blogger and freelance content writer I can admit knowing a thing or two about it though. I’m sharing some simple tips here to help you get some perspective about how productive working from home can be. Hope this helps reduce any undue stress and makes it a pleasant experience for you.
Maintain your routine
Early to bed and early to rise; this diktat shouldn’t change if you’re working from home. Make sure that you follow your daily routine irrespective of whether others are following theirs or not. Prepare your mind to function despite the television blaring, kids creating a ruckus or househelps entering or leaving the room. Dress up in formal wear to get into work mode and maintain your productivity.
Plan your domestic chores
It takes a hundred things to keep a home in order, and then some more. Man or woman, everyone has to contribute in its upkeep. Right from buying grocery to paying off the laundry guy, everything needs attention. Make lists in advance, prioritise, coordinate with your family and delegate if you can. This will save your time and energy for pressing work matters, if any.
Create your workspace
This might need some effort since, lets face it, this isn’t your regular workspace. Find a comfortable place/corner where your laptop, documents and other work material won’t be disturbed. Make sure that you have good bandwidth and lighting there for better productivity. Although temporary, give it a personal touch with frames, stickers or indoor plants. Workspace should be sacrosanct, shouldn’t it?
Work but not 24*7
Set firm boundaries for a successful work from home turn. Don’t let your employers take undue advantage of your time and availability. Log in and log out on pre-decided timings and don’t cater to their whims and fancies unless there’s a real emergency. Additionally, request your family to keep silence, maintain decorum and keep you unperturbed while working.
Take short breaks and relax
Your body and mind can feel inert if you’re holed up in the same place for too long. Move around the room, stretch your body or enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with your family. Try to rest your eyes by keeping them away from screens for a while. Don’t overeat just because warm homemade food is readily available. This might make you feel lethargic and affect your productivity. Remember, you may be home but work is business as usual.
This was my second post in the Health and Wellness series with #CauseAChatter. I would love your feedback on it and appreciate any suggestions too. Don’t forget to leave a word.
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Work from home is all about how well we divide our time . It has its own pluses and minuses but proper time management is the key
Thanks these are useful ideas. I am also planning to develop a routine for all members ofv the family and distribute household chores to everyone.
We need to put ourselves first like you rightfully said. And planning will definitely help.us be more productive
Nice suggestions. A must needed ideas in for the present times.
Awesome tips Varsha, and I follow most of them, especially with morning routine, I try to be quick and regular with all chores. and this small step helps me in stay organized and productive all day. I like the idea of getting dress up. will try it for sure.
Working from home is not easy nor is it fun. Your practical tips, if followed, will assure that it will at least be a good experience too. Loved the post!
working from home has lot of advantage but sometime, while working from home. work do suffer because of house chore duty and unwanted guest.
The tips are really relevant in current time. I wfh but with everyone at home with all household chores my routine has gone for a toss.
Taking short breaks and trying to keep the home is what keeps us going.This is trying times and this post is a lovely read.
Maintaining healthy routine is the need of present time. These tips is going to help in staying fit and healthy
Taking short breaks in so important while working from home, esp during the lockdown to avoid mental fatigue and burnout!
Working from home in these times can be a boon and tiring in it’s own way.But it’s the best we can do under the circumstances.Great tips
These are very good tips Varsha. We also follow morning routine and by 9am I am done with mopping too, so that rest of the day is spent without any fuss. It’s only that my younger one sometimes does not take afternoon nap and my writing schedule goes for toss.
Good tips. I think people need to organise their own priorities then they can manage anything…
Very sane advice Varsh once we learn to adapt it can be a boon actually
Thanks for these tips, it’s important to form a routine and try to follow that. We keep on taking short breaks to stretch and walk.
these are great tips. What I do is to find time to work before and after people have slept. Work gets done much faster when there is no distraction.
Since the day it has been locked down, I am maintaining a good routine for work and some fun time with family.
These are very simple yest very effective tip. Keeping up healthy routine is important these days
It is really difficult for people to adjust to the work from home scenario all of a sudden who are used to the perfect office hours. These are some helpful tips.