During the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, many companies are allowing or even mandating their employees to work from home. Unfortunately, not everyone can adapt quickly to the sudden changes. If you’re one of them, this article is for you. We’ll show you some ways to be productive and while working from home.
#1. Maintain regular hours
Working from home may tempt you to work flexible hours, but the temptation can ruin your productivity. Maintain the regular 9 to 5 schedule and do your best to stick to it.
#2. Follow a morning routine
You didn’t wear pajamas in the office so you should never wear pajamas while you’re working from home too. Take a bath, get dressed, have breakfast, and get yourself ready to work professionally at the comfort of your home.
If you don’t have a routine to follow at the momen, just have a look at these 7 morning routines to start your day
#3. Set some rules
No one should make a noise when you’re on a conference call is just one example of the rules you need to establish early. Let everyone know that you’re NOT taking a day off and you still have work to do plus deadlines to meet.
#4. Take frequent breaks
Even when you don’t take many breaks at the office, you still need to take more five-minute breaks when you work from home. Tend to the kids, fold laundry, stretch, take a walk around the house and take a breather, or just lay down on the sofa.
Let’s face it, you’re not working from home by choice but because of the crazy circumstances the world is in. Frequent breaks can prevent early burnout. Since there’s no set date on when this whole thing will be over, it’s best to keep your battery charged at all times.
Take power naps if you need to. Remember that you owe it to yourself to maintain your mental health.
#5. Set a dedicated working space
Stay out of the bedroom if you wish to be productive. Your brain already thinks of it as the place to relax. Dedicate one room or a corner in the living room as your workspace. Let your brain know that that place is where you need to be productive now.
#6. Communicate
Communicate early and communicate often. Those are the two golden rules of communication when you work from home.
Since you’re not meeting face to face with your coworkers, communication may be less frequent. That can prove disastrous for the whole company. Spend your early morning to communicate with your team while also encouraging them to call or text you as often as it needs to be.
By the way, communicating with coworkers is a given, but you also need to communicate with your friends and families. Check on them often to make sure everyone’s all right. Social distancing doesn’t mean you cannot socialize. Everybody needs somebody, right?
#7. Exercise regularly
Studies have shown that doing exercise regularly not only improves your health but also keeps you in a good mood, which in turn boosts productivity.
“But I can’t go to the gym. We’re under a lockdown!”
You don’t need to go to the gym. Just exercise at home.
“But I don’t have any exercise machine at home…”
Sigh… You don’t need a treadmill, exercise bike, rower, or elliptical machine to workout. There are so many variations of bodyweight exercises you can do at home. If you need help, just choose from the so many apps available on Google Play and App Store. Or just follow workout videos and routines on YouTube.
No more excuses. Just exercise! It’s for your own good.
