The world is taken over by the pandemic, and everyone’s life has turned upside down, not to mention work. There’s nothing that hasn’t changed, but there is no choice but to live with it. The term “New Normal” has become a part of everyone’s life. While life has taken a brutal hit, work is affected too. The protocols, approach, and especially telecommuting! While software company employees are used to telecommuting, some people never had to work on a laptop or desktop. But owing to the lockdown guidelines, most companies have decided to extend the “Work from Home.” While this kind of working is less stressful, it can be psychologically and physically taxing. Working from home brings with itself a few cons, involving a high amount of distraction because of all the house chores, family members, noises, etc. implementing few things in your schedule like taking short walks, staying active and storing some edibles in a snack jar or a kitchen storage containers are some of them. Here are all those easy ways to make work productive and fun.
1. Staying Active
Sitting for long hours with no physical activity can harm the oxygen supply to the body along with the blood circulation. The intervertebral discs come under tremendous strain, and muscles taper if not used. Start including yoga, simple cardio or aerobic exercises, or Zumba in your morning routine. You can also do stretching exercises of hand, head, shoulder, and arm while working. Do it every 30 minutes, and you will notice your body relaxing. If you are into fitness, then dedicating 1 hour to working out every day is ideal.
2. Dress for Your Work
Like your workspace needs to be organized, you do too! Putting on something that resembles your work attire puts you in the right mindset for work. The trick is to wear something comfortable yet formal. This way, you can be ready for every video conference and also can quickly check in with your colleagues or team. Even if your work doesn’t require video calls, you can still dress up for the productivity that comes with dressing for work. Keep your standard work attire ready for the next day every night, and you’ll find yourself falling back into your same work routine, which will give you a sense of fulfillment and purpose. Breaks are a must.
3. A Dedicated Workspace
It is no surprise that your home lacks the environment of your workspace as working from home has everyone working from their beds and couches. Workspaces are designed to make you more productive and focused. Turning your home into a workspace can feel like a task, but it doesn’t have to be. For this, choose a spot in your house and dedicate it to your work. Keep all your gears and equipment in this space. You will notice that it increases your productivity and concentration. You can even have an insulated water bottle and insulated food containers with a meal or a snack on your desk to get into the work mode!
4. Work from Home Gear
Although the work from home routine is temporary, it is crucial to invest in the right equipment for better productivity and more comfort. You would need a webcam for good visibility and light as most in-built cams in laptops aren’t up to the mark. Noise-canceling headphones to block distractions and noises around. These are a must! Get a wi-fi spot for a good internet connection so that you don’t have to cut a sorry figure in front of your boss or colleagues during a meeting. Buy a laptop stand is necessary as sitting in front of the system for a long duration of hours can easily strain your neck and shoulders.
5. Plan your Day/Week
By planning your day or week ahead, you are saving yourself from a lot of headaches and worries. Your time should be utilized effectively and successfully for finishing your projects. For this, smart planning is the key to get your team’s productivity up. The ideal way to go about it is pre-planning your week and day ahead. Planning your priorities for the day, how long you can get it done, and any other projects you can complete ought to be considered. Take a few minutes to plan before your day starts. Things like planning and beginning your toughest task when you have optimum energy, setting your priority tasks, and treating yourself after the completion of a task are some important tips.
6. Tune Yourself to Some Inspiration
You’ve got remarkable technology at your fingertips, and using it to your advantage can prove to be quite useful. Work from home has saved you transit time, allowing you to sign up for online training courses and webinars you have been planning to take up. With no distraction from co-workers, it would be easy to do. Try a few things to understand what works best for you.
7. Keeping it Tidy
A neat workspace can bring immense change to your productivity and creativity levels. It will help you stay focused, keep you organized, motivated and productive. You won’t have the office cleaner picking up any dishes, so this one is key to keep on top of. ‘Organised chaos’ with a messy desk is fine, but stacks of paperwork and general cups of coffee need to be cleared. Stalling can happen in a cluttered environment, so go ahead and take some time to keep your space clean and tidy.
8 Breaks are a Must
In your office, chit-chatting with colleagues, getting coffee, getting some fresh air from the corridor or even heading to the canteen were all those short breaks which were a relief for your head and eyes. Physically and mentally, breaks are vital in your work routine. Staying glued in front of the desktop can be very tiring and exhausting. It is possible that working from home could’ve stopped your breaks. Doing little things like taking a break to drink water, at least two liters a day, looking out of the window or somewhere else every 15 minutes, getting up once every hour to move around can be useful. You can also keep an insulated food containers filled with some snacks for those quick 2 mins break.
9. Set Clear Expectations
It is important that employers and employees and sensitive towards each other. Working from home is a challenge for many in terms of technology, the internet, limitations in technical operations, following timings, family constraints, etc. The employees and employers should build a bond of confidence, trust, and understanding. Managers and employers should be mindful and considerate of their employees’ difficulties, and limitations and employees should be aware of what is expected of them.
10. Set Rules
You are no longer surrounded by colleagues and co-workers. It is your family around you all the time now. It is important to set some ground rules with them so that your productivity is not affected. You could be working on reports and figures, wanting some peace and quiet, and your family member or roommate could have a different approach. Make your people aware of your meetings and let them know if it is a conference call, video call, or voice call. Also, use your earphones/headsets and take calls privately. Be extremely mindful during sensitive calls as there’s nothing worse than background noise during such calls.
Conclusion
Working from home is as convenient as it is stressful. When you take certain steps and implement few ideas, it can become extremely productive and fun. The idea is to stick to them regularly. It doesn’t matter if you are into customer care or a manager or a teacher, or a software employee, these work from home tips are perfect for shifting your gears easily and improving your work from home lifestyle.
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