from Glenn Harvey on NY Times
We never thought we would be Working From Home_WFH all the time. With the pandemic going on in many places around the world, more and more people are working remotely. Working from home can be challenging for some people, especially if they have kids or other people to take care of. For others, it can be tedious and depressing. But if we want to survive this pandemic, we need to be pragmatic. By involving some simple changes to our lives, we can perform better at work and home. When I started to WFH, I was bewildered with managing my work time and personal time. I felt that with all the outgoing stress of pandemic, news, and uncertainties, the line between my work life and my own life is becoming blurry.
Establish a routine
You may not be commuting in the morning anymore, but it’s essential to do something that wakes you up and gets you energized for the day. A routine could be anything from some stretches, followed by a hot coffee or even a yoga session. Whatever works for you.
Have a dedicated workspace
Let’s be honest, working from your bed all day is very tempting but not entirely practical. We, too, would love to wear our pajamas all day, but you must have a separate space for working. Mentally, it’s good to have areas for work time and others for chill time. Otherwise, you may feel you never get away from work. We don’t want that.
Take Breaks
It’s good to stretch your legs, make yourself a cup of tea, or check-in with a friend over the phone. Set yourself some time in your calendar. Do that now. Set the alarm if need be. Make sure you move away from your workspace, those emails, and Slack messages. Set aside at least 30 minutes to eat some lunch. That’s an important one. Breaking up your day like this and moving around will make you more productive. Promise.
Protect your time
Protecting your time takes some practice, so don’t be too hard on yourself when you trick yourself into working passed ‘log off’ time. It happens to all of us. Working from home makes it harder to ‘leave’ work. The lines can become easily blurred. Ensure you have strict boundaries on work time and communicate them to your colleagues and stick to it.
Over Communication
Sounds easy, right? Don’t be fooled. When in doubt, share, share, share. Don’t assume or think your colleagues may know something - ask or let them know. Communication becomes even more critical when you work remotely. Also, check-in with your colleagues and ask them how they are - you’ll start to miss those small interactions you had while you were in an office together.
I hope you follow these tips and empower your WFH lifestyle. Share with me if you have any valuable advice or practices that helped you get along WFH during this time.
Originally published on Medium.