How to Work From Home Effectively During the COVID 19 Pandemic Lockdown
While the world shut down like an epic movie scene, literally the havoc created by COVID 19 pandemic still looms large. In this time of despair, every corporate had to shut down offices & ask its employees to work from home.
Indeed the safety of employees is important, however, the question of efficiency during work from home is also a matter of concern.
Here are a few pointers which will help you to work effectively from home.
1. See it as a blessing in disguise
In this busy world we always used to complain about time management. So, this is the time which you can utilize in the most effective manner to accomplish your office assignments being there with your family.
This is the time where you can take a tour inside your mind to strike out all the negative thoughts and achieve the peak level of positivity and optimism.
2. Get started early
When working in an office, your morning commute can help you wake up and feel ready to work by the time you get to your desk. At home, however, the transition from your pillow to your computer can be much more jarring.
Believe it or not, one way to work from home productively is to dive into your to-do list as soon as you wake up. Simply getting a To- Do list first in the morning can be the key to making progress on it gradually throughout the day. Otherwise, you’ll prolong breakfast and let the morning sluggishness away your motivation.
3. Fix up a schedule
When the situation outside is out of control, make sure you are in full control of your life. Work from home can prove to be tricky, especially if you have to maintain a balance between work time and family time. Make a fixed work schedule. Log in on time, work efficiently & log off on time.
Don’t overexert yourself. Make sure you are honest with the effort you are putting in while you work. Complete your everyday work within a fixed time. Believe me, you’ll spare a lot of time to spend with your loved ones.
Don’t try to be a superhero, prioritize one thing at a time. Prepare your To- Do list when you start your work and verify the same when you goes off from your work in evening. Tricia Dixon, Director of consultancy firm JB Medical says: “Just because you’re working from home, your work and your workspace are as valid as those of people working in a more traditional office. You have to really believe this.”
4. Find a workplace within the house
It’s important that you find a quiet workplace to make sure that you can focus on your work entirely. Prepare your work setup with table, chair, laptop and other needed stuff for more productivity. In a house with family all around, it’s hard to focus and concentrate.
Assign a silent corner of the house for your work & make sure no one disturbs you while you are working.
5. Be connected with your team
Modern corporates largely depend on teamwork for desired results. While you are working from home like everyone else, make sure you are always reachable for your colleagues.
Use effective methods for seamless communication. Use communication platforms that are easy & convenient. Applications like MS Teams, Slack, Skype etc help in maintaining communication while working from home.
6. Find a hobby
While work is important, this lockdown can have a huge impact on one’s mental state. As we are not spending our money and time on travel to office, instead we can invest the time in cultivating your hobbies.
You should take care of your physical and mental health. Do something that relieves your stress, do something which makes you feel happy. Paint, draw, write, sing, dance, read, etc.
7. Eat Healthy Be Healthy
While we all sit in our houses waiting for the lockdown to end, lazing around & lack of exercise surely would have its bad effects. While you work from home, make sure you also do exercise, stay fit & eat a healthy diet. Start your day by waking up early and having some work out to stay fit. This will maintain your brains well-being.
We can either shape our lifestyle or end up making it worse. This lockdown can be a game-changer for each one of us. YouTube video channels like WORK-OUT, SELF, Chloe Ting, help you do a home workout.
8. Keep distractions away
What was created as a boon became a bane?
Social media, television, mobile phones have become such a distraction in every household.
These distractions constantly fill us with so much useless information, that it becomes hard for the mind to focus. To be effective while working from home, it’s important that we keep all our distractions away.
While you work, keep all of these distractions away from you & focus entirely on your work.
9. Take short Breaks
Without taking adequate breaks from work, employee productivity, mental well-being and overall work performance begin to suffer. These breaks are essential in helping employees de-stress and re-charge for the rest of the workday. Regular breaks can also help improve overall job satisfaction.
Add break times in your schedule and use alarms or reminders accordingly. In break times you can have breakfast, lunch, snacks, or tea with your family members.
10. Help your family members
Don’t forget that, you won’t be able to focus on office tasks without support of your family members. So, help them in all the ways you can do. Considering surrounding situations, its not possible for support staff to come to our home and perform their duties, In fact we should ask them to stay back at their homes and follow the rules by government.
So the better way is to distribute all the work among all family members and make it easy especially for women at home. Because women’s are the one who has more responsibility of household work when a maid is on leave. Help your mom or your wife in cooking, cleaning, washing dish, laundry, etc.
11. Stay accountable and stick to your goals
Let’s be honest with yourself and stick to your goal. While working from home there is no one to keep eye on you. Before closing your work hours check and verify you’re To-Do list. Share your tasks and updates on a daily basis to your reporting manager. So that your manager will also have an idea or track about your workings.