The ongoing pandemic situation is a game-changer that has forced companies to take up the option of work from home. Well, it may have been something you wanted all your life and especially on those days, when you felt supremely lazy to wake up and commute to your office. Well, now that your wish is granted you might be facing the challenges of work from home. With the joy of work from home come procrastination and putting off your work, or just lying around and Netflix-ing.
Working from home can disturb the professional and personal work-life balance. So how do you stay productive and maintain a work-life balance?
These are a few work from home tips that will help you to stay sane while being productive at the same time.
- Start your day early-
At home, you might not get the required push to wake up as early as you would have had to if you wanted to save the commute time to your office. Waking up early in the morning can get a lot of pending work done. The best way to make progress is to dive into the work for the day that you plan on your to-do list. This also ensures you don’t skip or delay your breakfast and your motivation for the day. - Maintain a working space-
Keep a separate desk, room, or area at home for working. This makes you conscious of what you are going to do when you enter that room. It shifts your mindset to I am at work even if you are at home. - Set work hours-
The advantage of going to an office is you have defined work hours. Follow the same pattern when you work from home. Task management has a vital role to play in this routine. Keep defined work hours, and don’t squeeze in any other activity, or house chores in those work hours. Stick to the schedule once you have your work hours defined. - Close the door while you work-
Closing the door might seem like a trivial thing, but it gives the feel of working in an enclosed workspace, like a cabin. Also during video chats, you don’t have to worry about someone barging into the room. As a parent, closing the door sends a signal to the child that mommy or daddy is working and they aren’t available. It can be hard working with a child, which is why task planning and defined work hours are important to maintain a work-life balance. - Dress up-
Well, just because you don’t have to step out of your home doesn’t mean you can’t sit to work in your pajamas. If you do that, you won’t feel very productive when you work, because although you may be working, mentally you are still at home. Get mentally and physically ready for the day ahead or else you might find yourself back in bed. - Avoid social media during work hours-
Social media is meant to have fun but it can become not-so-fun if you spend your working hours browsing on your phone. It can detriment the productivity levels. During the defined working hours, log away or turn off social media accounts temporarily. You could also use an Incognito browser while you are at work. This is a full-proof method for an increased productivity day at work, by avoiding social media breaks during work hours. - Follow a routine-
A routine is vital. Being at home will make you take unnecessary breaks to cater to your child's needs, someone ringing a bell, house chores, etc. Always work out a plan and divide chores, engagements, family time, and working hours accordingly. Set a routine of when you need to wake up to do your workout, running, taking your dog out for a walk, etc and other house chores accordingly. Defined routine planning helps you to strike the best personal and work-life balance. You don’t overspend time working, nor do you miss out on family time and socializing. - Don’t stop-
It may happen that you are having a bad day, and unlike on office days where you wake up to get ready, you might just want to stay longer in bed or take the day off. Make yourself sit to work anyways. It takes very little time to move from ‘its just one day’, ‘ ill do it tomorrow’ to not getting anything done at all. - Get a comfortable chair-
The maximum of your day will be spent in your office chair. Make sure you choose a comfortable chair that keeps your back straight and postures upright. An uncomfortable chair may further de-motivate you from working. - Drink enough water-
Always keep a bottle of water on your work table. This helps you feel fresh and also keeps you hydrated.