An organization thrives on creating shared goals, aligning their teams to chase them with the right ideals and painstakingly builds a work culture to support the same. Large organizations invest a good amount of time and resources to ensure they are able to harness the best out of their employees. Work from home, simply defeats the entire purpose of creating an environment that is conducive to bringing out the best in people. While it is a phase we are beginning to live with, and one that seems to be extending itself depending on the stage of Covid we are fighting, here are 5 quick tips to make ‘Work From Home’ work for you.
Segment Your Day – Because you are not moving out of home, it becomes very important for you to segment your day, to ensure you have a better sense of control over the way you spend it. Break it up into 3 broad sections – pre work, work and post work. And plan how you will set yourself up for these segments.
Follow A Routine – Wake up at a fixed early hour, get some exercise, quiet time and set yourself up for the day, finish all home chores before you login to work. If there is any balance, keep your break times to do them. A routine allows your body to be well prepared for an energetic day ahead.
Create Your Environment – Designate a space for your work at home. A study table preferably and equip it with everything you need – an ergonomic chair, charging points for your laptop, bottle of water, headphones for online calls, so you are not disturbed, notepad, pen, any other documents you need referring to and a timer. Login at a fixed time, so it gives you a sense of purpose and control. Discipline is the corner stone of a happy life.
Time Blocking – Once at your work table, set your timer to 45 minutes. Put your blinkers on, zero distraction and get things done! Then take a 15 minute break to walk around the house, fix yourself a cup of tea, a quick chat with a family member if needed and get back and repeat another 45 minutes chunk. Every time you get distracted from work you take approximately 60 seconds to come back to it, only to get distracted soon. This can cause a lot of dead time and stress through the day.
Transition Time – Be clear about your login and log out time with your teams, to set the expectation right. When it is time to log out – make sure you do. Clear your work space, shutdown the system and move physically out of the work area. Get a quick second wind work out and a shower, change into comfortable home clothes. Good idea to keep the phone away now – since you’ve been on it all day to answer calls from teams and clients.
Bonus Tip – Tell yourself – ‘Work from home does not mean you lose the sense of time and just go with the flow because there is no urgency to leave home, or get past the traffic or login to office at a certain time.’ It may feel like a very relaxed and leisurely pace that will make you feel better. On the contrary, you will end up spending long hours to complete the project if you are not chunking out time for work, you may also experience low gratification, and higher fatigue because the mind is constantly stressed with the piling load of things on your desk.
Leena Munot
Co-Founder
The Giving Tree
