A crisis may have caused you to work from home, but that doesn’t mean working from home has to feel like a crisis. I have worked from home since well before the coronavirus crisis and here are five suggestions that can help bring some normalcy to these abnormal times—especially if working from home is a new experience for you. You don’t have to wait for performance feedback keep your performance at a high level.
- Create a Dedicated Workspace
Whether it’s a home office, the kitchen counter, or the coffee table in your living room, having a dedicated workspace you go to every day vastly improves the quality of your work and it increases your comfort.
- Stick to a Routine
Humans are creatures of habit, and we are at our best and most efficient when we stick to those habits. Treat working from home like you would any office job. Get up at a set time, take a shower, change out of your pajamas, eat breakfast, etc. Following a routine will not only help you be more productive, but also help you feel more of a sense of normalcy and more in control of your day.
- Put on Your Headphones; Put the Phone Down
We are all dealing with irregular and unprecedented circumstances right now, and with these circumstances come new distractions. It is incredibly easy to getdistracted by your Twitter feed, the continuous news cycle, or that new Netflix documentary you have been meaning to watch. Putting on your headphones helps create an invisible shield between you and those distractions so that you can lock in and get your work done.
- Keep a Work/Life Balance
Just like with any other job, work/life balance is incredibly important when it comes to working from home. Work hard during working hours, but make sure to do things that help you feel great outside of work. Staying connected to people is important all the time, but especially now. Take the time to tend to your life outside of work. Have dinner with your spouse, play with the dog, facetime your friends.
- Get Some Fresh Air & Exercise
One of the unique challenges that faces those who work from home is that much of their work life and regular life are occurring in the same place. This is a reality that we are all now facing with self-quarantining increasingly becoming the norm around the world. Whether it is sitting on your patio, going for a run, or taking the dog on a walk, get some fresh air and get out of the house (while practicing responsible social distancing).
For some jobs, working from home will never become the norm, but for others, this current situation could very well make working from home and working remotely the new norm. Either way, balance, focus, and routine will all be your allies both now and in the future.
