I am quite acquainted with working from home phenomena for the last couple of years, way before the global pandemic of COVID19. Working from home twice or thrice a week has proved to be the most efficient and productive way of working during the last couple of years for me.
But I am badly struggling to remain efficient and productive in working from home the way I used to be before. Because of the forceful working from the home situation as the result of the global pandemic of COVID-19.
I am struggling to feel inspired and stay motivated. It is getting harder to think in a clearer way, difficult thinking of strategic solutions which is my key strength. Surprisingly, a feeling of emptiness is there whenever I am trying to focus on my work.
Maybe it is because of such a forceful situation to be home. Social distance from others could also be blamed since I do get inspired by meeting others. Maybe it is because of thinking about the sheer uncertainty coming up.
Maybe all I am doing is overthinking, maybe not.
The point is whatever are the reasons, I am not being able to utilize such challenging moments in a better way so far. This is more about handling the inner challenge and being efficient.
Surely I am not the only person in the world at this moment who is having such a challenge. There are hundreds of thousands of professionals out there who have been forced to work from home and facing such similar challenges.
I looked up for some expert articles in order to figure out how to cope. 15 Questions About Remote Work, Answered by HBR; 10 Ways to Ease Your Coronavirus Anxiety by The New York Times. All those are quite insightful and inspiring. Still, they did not work for me that much.
So I had to lay out a plan for me to follow. Being an avid believer of sharing economy to improve efficiency, sustainability and community by sharing assets, I would like to share it with you all as this plan has started to pay me off.
You can improvise, practice and get the best out of it by solving the inner challenges of working from home and be more productive.
Accept it is not business as usual
A mental setup of the situation is really crucial. Accept the way it is. Your inner self needs to be carefully dealt with and taken on the same journey. You have to realize and let yourself realize that this is a disruption. Whatever bumps are coming up, it is part of the journey. So do not expect to have the same speed as you used to have. Otherwise, the inner conflict will be quite on the rise hampering to reach any consensus.
Think positive, be positive
Even though it is not business as usual, you have to also feed your inner self that things will settle down the way or the other. Encourage yourself to be positive. Start to think that this new way of work is going to be the mainstream. Stay positive and have faith in yourself. You will then get out of having any guilty feelings.
Set up your mind and then start the day with a premade plan to make the best out of it. Follow the following pattern as your workday plan:
Wake up on time
Set your alarm the night before you go for sleep. Make sure your alarm is set, ensuring 7 to 8 hours of sound sleep. If necessary, get to the bed a bit earlier in order to wake up on the planned time in the morning as you used to before you started working from home.
Light physical work
Do a light physical work for 5 to 10 minutes. Even if you are not the type of person who does work out but makes sure to do this especially during this extraordinary situation. You have to remember, this is a challenging scenario and you have to make some effort to work it out. End up your physical work by making up your bed. This will send a signal completion of a task to your brain.
Freshen up
Take a warm shower and refresh yourself. This is going to fix your mindset in the right state and cheer you up. Because you have already completed a couple of your planned activities by the time even before you start your work. Pat your back and appreciate yourself. As a token of appreciation, present yourself with a good breakfast and your favourite coffee.
Find a dedicated space to work
Find a place in the home which is a bit isolated but inspiring for you. Try to stick in the same place but do not be rigid. If you find other spots that are better, just move, do not hesitate to do that. Try to be exposed to more light and air wherever you sit.
30 minutes to kick start your work
Do a quick email check and other channel surf within the first 30 minutes. Afterwards, keep your mobile in a silent mood far away from you. Because in the next 1.5 hours you will be completely dedicating yourself to finish a task. I am not even talking about making progress. Just think about a task and finish it.
Take interval in every 1.5 hours
Take 5 to 10 minutes break every 1.5 hours. Put a reminder on your phone. This is particularly important to establish the rhythm of your workday. During the micro-break, move around the home. Go to the kitchen, pour some coffee and make a virtual call to your colleagues. Spend some time talking, you will feel inspired and charged up.
Integrate some fun elements during your work
Put up some soft instrumental music while you are back on your desk. This will help you remove the sheer silence around you. Perhaps, if you are surrounded by noises, it will help you isolate your mind and focus on the work cheerfully. Consider this as a good treat to keep yourself happy.
Take a power nap, it is healthy
A quick power nap is perhaps a powerful tool to regain your energy and rhythm. Sara C. Mednick, PhD, sleep expert and author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life says in webmd.com “You can get incredible benefits from 15 to 20 minutes of napping,” she says. “You reset the system and get a burst of alertness and increased motor performance. That’s what most people really need to stave off sleepiness and get an energy boost.” So do not feel guilty if you feel drowsy and sleepy, grab the benefit with a power nap.
Go out for a walk
Time will come during the workday when you will start to feel down once again. This is quite a possibility during the afternoon. Do not let this time take out your energy and put into the challenge once again. Stop your work, get up from the chair and go out for a walk. A 30 minutes walk will ensure good blood circulation. Inhaling the fresh air will also make you feel good by bringing back your energy. For inspiration, put on your headphones and listen to your favourite podcast. Because podcasts are an amazing medium to boost you to transform.
End the day with a feeling of accomplishment
End the day by looking at what you have achieved. Focus on the things you have done. Praise yourself. Finish your work on a specific time as per your earlier plan. Close down your laptop and mark the tasks as done.
Prepare a fresh todo list in your journal for the next day. An elegant and inspiring personal journal like the paper republic will motivate you to fulfil the next day’s todo list with a high level of positivity. I love the paper republic as the best inspiring journal for planning. If you do not have the journal, give this to yourself as a gift, a true appreciation for being able to cope up with the challenging situation. You deserve it.
This is how I have transformed my struggle of working from home during the outbreak of the COVID19. Now I feel much calm, appreciated and highly productive. Even if it is 70% to 80% of the previous time for the time being, by following such a pattern, it will go even higher gradually. It has to be. Because the future work pattern is going to be work from home. At least this pandemic is teaching us the benefits of it. Eventually, we all will get used to it. I find the following article interesting Due to Coronavirus, Will Remote and Distributed Work Become the Future for Office Workers?
Share your views about the plan I followed. Please let me know which one worked for you and which did not.
