We’re all working from home these days, but what are you doing to ensure you and your colleagues are staying safe and productive.
Below are five very simple tips to keep you going during these challenging and likely ongoing times.
1. Maintain a sleep schedule – It can be very tempting to take advantage of your newfound free time a little too much but try to resist it as much as possible. If, normally, you go to bed at 10:00 pm but now you are going to bed at midnight or later, you are ultimately doing yourself a disservice. Your body thrives on a set sleep schedule, and trying to break from this new “schedule” when you return to normal work will be that much harder.
2. Take breaks – Chances are, breaks are a part of your standard work life at the office. Do you take a lunch, morning break and afternoon break? Do you stand up to talk to your coworkers or grab a cup of coffee from the break room? Do you go on a walk when the weather is nice? Don’t let these healthy activities slip away when you are working from home. Breaks are important for your stress levels and for your creativity and productivity.
3. Create a dedicated office space – It can be easy to wake up, grab your laptop and start working. If I were to guess, I would say it’s about 15 minutes before your back or neck starts to hurt and you try to find another effective position. Chances are, all of your other equipment or documents are out of reach, like your headset, mouse, notepad and so on. If you have the space or ability to set an area (preferable with a comfortable desk and chair) as a dedicated office space, even if just temporarily, it can greatly improve your situation.
4. Be considerate of coworkers with kids – You will more than likely have to engage in virtual meetings or video calls with coworkers or clients while working from home. Day by day, more schools and daycares are closing down out of an abundance of safety and in order to comply with health officials’ recommendations. This results in parents, who are working from home, and kids, who might not have classes anymore, being in the same house or flat at the same time. Inevitably, you may hear the child in the background of the meeting, or your coworker may have to hold or comfort their children during a virtual call. At this time, you might need to extend a little bit of extra grace to those who are in inconvenient situations, and are trying to juggle work and kids at the same time.
5. Be positive – Your mind and body do not need you to be viewing everything negatively all the time. While you should pay attention to the WHO and what the government is announcing, and you should practice the health and safety tips that they provide, they cannot overwhelm your thoughts. Focus on the positives that this circumstance brings: you have more time with the people and family immediately around you, you have time to improve yourself and your skills, you are saving on commuting time and costs, you can finally watch that show you’ve been putting off, you can start your hobby up again and so on. Enjoy what can be enjoyed while doing your part to help the situation.
