Many companies are suggesting and needing their employees working from home during COVID-19. If you’re someone working from home you may find it to be a struggle if you’re not used to it.
If you don’t have an organized place to work, you may be bombarded with distractions. Because you’re in your home, you’ll see all the work piling up that needs to be done around the house. There’s laundry to do, dishes need washing, floors need washing and the list goes on. If you have children at home too, they want your attention plus you have to make sure they’re doing their school work too. That’s a lot to do in a day besides trying to get work from the office done too.
Here are 5 helpful tips to get you through this time.
You Need to Be Productive When You’re Working From Home During COVID-19
It may be challenging to work from home but you still need to get your work done and be productive. Your boss is still expecting the same work from you as if you were in the office.
Keep to a schedule. If you usually leave the house at 7:00 AM and start work at 8:00 AM, try to stick to that schedule. It can be so tempting to sleep in now that you’re home, but you have to be even more disciplined to start work every morning just like you would if you had to drive to work.
Different things help different people stay productive. Some people like absolute peace and quiet and others like to work with music on. Some people like to work in clutter and others need their desk perfectly tidy and organized.
It really doesn’t matter. It’s what you prefer and how you can remain productive. Mostly, start work at the same time every day and don’t get distracted by all the other activities going on in your home.
Confine Your Workspace to One Area
Find a place in your home where you can work uninterrupted. You don’t want your work scattered all over the kitchen table or the living room where other people may need to be during the day.
If your children are home from school, hopefully your husband and you can take turns watching them while the other one works. It’s a lot of extra work that needs to be done, so you want to keep your workspace separate and organized.
Hopefully, you can work in a separate room in your house and be able to stick to that area. It may even have to be a corner in your bedroom for now. Just as long as it’s free from distractions and you can concentrate.
Set Specific Start and End Times For Work
Once again, it’s good to make it a priority to start work at the same time you did when you went to work outside your home.
It’s also important to stop at the same time you did before COVID-19. If you don’t, you may end up working longer hours and start to get burnt out.
Be Responsive
It’s important to remain responsive when you’re working from home during COVID-19. Make sure you continue to be trustworthy to your employer. Make sure that you stay focused on the tasks you need to complete.
Related: What do You Need to Thrive?
Take Regular Breaks
If you took regular breaks when you worked at the office, you need to continue to do so working from home. It’s easy to get stuck in your room all day, but that will also lead to burn out.
Now you have the opportunity to take short walks outside. Go and breathe in the fresh air with your kids and your dog if you have one!
You can stop and stretch more often at home too.
Take time for a lunch break and stop to chat with your husband or kids a few times a day. These little breaks can recharge you and make you more productive and refreshed. Just don’t get so distracted that you start cleaning the house instead of getting back to work.
The housework will have to wait, just like it did when you weren’t home all day. Don’t let it stress you out. It doesn’t matter in the long run if some things get piled up for the weekends.
Set Boundaries
It may be hard to do, but it’s best to keep work life and home life separate while working from home during COVID-19. Stay focused on work during the time you set aside for work. You don’t have to think about your household chores or what’s for dinner during your work hours.
When your workday is over you can totally unplug and spend the rest of the day with your family.
If your kids are homeschooling, try to make a schedule for them during the week that matches with your responsibilities for work.
You may find you have extra time during the day now that you don’t have to commute to work and your children don’t have to catch a bus either. Plus, your kids won’t have activities to get to after school, so you have more time for family activities. You can start afternoon walks and hikes with your kids and make it all fun.
Remote work may be new to you. But working from home during COVID-19 can also be a time to bond more with your family and learning to do fun things together. As for your work routine, you may have to stick to prescribed hours in order to remain productive for the company you work for. All it takes is a little organization and focusing on your work habits instead of your surroundings.
