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In COVID-19 times, several of us have been forced to carry out our work outside the office.
Among the measures to stop the expansion of the coronavirus or COVID-19 is teleworking. For many companies and workers it is something new, so here are some tips to help you get along with your new workday.
At first glance, it can be a great advantage, but it can become a trap for your productivity if you don’t take advantage of it correctly. Some of these tips may seem novel and others not so much.
Dedicate a space
It can be tempting to work from your bed or sofa. Here the recommendation is to find a comfortable place, but not so much. Ideally, this should be an exclusive space for work with only what is necessary for your daily tasks.
This will create a barrier between your work and your home life.
Plan your day
It is not just about focusing in front of the desk and completing how many tasks you remember or when you get to the mail first thing in the morning. The day before, think about all the fronts you have open at work and plan the most important tasks and which of them you should give priority to.
For this, you can rely on a list on a sheet of paper and a pencil, for digital ones there is also the notepad in your cell or another tool such as Evernote or Google Keep.
Check your internet quality
Teleworking may have taken you by surprise and your home internet is not the best quality to send and receive all the files that you used to handle in the office. If the plan is going long, call your operator to increase your internet speed or the possibility of buying a package for a few weeks.
If that doesn’t work, try improving your router with some homemade tricks like this ( The trick to improve your wifi signal with aluminium foil ).
Defend your time
Concentrating is one of the most difficult tasks to do at home. Especially when a family member asks for your attention and tells you that it can be a good time to do something and x.
Learn to say no and defend your work hours. You will see how important it is to create a work-home and home-work barrier to keep both worlds apart and be more productive.
Create a routine
Once you accumulate several days of teleworking, it will be more tempting to work in your sweatpants or simply start working at the time you get up on Saturdays. Take a shower and get dressed, even if you don’t think so, you should give signals to your brain that you are going to work and not that you are going to stay home watching TV.
It is advisable that you have your own routine at work, it will help you focus and avoid being a victim of laziness.
Work only your work hours
Sometimes you can stay closing a pending issue that you do not want to leave for tomorrow, but, as we have said before that you must enforce your work hours, now we tell you that you must do it with those of your home.
The best way to do it is to be productive in what you have proposed in the day, that way you will maintain a good balance that in the long term you will appreciate it.
Take advantage of the silence
Not having your colleagues by your side can mean one of the biggest changes you can notice when you start working from home. Now the comments with your work buddies will be expendable but do not completely discard them. Creative ideas can emerge in these types of spaces.
On the other hand, avoid using instant messaging applications for too long. These can make your moments of concentration shorter and shorter and reduce your productivity. Maybe you should close the door for a moment and dedicate more to the action than to the talk.
Check your leaks
Being in front of the computer all the time does not mean being productive at all times. Therefore it is necessary that you measure how much time you spend on useful pages for your work or wasting on social networks.
One technique you can learn from is the so-called Pomodoro that combines short periods of deep concentration with moments of rest.
Stay social and on the move
With telecommuting, you may well spend too much time alone, especially if you don’t live with other people. In order not to lose your sanity, schedule some time with your friends even if it is only in a virtual way, it will help you to clear your head of the place that now occupies most of your time.
Being at home is also sometimes synonymous with a sedentary life, so don’t forget to exercise for a while. Your body will appreciate it.