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While the world is in crisis due to the Coronavirus pandemic, quarantine has been found to be the most effective method of stopping the spread of the virus, which is why some companies have provided their employees with 15-day isolation through the well-known “Home Office”.
Working at home is the fantasy of many; Avoiding the traffic in the morning or not seeing our bosses’ faces may be tempting at first, but the truth is that working from the comfort of home can be a nightmare if we fail to organize and be methodical.
Here are the best (proven!) Tips for doing your job and being productive under your own roof, without falling into torpor and procrastination.
Don’t confuse boredom with hunger!
Having the kitchen and pantry two steps away is extremely tempting; Eating in response to a range of negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression, anger and loneliness, is common, especially in intense situations such as the one we are experiencing today with the COVID pandemic.
Then what do we do? Delimit times for eating; breakfast, small healthy snack, lunch, small afternoon snack and dinner. And keep in mind that feeling a roller coaster of emotions is fine, it is normal, but try to identify those moments, and if you feel the urgent need to eat we can choose the healthiest: fruit, juice or even a glass of slow and calm way. In this way, we can overcome the crisis.
Hot shower
Starting the day with bathing may seem unnecessary if we do not leave the house, but it is proven that hot water allows us a deep bath that makes us feel really clean. The assurance that our personal care is adequate allows us to project a good personal image, which ultimately strengthens our self-esteem and allows us to do a better job.
You will
Proven: there is no more comfortable garment than sweetpants, that is not debatable. But it is also proven that staying in pajamas all day “tricks” your mind and puts it in a sleepy mode, telling it that it is Sunday and you have nothing to do, instead if you put on clothes (nobody says they are cleats or tie!) Your brain assumes you are ready to start the day and goes into active mode to get into the work routine.
Get out of the piece
The sleeping space is sacred. Researchers over the years have suggested that the place where your bed is should be as simple as possible so that our brain identifies it as a “resting place”, and not a sector to watch television or do a manicure.
Within our possibilities, we have to look for a corner of the house specifically to work; It may even be the dining room table. If we work in the chair or bed, our neurons assume that we are in rest mode and our productivity drops significantly.
Give a break
It’s hard to go from the tragic COVID-19 related headlines to the high concentration required to work, so don’t feel guilty and take a break, read a book for 15 minutes, or drink tea.
After reading or listening to news and you must resume work, start with basic things that do not require more concentration; answer simple emails, read an interesting report, etc. That will help divert your attention from the news to work. Then, after completing the simple tasks, begin to resume the more complex ones.
The 4 C rule
Commitment, compliance, collaboration and communication. These four things are essential in any work team, but they become more relevant in emergency situations such as the one we are experiencing today with the Coronavirus pandemic. If a partner suffers an anxiety crisis, let us show ourselves willing to help within our means. Let’s not assume things, let’s communicate; Let’s fulfil the tasks required for the day and we will surely have a satisfactory day.
Do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today
Accumulating work is the worst idea for the Home Office. If we have just started working from home, we may not have noticed the distractions around us yet; family, pets, cell phones, even the internet, because now there will be no boss watching how much time we spend on Facebook. All these things make us “kick” for later work, which in the long run will cause anxiety and poor sleep.
Scheduling our time will help us set deadlines and deadlines by which to “turn in” work. Designating the start, development and end times of each task will make our calendar more realistic and motivate us to fulfil it.
Technology is your friend
Today, technology offers us endless opportunities when it comes to managing our workday. There are free applications and web platforms that allow you to organize teamwork effectively, organize teleconferences, send and share large files, among other features.
Don’t be afraid to ask your boss or colleague if they use any technological tool to help them better manage their work from home.
Clean your desk
Working at the dining room table does not justify doing it between cups, plates and cutlery. Cleaning and preparing the place where you are going to install your computer is vital to be able to concentrate and increase your productivity.
If it helps, you can light a scented candle to help you relax and not work in the midst of the smell of the soup your dad is making in the kitchen.
Home Office does not mean vacation
Understanding and visualizing that isolation is to prevent the spread of Coronavirus and not paid vacations, will help us too much when it comes to performing the tasks that are required of us in our company or workplace.
The time and dedication to our tasks should be the same as the one we spend being in the office; sitting down to watch the soap opera while looking sideways at the computer is the formula for failure.
If we follow the advice and are aware and demanding of ourselves, we will surely have a successful and productive quarantine.
Learning to identify our emotions and define our schedules and functions will help us and will allow the Home Office not to be a nightmare, but an opportunity to carry out our work from the comfort of our home while, at the same time, we save the world from the pandemic.