Covid-19 Has Locked You Indoors? Here Are 8 Ways To Efficiently Work From Home

Quarantine & Chill? Isn’t as lovely as it sounds right? We know, we’re all in this together. While everyone is talking about the right ways of implementing social distancing and giving you tips on how to wash our hands, that’s not the only thing we need to learn. Everyone is going through a significant psychological change, and not everyone can cope with it.

To ease this journey and assist you during the Covid-19 crisis, here are 8 tips to stay professional even in a home environment:

Pick the right outfit. You will surely be tempted to lie down on your bed with a packet of chips and work, but don’t. When you’re working from home, especially with more people around, you need to make sure to keep a professional outlook towards work. That absolutely does not mean we are asking you to dress up in your best suit and work. Pick up an outfit that is comfortable yet doesn’t want to make you go back to bed.

Set dedicated work timings. Of course, you’ll be tempted to take that afternoon nap or try and squeeze in a few extra hours of sleep in the morning. But in times of working from home, you need to have dedicated work timing, so everyone around you also knows you are not to be disturbed in those hours. Also setting a routine will help you schedule your work accordingly, and your team members will know when to get in touch with you.

Clear defined goals with your boss. The Covid-19 crisis has got all the project managers in a state of panic as they believe work cannot be completed unless everyone is physically present in the office. This situation is undoubtedly highlighting the Baby Boomers and Millennials’ mindset of working. As Baby Boomers are not entirely comfortable with the idea of working from home, it is crucial to establish clear goals and timelines. This will also help you make sure both you and your boss are on the same page.

Bundle up similar tasks together. Especially video calls and one-on-one meetings. When you bundle up all your calls back to back in a single bundle, you can stay in the right mindset and have a no disturbance sign for the rest. Doing a call and taking a break might extend into an extended vacation that you don’t feel like returning from. Instead create set times for all your video calls.

Avoid feeling isolated. Working from home can get quite lonely. You miss your office space and your office chai-coffee buddies. But in this time of crisis, we need to stick together and make sure we aren’t isolating ourselves to the extent of depression. Continuously communicate with your office colleagues even if it means a 10 minute zoom call a day. Staying in touch with the outside world while you’re locked indoors will fill up the absence of community presence.

Create a workspace. Creating a dedicated workspace is mandatory, even if it means adding a divider between two tables. When you create a professional zone, your mind will automatically switch to work mode when you use that particular area. Set up a clean and organised workspace and if you’re used to a formal office, replicate that environment in your work-from-home space. For example, if you have brought some of your desk items home, arrange it in the same position you would in your office. This will trick your mind into believing you’re in your work zone.

Make complete use of the cloud & apt tools. Mails. Mails. Mails. After losing the privilege of quickly hopping on to your colleague’s desk, you will be swamped with emails. Make sure to avoid this situation. Ask your teams to use project management tools that will cut down on emails. Don’t spam people on WhatsApp with work-related queries. Use mediums like Google Hangouts or Slack, so even the person you are communicating to can distinguish between personal and professional messages. Additionally, make sure to create all your documents on the cloud for better access by all.

Keep up your spirits. Assure creativity by not letting your confined circumstances hinder your tranquility, happiness or productivity. Before you focus on anything else, you need to make sure you’re in the right mindset. With the constant updates of your surroundings, you might find it challenging to keep your spirits up, but you need to accept whatever is beyond your control. Utilise this time to create a clutter-free life and take up hobbies that spark joy.