With the spread of the coronavirus, it has affected everything to any extent, from travel to the even the availability of masks and hand sanitizer. Fan out of COVID-19 has shaken the whole world and has become a growing concern for all. To cope up with the present situation many companies are working remotely until the virus can be slowed.

Many people wish to work from the comfort of their own home. Whether you do it by choice or by necessity, working from home has its own benefits, like foregoing commute to save time in favor of few extra minutes of sleep, family time or even exercise. But working remotely also has its own challenges.

It is like a double-edged sword; you have to self-motivate yourself and get going to make as much out of your time as you would in your actual office. Staying productive at home requires constant extra efforts to be focused on actual working.

Weather its household chores or a quick binge of your favorite Netflix show which is more appealing than your to-do list or even the people around who aren’t working, you will find distractions in every corner at home. Also, for some people isolation or sudden cut to socializing at work makes them downer or feel emotionally low thus reducing their productivity.

So before discussing more in detail sit up straight, pull up your work pants and fill your stomach with healthy breakfast. Here are few tips to make yourself productive and accountable while staying focused and mentally healthy.

Find Yourself a Comfortable and Dedicated Work Spot

A comfortable workspace is the key. Find yourself a dedicated spot in the house (definitely not your bed or the couch in the living room) which is distraction free and gives you office vibes like something more structured that you can associate your job to and leave the place when you’re off the clock.

The daily drill of getting ready and going to office preps your brain for the day. Working remotely cuts off the drill part from your schedule, so to help your mind get work ready create few triggers, following the same routine works before leaving for office like making your coffee or breakfast, reading newspaper, exercising etc.

Also, to keep your brain in the working mode, avoid working on anything non work-related during office hours. Don’t do laundry and finish work presentation at the same time.

Prepare a To-Do List

A day planned properly can help keep yourself organized, increase motivation resulting in enhanced productivity. Prepare a to-do thinking about both short-term and long-term goals allocating specific time limits to all the tasks. Write or type the list instead of preparing it in your mind.

You shouldn’t waste your time and energy constantly recalling ad remembering the next task. Tick off the tasks as soon as you finish them, this lets you know that you making progress.

Break down bigger tasks into smaller ones, smaller tasks feel more doable instead of a giant one. And crossing smaller tasks one by one off your list gives you the pleasure and satisfaction of achieving something and being productive also boosts you up with positive energy.

Stay Connected with Your Team

Not everyone is used to working remotely on a regular basis for longer period of time. This might make you feel socially disconnected and lonely effecting your mental and emotional well-being. Try and find innovative methods to stay connected with your colleagues. Video conferencing is one such way help bridge the gap and talking face to face can build collaboration.

Technology has made our lives easy in many ways and so why not utilize it during this pandemic period.  A recent survey tells that many professionals have shifted from telephonic conversations or meetings to video conferencing to increase virtual human touch feel.

Remember to ring every now and then to stay connected and it doesn’t have to be work related always. Sometimes hosting a fun meeting or a virtual coffee or pizza date discussing everything except work can help lighten up everyone’s mood.

Prioritize Your Health

Invest time in your health and wellness as it is crucial and important to happiness and a certain way to steer clear of cabin fever. Be clear and specific about your work timings, decide when your work timings begin and ends. Make some time to stretch in between and take breaks to refresh ad recharge.

Be kind to yourself and understand it takes time to adjust to the new work environment. Don’t over work, switch off completely after working hours to avoid unnecessary straining or burnout. Reach out for healthy juices, water and nuts and ditch regular drinking of soda, cold drinks and chips.

Communicate Effectively

Speaking face to face gives you better understanding of emotions while communicating. Remote conversing is difficult due to removal of a lot of extra information like emotions and visuals. Electronic communications can be misinterpreted easily. So be mindful about the words you choose and your tone while drafting emails or having conversation on instant messaging apps.

Put efforts to make yourself extra clear and concise. If not clear about anything ask questions to understand better before your reply. You can always opt for screen-sharing to get people on the same page and make them understand during meeting calls.

There are tools available to help you communicate effectively like Zoom, Slack can used for videoconferencing and chatting, Confluence for internal wiki, Google Suite for sharing spreadsheets, simple docs etc.

Conclusion

Working remotely is the need of the hour during coronavirus outbreak, it the only way to social distancing and breaking the infection chain. Working from home gives you the opportunity and liberty to develop healthier habits and make extra time for family while continue being productive during work hours.

Keep a check on your energy, don’t strain yourself or take things too hard on yourself. Limit your working only during the work hours. After work leave your cell and laptop outside your bedroom to get peaceful sleep and recharge yourself for the next day.

Managers should also understand that everyone needs different time span to adapt to the new work environment, communicate every now and then give as much information as possible to ease the burden caused by the disruption and help employees struggling with the change.

Don’t force people to add another level of stress. Hope all the above discussed tips help you navigate better in the new remote working environment.

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