We all would agree that for many of us, the last few weeks have seen an unprecedented shift in the way that we not only work, but also function as individuals, families and society as a whole. We all have lost our self control in some or the other way. Some of us are struggling to maintain momentum during this period of uncertainty and even our productivity has gone down due to downtime.
All are trying to do some or the other thing during this unprecedented time and survive this crucial time. Some are feeling overwhelmed with the sheer volume of work. Others are trying to adapt to working at home while also home-schooling their children during this difficult time and find some way to stay focus on their work.
Sadly, some have already lost their jobs as a result of downtime. As well as extremely serious implications for people’s health, there is clearly a big impact working from home saves on commuting time and accords choice of working conditions, but at the same time it becomes problematic to professional and personal while working remotely and we are not that productive as we used to be.
It is challenging to keep up the productivity as there is a distinct possibility of taking things a little too easy when working from home and getting addicted to unwanted things. It also has a significant impact on people’s mental health and mental well being as we move into uncertain duration of the downtime.Whichever category you fall into, we are all adjusting to being at home doing our best to have a productive and effective day.
Few tips are given below so as to make you adapt to the new way of working and living
Try to limit distractions
This is a pretty big one. Being home can be very distracting, especially if your kids are home too and it may be difficult to have self control on self. This is one of the specific reasons that it’s important to have a dedicated place to work. When you’re in your office or at your desk (homemade) it’s a clue to your family that they should avoid interrupting you. You may see the house hold work that needs self control to get done and feel tempted to do that instead of working. You might be tempted to jump on social media instead of focusing on your to-do list. Resist the temptation. Don’t look at the housework. You can get to that later. Close your social media apps. Focus on your to-do list first
Take care of your mental health
Stay in touch with others such as colleagues, friends and family. Celebrate birthdays, give public praise for goals reached and projects completed. Make sure you take time to look after yourself in the evenings and you stay focused on the important things
Make a To-Do list
This goes along with the point above. How do you know when your work day is done? If you don’t have a to-do list, you may not. Think of your list as your goals for the day. You may not get everything checked off every day, but it will help you stay on track as you check things off your list
Categorizing your to-do list
Sort your to do list by type of task. Categorizing enables you to think about the type of tasks you need to complete and which activities can be done together. You can also ‘mix it up; spend an hour doing job-work, take a break and then spend an hour doing house-work if that is how you make best use of your time. Just make sure you get done everything you need to by checking off your to-do list as you go. You can have a separate to do list for Personal and for work.
Follow a routine
If you don’t set or follow a daily routine, you might end up feeling that you’re not getting anything done or like you never stop working. Have a set start time when you start work and a set end time when you end your work. Build in breaks at times that work for your family. Be flexible as there may be other things coming up (like virtual meetings). This schedule will also give you time to be with your kids if they’re at home with you. You can plan what they are going to work on while you are working whether that’s educational programming, some worksheets or a book to read.
Learn new techniques from YouTube
The internet is one of the coolest things that is available there. You can take advantage of that during the current situation but ensure that your screen time is limited to your requirement and you are not doing unnecessary surfing. YouTube is a great platform to spend time while learning new skills and techniques. You can get ideas about a variety of food recipes by watching videos on YouTube. Many other essential and entertaining techniques can be learned from online video streaming platforms like YouTube