Divya Dixit suggests ways to ensure that working from home does not affect productivity during the lockdown
With nationwide lockdown amid the Coronavirus pandemic, leading companies and enterprises are seeing most of their workforce operating remotely. Working from home has become the new work culture that people are following during self-quarantine.
And as it gets intensified, there are multiple ways in which following a proper schedule could get tiring as well as confusing. However, one can operate successfully at home by practicing sincere discipline, implementing proper to-do lists and, above all, using technology in the right manner.
There have been conversations aplenty about the challenges of working from home and at the same time, without affecting productivity. It may not be preferred, but currently working from home is the need of the hour to ensure social distancing. Every cloud has a silver lining as does this one. This current predicament gives businesses, employers, and employees a golden opportunity to unlearn the classic operational dynamics and discover new mantras.
This is sure to be a complex period but overcoming these challenges will make us who we want to be. To do so, you need some organising skills to maintain a healthy balance between your personal and professional life and keep them separate.
Keep the day schedule as earlier
While the easiest thing to do is to stay up late at night and get up late in the morning given that you are at home and you don’t have to venture out. However, following the old office schedule is more helpful even while you’re at home. Get up on time, have your early morning coffee and squeeze in some me-time. Don’t forget that working out is of utmost importance. Don’t forego the habit and try to organise your schedule at least for the next 24 hours.
Sitting on a couch or the bed while working might look comfortable at first but one needs to remember that it’s not going to be just one or two days of working in the comfort of your home. Setting up a workstation will not only make you more focussed but will also help you maintain a fine line between your personal and professional spaces.
Agenda planning
A day without any set agenda can go haywire with you having no clue of the to-dos. You might have an idea as to what all you are supposed to work on, however, as the day progresses, one tends to forget as assignments keep piling. Keeping a proper to-do-list to segregate and prioritise what’s important and what’s not and following it religiously will help you plan your day better.
Keep time for breaks
As we are working from home, we tend to sit on our assignments and digital screens for long hours continuously, which can have an adverse impact on our body and mind. Make it a point to take breaks in between and get up from the workstation for short breaks — going for a stroll to the balcony might help. Instead of sitting and attending calls, you can walk while doing so as it will help your body relax a bit.
Be in constant touch with your team
Working from home doesn’t mean you have to work in isolation or all by yourself. Ensure you take every opportunity to engage with your team or colleagues. Be in constant touch with your team via conference calls, video calls, emails, hangout chats and more. Check if everything is fine at your colleagues’ ends and if the work is going smoothly. In times like these, we need to reach out to each other as and when required, too.
Balance between household chores and office work
The biggest drawback of working from home is that people tend to mix both their personal and professional lives, leaving very little time at hand for themselves or their family. One can strike the perfect balance by setting a fixed time where you will not work or sit in front of your laptop to work. Planning your day shouldn’t only be restricted to your assignments and projects. Space out your timings for lunch and a coffee break to relax during the day.
Stick to your official routine
While working from home might now save a lot of time spent in commuting for some people, this shouldn’t mean that you start working way past your defined hours just because you have enough time at hand. This is the moment where you unwind and utilise the extra time you have by doing something you look forward to before you end the day. It could be spending quality time with your family members, pet, learning an art, reading a book or, for that matter, catching up on the series you are currently hooked to. These activities will not only help you to relax your mind but also keep you fresh for the next day.
In times of a lockdown, it is an individual responsibility to be self-motivated and accountable. Begin by developing measurable goals for work and continue to communicate with the world via technology — the biggest thing keeping us sane in such ‘no-socialisation’ times.
(The writer is SVP, Marketing, Analytics and Direct Revenue, ALTBalaji.)
