Amidst the coronavirus situation, millions are doing work from home to stop the spread of this virus. We all know social distancing is the only new rule to give a break to its chain reaction. But it means that we have to stop working? Definitely not, most of the jobs can be done online without any office of anything. What you just need is your laptop, an active internet connection, and a workspace.
From the guidelines of WHO, anyone who wants to work online can freely do by sitting from his/her home. You need to be present physically everywhere to complete your work. We all are using Remote Desktop Software and other modern technologies to reduce the physical connection and maintain social distancing. Even Google and Microsoft, pioneers in their respective fields are allowing workers to work online. And trust me, working online is a bit easier than working offline, but sometimes you just lose your mind working online. In this article, we will be discussing some of the tips to work from home without losing your mind.
Well, you might have accepted the fact that work from home might be having some special perks. Yes, no doubt it has some special perks but apart from these it also requires some special skills of controlling the mind to work in the right direction all day long. You are free to do anything, but at the same time, you are alone and might miss some special talks with your colleagues. You can work in pajamas, but you will miss the feeling of going to the office every day. Both of them are true from their own perspective, but work from home is the need of the hour.
According to one study, the productivity level of many workers reduces when they are working from home, but why this, instead it should be the opposite, but it isn’t. This is because, between all these, we forget what pressure and situation our mind will be facing at work from home. Full body is in routine to work offline, but switching might become difficult for some workers which is the reason behind the decrease in their productivity. Spending enough time alone will suck your mind and might make you job-sick. You have to set some boundaries while working from home which will allow you to work efficiently and effectively. Here in this article, we will be listing some techniques and tips which will help you all around to make your work from home a bit easier.
Note: Thanks to God who gave you such a job which is allowing you to work from home, a luxury in this pandemic period. There are many such workers who are not having this option, pray for their health in this tough time.
Tips to work from home without losing your mind.
This section of the article will cover some important tips that will be really helpful for you to keep your mind stable while working from home in this pandemic time. Let’s start.
1. Get Dressed
You might be enjoying your unhygienic period of bed to table and table to bed, but for how long? If you continue following this routine, you will soon be bored from your work and will think of quitting your job. Although no one is looking at you and no one is there to guide you, do it for self-hygiene. Take a bath every morning after you wake up and drink a light coffee which will wake you up mentally. Once you take a bath, eat something healthy and not too heavy. Keep it medium since this food will only give you energy the whole day.
Now, after your breakfast is ready, the most important thing which you have to do is to get dressed in formals. Follow the actual routine you used to follow when you used to go to your office daily. This will keep your mind straight and make it ready for work. You can leave some space and take some benefit of WFH by not wearing shoes or not wearing a tie, it goes but you shouldn’t be working in the same pajamas which you were wearing during your night time. This will not activate your brain, instead, it will deactivate its some functions and make you less productive.
It is your responsibility to set boundaries. This doesn’t mean that you have to wear jeans and a shirt and something, no you can wear something formal plus comfortable in which you can focus on your work and not on anything else. Treat your mind like you are only working in your office, and not in your home. Your productivity depends on how you train and treat your mind. Just bluff your mind and boom, your mind will not be blown by working online.
2. Exercise in the morning
You know what, doing exercise every morning will make you energetic and calm which are required to perform well in your work from home job. Take out half an hour from your morning schedule and devote it to exercise. There are some happy hormones released when we burn out some calories which will directly affect our work and mood. You do not need to go to the gym in this pandemic time, just rotate your hands, go for a morning walk, join online boot camps, do some yoga and that’s it. Doing all of these activities in the morning will keep your mood good for the whole day and will definitely increase your productivity.
3. Yoga
If you think you are not patient enough to continue working online work from home, then the best solution to this problem is to do yoga daily. This is majorly required for stability of mind and trust me, if you start working yoga daily, you will feel the difference in just 4-5 days. You will feel more active, more patient, and more productive which will increase your opportunities to work in a much higher position in your company.
4. Don’t forget to make a dedicated workspace
This is the most important thing required to work from home without losing your mind. If you do not have a dedicated workspace, then how are you expecting a better result by just working on the bed? This is totally unacceptable. If you are a working person, you should be having a dedicated workspace where you can work for a few of the coming months till covid gets in control. Make any coffee table or any other table that is comfortable also your desktop space, and find a comfortable, suitable chair to sit on. You can take some benefit of Work from home by ordering a recliner but you should have a proper dedicated workspace which should look like someone works here.
Make a working atmosphere around your workspace which will help you in focusing on your work. Make sure this workspace is quite unreachable for your other family members and is present at a quiet place. Drink some coffee and get back to your workspace. You can make your workspace as comfortable as you want to but make sure it is not killing your productivity. Tell your family members to not disturb you while you are working.
5. Go outside
Well, it is a bit risky to go outside in this pandemic, but take just for a walk around the garden without coming in contact with anyone. This will depict a different picture to your brain which will let it go in the passive state or rest state. This rest state of the brain is quite necessary as working continuously will overburden your brain and will kill your productivity. Thus, go outside grab some coffee, call your best friend or your family member, and if you have a dog just play with him then. Take him for a walk. Sitting is not considered healthy for your health as it can talk your whole body into an inactive position where you will feel like everything is bad. Don’t sit idle, even if you are not working, go for a walk without coming in contact with anyone.
6. Set up your workspace nicely
Your workspace should look like a workspace. Buy some necessary things like standing desks, some stands, some lights, some guides, and many more things. Put these things around your workspace with the correct lighting setup. It should be motivating you to work more. If your workspace will look nice, you will automatically feel like you should work here, on the other hand, if your working space will look bad, why would anyone feel like working there. So make sure to correctly set up your workspace by purchasing some important items. You can also take help from an interior designer to set it right.
7. Remain active in your office working group
Working online for over a long period of time might be boring. How many of your friends still remember you and have some memories? I bet there would not be many. So, remain active in your colleague group. You all are working remotely, but we all use mobile. Discuss with them and come up with some new ideas.
8. No TV near working space
Yes, No TV near the working space. It will kill your focus level and productivity level in one go. Unless and until you are working in a TV channel office, there should be no TV around your working area. The background noises created by TV will distract your mind and will make you less productive. You can grab all the knowledge and other news after your working hours but not during the working hours. In your free time, you can read some books, even play video games or do something productive instead of watching TV.
9. Keep your snacks ready
It is very important to keep some eatables on your working table as they will help you continue working for hours without any hunger strike. You might have noticed that if we do not eat anything for around two hours, our mind starts craving some food. This craving is very dangerous. To avoid such things, keep some eatable snacks and some cold drinks aside from your working table. It has two benefits; one you will not be distracted by your cravings and the other you do not have to go all around to find something to eat between your working hours. You can keep some nuts, fruits, and anything healthy around you. During your lunchtime, make sure you are not consuming something heavy as this can lead to some drowsiness.
10. Shut it down
Work from home does not mean working all-around 24 hours. If your office work gets completed, just turn off your computer and sit with your family or friends. You need not do anything extra on the computer as it will irritate your brain and will make your job more difficult. Once your office hours get completed, turn off your computer, eat something, go outside, enjoy, and get prepared for the next day. One more thing which you should do is to not put your workspace around your sleeping area or in the same room. This will make your mind monotonous of watching things again and again which might be harmful to your productivity. So, keep separate rooms for your working and sleeping.
11. Set Some Boundaries
You should set some boundaries while working from home. In WFH, you are free to do anything without anyone saying anything. This might be dangerous for your productivity and you will start losing your mind. To keep this simple, you should set some boundaries like not sleeping at this time, eating this and that, working this and not that, and some other which you think will benefit you.
12. Avoid social media while working hours
It is very important. You shouldn’t be using social media and other entertaining websites during your working hours. They can hamper your productivity and if you start enjoying this, there is no way to come back to work. So, it is highly recommended to not use social media websites during working hours. You can keep your personal mobile aside by turning off its internet connection. And removing your social media accounts from your computer or desktop will also help you to work effortlessly without any difficulty and distraction.
13. Utilize your free time
In your break time, you can listen to any podcasts and read any book. Make sure you avoid peeping into screens during your break time. Give your mind and eyes rest for some time and make them prepare to work in the next shift.
So, here were some of the important tips to work from home without losing your mind. These tips and tricks will be very beneficial for you if you start applying them correctly. Make sure you are enjoying your job by giving it proper time. Plus, feel blessed that you are not among those who still have to go outside in this pandemic situation to earn some money. All the best for your job and comment down your best hack which you applied to work efficiently from home.
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