During this time of the Coronavirus Outbreak, those of us fortunate enough to have been able to work from home can count ourselves lucky! We are fortunate that technology as enabling us to be able to work remotely at the comfort of our home and do not need to leave our home at the risk of both contracting and spreading viruses. Here are some of the tips for working from home during the lockdown
With that out of the way, I would like to talk about my experience working from home especially when you don’t leave home. While I am not in a place where we are restricted to leave our homes, I am getting ready and prepared.
Find a Dedicated Work Space For Work
It is important to dedicate a space for work. If you have a spare room this is ideal for a home office. If you don’t have the luxury of having a dedicated room, then you can assign a dedicated desk or spot in your home. This is because allows you to get in the frame of mind to work.
Make Your Working Space Clear of Hazards
Tidy the area around your work station and ensure all cables or equipment are neatly bundle and do not cause any hazards. Ensure the path to our workstation is clear from any obstruction. For those of us who work for a company, follow their work from home guidelines. Look into Ergonomic equipment like chairs, mouses, etc.
Create a Clean Environment For Your Work
The best thing you can do is to limit distractions while working from home. The best way to do this is to have a clean and tidy environment. Try to limit any distractions in your workspace, for example, removing any items that may distract you while you work. It’s important to have everything available in front of you so you do not need to find things while working. Stopping in the middle of something to find a pen or a note pad can be quiet distracting. This interrupts your flow during work.
Get Dress and Get Ready for Work
While it’s comfortable getting up in your PJs and start working, I usually change my clothes to something I would wear going outside. Not necessary work clothes but something that is not PJs. This is because I want to simulate leaving the home. This sets your mind to a place
Limit media distractions
It’s quite difficult to not track the news during this crisis but there is some much you need to know. During the time yo. Ensure the path to our workstation is clear from any obstruction. For those of us who work for a company, follow their work from home guidelines. articles on your browser, keep any news updates away. Media outlets like to “sensationalize” news to get more views. It’s best not to consume news during your time at home until you need to. All you need to know is how to protect you and your family, and be updated with the announcements from the WHO and local authorities. This should not consume all your energy and focus all day. If you need to, set a time once or twice a day to get an update on the news. Best to skip the news in the morning and leave it to just before you plan to leave home.
Keep Healthy and Hydrated During Your Work Day
While everyone is trying to adjust to all the changes and our new way of working, it is easy to forget about the most important thing… YOUR HEALTH!
Why not take this opportunity to focus on your health by trying out new things and focus on having a healthy diet. For me, that is to have something healthy the first thing I put in my body. The first thing I do every morning is to drink a glass of water and to it, I add lime juice and/or pink Himalayan salt.
You may think why do I drink this? When we sleep at night our body dehydrates. A dehydrated body causes brain fog and our inability to focus. By drink water (and lots of it in the morning, it helps our body hydrate and so it can function normally).
How about the lime and pink salt? Lime contains a whole of vitamins (in particular vitamin C and antioxidants). Lime water may not suit some people so if this is you just skip it. Himalayan salt (NOT normal table salt) has heaps of good minerals and is naturally from the mountains. Unlike sea salt, Himalayan salt does not contain the containments from the sea.
Lime: https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/lime-water-benefits
Himalayan Salt: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pink-himalayan-salt
Water: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/drinking-water-in-the-morning
We need to keep our body in optimal health so it’s important to maintain a healthy diet during this time and keep up immunity up.
Give Yourself Regular Breaks and Move Around
A good thing to do is to set an alarm for every 45 minutes or so for a break. Go for a stretch every now and then. Stand up, walk to the kitchen and drink some water. Do a few push-ups and squats. Try to move around during the day.
Interact with your Colleagues
During this period, a lot of us may be isolated at home. Make sure you keep in touch with your colleagues and interact with them. Organize some catch-up sessions to check-in if everyone is ok. Use Skype, Hangouts or Zoom to have more face to face time with colleagues rather than emails or message apps.
Schedule Your Work at the Day Before so you can be the focus from the Next Morning
During this time it’s easy to lose focus. Try writing your daily tasks the night before and assign time for each task. By writing time next to your task, you can focus on completing each task one at a time. This is a good way to track your work and be most productive.
The next few months will be a challenge for most of us. We need to work and help each other. The best way for each of us as an individual to help is to stay home and do not come up unless we need to for essential activities. For those of us with the luxury working from home, just work from home. The fewer people we interact with physically, the better.
Why not make the most of working from home and turn a negative situation to a positive one. Use this opportunity to optimize your workday and improve your health and focus.
Key Takeaway
Try to make your workday like you are working at the office but with added benefits:
- Having a clean and tidy work environment
- Make your work station easily accessible without any hazards
- Dress up so you feel like you’re at work
- Keep Healthy and keep moving around every now and then
- Interact more with people
- Be Organised by Planning Your Day