So much we hear talk only about how to be more productive, working from home: combine writing e-mails while doing hatha yoga and at the same time juggle a frying pan and a book on self-development. Unfortunately, the question of certain psychological pressure and desperate sadness of people who enjoyed a clear separation of work – home, friends – colleagues, office – an orchid on the windowsill in the living room, remains open.
More and more companies are switching to remote work, some startups, trying to save on office rent, create online teams where absolutely all employees have digital contracts, but what about those who are completely not used to productivity on the couch and miss open office spaces and colleagues, which is always at hand? And with self isolation going on around the world how do we deal with this?
Today we will share some tips that at one time helped me successfully switch to a remote company with a staff of 5000+ people.
Separate the “work area” from the main part of your home.
The main and first rule from the list. Long-term working from home blurs the line between your everyday life and the processes that you usually do in the office. Of course, it is easier to distinguish between space when there is a lot of it in your house, but what to do when it is not? It will be enough to move your work surface to a different corner from the bed / sofa, arrange a table, perhaps consider the kitchen as an option of your office, and, believe me, it is worth investing some investment in that comfortable armchair with a soft back, since productivity is horizontal or inconvenient position is much lower. Plus, do not forget about a healthy posture.
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Get out of bed
The resulting rule from the first paragraph. Oh, this habit of bringing a working computer to bed in the morning! It sounds tempting, but only until you spend the first 2-3 hours of your day in this position, skipping such important morning rituals as making a bed, making breakfast and applying your favorite mask to your face. Having got out from under the blanket somewhere in the lunch area, even taking into account that you sorted out the mail and read yesterday’s report, you at the physiology level will think that you still didn’t manage to do something. This feeling is not the best companion in your daily routine, but it is verified that it remains with you until the end of the day. By the way, do not forget to make a bed in the morning, as sometimes a blanket can play with us a tempting game “keep warm only for 5 minutes”.
Replace lunch with a walk or yoga
My favorite item. Of course, if work and localization allows, set aside at least 15-20 minutes during a break for a walk in the fresh air. Oxygen and even a temporary distraction from the home space will have a beneficial effect on the bottom as a whole + they say that this increases productivity. I recommend this item to everyone and while working in the office. For advanced: intentionally forget the phone at home – you get a kind of meditative walk: only you, the sound of the wind, birds and the sky.
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Create a schedule
In the first days of working from home, it may seem like you have a lot of time, because, firstly, you no longer spend 1-1.5 hours on the way to the office and back, and secondly, it takes much less time for breaks, since at home breakfasts and dinners are generally faster than stretching rendezvous with colleagues in the office kitchen. Creating and maintaining a schedule will help you not to overwork business hours, delimit time for personal affairs and, most likely, as a result, you will have free time for new hobbies, walks, chatting with relatives or ordinary procrastination.
Or create a new office dress code. After waking up, along with the realization that we do not need to leave the house, some need to modify our wardrobe for this day disappears. Adorable pajama pants travel with us from the bed to the desktop, to the kitchen and back. Try in the morning after waking up and bathing procedures to choose comfortable, but neat home clothes. For example, something from the Oysho collections or just soft tracksuits.
Basically, companies currently care about the mental health of their employees even at a distance: they announce educational webinars and organize team online breakfasts with coffee and talking not only about projects, but also about who and how they spend their personal time. We inspire each other and everyone can teach us something new – the main thing is to be open and not to lose the fuse that will help to realize our ambitions, even while staying at home.
