Decoding WFH Ways-of-Working for more productivity
Work From Home, which for most of us started eight-nine months back was thought to be something that will last not for a month or two but in reality, got extended perpetually and became the new normal ways of working.
Though the travel to the office is totally done away with this brought in a multitude of other challenges in terms of managing:
1. Workday start and end time mainly switching on and switching off
2. Body break/Physical movement between meetings.
3. Screen time as most of the meeting happen via zoom instead of meeting room/in Person.
4. Work-Life balance: concerns related to being there at home physically but not totally with family for most of the time.
5. Total attention on work, especially if one has both the partners working and small kids.
6. Limited social interaction: peer interaction during tea/coffee breaks and the absence of quick personal or work-related chat at colleague’s cubicle.
These concerns and continuing work from home as a new normal is increasing stress level and also potentially causing stress and sedentary lifestyle-related ailments.
Here are some suggestions that one can inculcate in their daily routine in order to make sure that day can be better planned and can be properly divided into both work and leisure-related activities. The suggestions are divided into multiple sections taking into consideration various aspects of daily life and some key expected outcomes are also mentioned.
Morning Routine:
These suggestions are focused mainly on the activities that need to be conducted early morning. Some of the inspiration is been taken from Kaizen* ways of working where instead of planning a drastic change in one’s life, which most of the time is not sustainable, you need to go for step by step change.
a. “T.I.M.E.” Routine (Inspired from Think like a Monk by Jay Shetty) Trying to get additional 30 mins to 1 hr during the morning by and utilize the same for some personal time which can include one or more than one set of activates mentioned below:
a.1: Thankfulness: Expressing gratitude by starting the day on a positive note. The recommendation is to go for light/soothing music for alarm rather than a loud one. Avoid seeing mobile right after you get up and rather go for watching some natural view/greenery (terrace garden or outside view if one has that).
a.2: Insight: Spend some regular time in getting some extra information which can be taken by reading a newspaper ( it would always be preferable to go for actual newspaper one rather than tab or mobile as most of the day will be spent in front of a screen only) or by listening to a Podcast.
a.3: Meditation: This involves concentrating on one’s breathing and execution of basic mindfulness exercises. The recommendation is to do it in a calm place where either there is no noise or there are natural sounds which will help one to calm down. A basic exercise of taking a deep breath by counting 1–4 and breathing out counting from 1–8 will help a lot in relaxing the mind. There can be some other ways also the meditation can be done like visualization but the basic suggestion here is to relax the mind so that the day is more productive.
a.4: Exercise: This can vary from some basic stretching to brisk walking/running to exercising in the gym. The right mix should be to go for a mix of walking (10–15 mins), stretching and basic workout (10–15 mins ) plus breathing exercises (5–10 mins). Getting some sun early morning is also vital as most of the time is spent indoors. This is the right time to get this extra dose of vitamin-d as well.
b. Plan the Day: Since the morning time is the most productive time, take out 20–30 mins to plan the day in advance. Some of the people generally do this a day before while closing the day but it can be planned in a much better way if the same is done once your mind is fully relaxed post your morning routine. This can be done by using a physical or digital checklist making sure that the meetings which involve more strategic thinking or solution execution are kept during the first half.
Workplace
a. Dedicated space and proper office furniture: Just like a normal workplace make sure that there is a dedicated space for you to work and avoid working in the bedroom as the mind associate bedroom as a place to relax. Special focus needs to be given to the chair and table as well. The chair should be high enough to support your back movement need to be restricted. The table need also to be of an optimum height making sure that one is not stooping too much and have a proper gait to avoid any stain to the neck or back.
b. Declutter the workspace: Clutter in front of you will eventually clutter your mind and it’s recommended to keep the bare minimum of things that will be required. It’s always better to keep some articles emanating positive energy like some inspiring quote, a picture of one of one’s favourite place (already traveled or on the bucket list), an indoor plant.
c. Proper lightning: Best is to go for a location where one can get natural lighting, if that is a challenge then going for a white light instead of yellow will be a better choice. Proper location of light should preferably on top, avoid having a light source just in front which might cause some additional stress to the eyes.
d. Distractions: Avoid a room that has a television/interactive screen and make sure that articles that are generally used by other family members are not present to make sure that the deep thinking time during meetings are fully utilised and any unnecessary interventions can be avoided until very necessary. Another suggestion is to go for prepaid deliveries so that any case of going out/down to get the deliveries can be deferred to late evenings or other defined breaks.
Intermediate breaks and diet
It’s really very important to have a break between the meetings to avoid burnout and to make sure that the energy and focus can be regained for the subsequent meeting. One can be pragmatic in planning the meetings in such a way so that there is some lead time of 5–7 mins where some break can be taken. Some suggestions related to the same are shared below to effectively utilise these breaks.
a. Stretching exercise and breathing: Continuous meetings sometimes lead to stiff neck and back which if ignored for a long time may lead to multiple complications. It’s very important that you perform some basic stretching exercises majorly focussing on joints so as to do away with any potential tautness that might be present due to long hours of meetings. There are a large number of YouTube videos that can help you out with some basic exercises if you search for “Chair Yoga”, “Basic Stretching” or “5 minutes office exercises”. In case of more mental than physical stress, one can also go for a basic breathing exercise to calm the mind.
b. Keeping oneself hydrated: A basic mistake done by most people is that they skip having water during office hours and only once the body gives a panic signal for dehydration then only water is consumed. Recommendations are, based on the climate and other factors, to identify the ideal water intake in a day and keep a note of how much percentage of the same one is achieved. One can either keep a bottle handy (recommendation to keep an earthen bottle or glass which keep the water naturally cool rather than going for cold water directly from the fridge) with a defined measurement (500 ml or 1 Lt) and go for a refill during the intermittent breaks. Having an optimum amount of green tea, normal tea or coffee can also be an additional way of keeping one hydrated.
c. Mobile meetings: In case of discussion where one is not supposed to show any presentation and the focus is to have a normal interaction, the recommendation is to try to connect the meeting using the Mobile Zoom application, have a good quality of headphones (with noise cancellation) and go for a walk. Since most of the meetings consist of presentations which either need to be presented or seen, it would be good if, for some of the meetings where screen time is minimum, the meeting can be taken like this way.
d. Family/me time during lunch break: Make sure that the 1:00 hr break is well planned and the focus should be to finish the food in 30 mins and the next 30 mins can be utilised to have some quality time with your loved ones. In addition to giving you time to refresh it also ensure that one is not sleepy after having lunch. This can also work out as an efficient replacement to post-lunch strolls that people were generally having during office time. The basic context is to make sure that these activities are planned much in advance to efficiently manage this time.
e. Watching food intake: Related to lunch break and subsequent hunger pangs, do ensure that you keep a close watch on what you are consuming during intermittent breaks or during the meetings. A better idea will be to go for fruits or dry fruits instead of fried snacks and avoid overeating.
Switching Off
Once the office timing is over, it’s really very important that you do a mental closure or Switch off of workday. Based on the different time zones, this time might vary from individual to individual but it’s always suggested to have a fixed time range where this is executed during a workday.
a. Keeping a To-Do list for the next day: Every day, keep aside 15–20 mins for listing the tasks which need urgent attention the next day with relative priority. One can use a Diary, notepad (Physical or Digital based on one’s preference) but the key point is to make sure that the pending activities are captured with relevant details.
b. Back to Home: There needs to be a logical break or closure of the workday and once you leave the workplace, thought need to be similar to the one of returning back to the office. Time needs to be efficiently managed to make sure that the same is spend with family or in self-improvement. The way this time can be spent will surely differ from individual to individual but the important point is to have a logical closure of work and plan the remaining time pragmatically. This time is very effective in rebooting the body especially in the case where the workday is particularly hectic.
c. Social interaction: Sometimes every day can also be set aside for interacting with friends, distant family members, or other acquaintances preferably over the phone rather than social media. This time can also be used for putting some social media updates but the major consideration here is that this needs to be properly time-boxed making sure that a major part is not spent in rummaging through the social media accounts potentially invading into other important activities.
d. Reading and/or Listening: Post dinner, individual/family time, it is very important to make sure to keep aside 30–40 mins before going to bed totally device-free (at least for viewing). The time can be utilised to take a stroll, reading a book (not an e-book), or listing to some Podcast or audiobook. Another suggestion is to go for listing to some soft musing (preferably instrumental) which will aid in getting a sound sleep which will eventually help in rebooting the body, making it ready for action for the next day.
Apart from weekdays, it’s very important to plan the weekend much in advance and take regular time-outs to regain the energy for coming days and strive for better and more sustainable work-life balance and productivity.
With some of these small changes, there can be a good amount of change that one can bring in and would in turn help in reducing stress and maintaining a good amount of energy to execute day to day tasks.
Lastly, to lead a healthy and productive life it is very important that one should focus on getting stability at both mind and body facets. Adopting some of these practices in one’s daily routine will surely help in getting an optimum balance and striving for better productivity.
