5 Tips to make the best of working from home during this pandemic
Once, back in 2016, Fifth Harmony came up with the Lyrics ‘’You don’t gotta go to work/We can work from home’’. And, honestly, I think they made some really good points.
Although at the time they weren’t ‘’worried ‘bout nothin’’, nowadays, and considering the world pandemic, many of us don’t have any other choice than working or studying from home.
I know it sucks when we can’t decide whether to work or study from home is better than doing those things either in the office or in school, but for our own safety, we have to adapt to the situation we are facing and make the best of it.
Today I gathered some tips from reliable sources, a.k.a the Youth for Global Goals content creation crew and the World Economic Forum, to make your experience feel like heaven on earth!
TIP Nº1: Plan your day ahead
One of the things that most people mentioned when I asked about this topic is planning your day ahead.
You can either do it at the start of the day and lay-out all your activities in a schedule, or you can, following my example, plan your week ahead. You can read more about how I do it here.
The truth is, the more we stick to a schedule the easier it is to follow a routine, and that’s really important when we are trying to maintain normality in a time where nothing feels normal.
TIP Nº2: Have a separate room where you can work in
I don’t know about you, but I can’t work or study in the same place where I sleep. And I’m not the only one thinking like that.
According to the Harvard Business Review’s Guide to Being More Productive: “Unless you are careful to maintain boundaries, you may start to feel like you’re always at work and losing a place to come home to.”
If you still don’t believe me or Harvard, believe my friend Assia. According to her, working in a separate room from where she sleeps has been helping her stay productive and enjoy working from home.
If you can’t afford to work or study in a different room, you can always try and find a particular place and dedicate it exclusively to either work or study.
TIP Nº3: Turn off your Wifi when you don’t need it
Have you ever been so caught up on your work group-chats and notifications that you lose track of time and end up missing both your bedtime and your leisure time? Because I have.
If you want to keep your mental health in check, maybe you should either turn off your wifi or your notifications when it’s time to live your life outside work or study.
According to The Guardian, not being able to disconnect can make it harder to escape a 24/7 work schedule and, therefore, compromise your work-life balance.
If you want more tips on how to keep your mental health in check during this social distancing, you can read this blog I wrote a few weeks ago with some tips.
TIP Nº4: Incorporate productivity techniques in your routine.
About two years ago I was the least productive person ever. I was constantly losing track of what I was doing and not getting anything done. Then, I came across something called The Pomodoro Method and my life changed.
Basically, in this method, you define a time slot and that time slot is divided into four sections of time — one full cycle. After each section you get a five-minute break and, when you finish the four sections, you get a big break that you can use to unwind.
This method is great to keep you motivated to work because you know that you get rewarded at the end of each cycle, which helps you stay motivated to work!
I’ve been using the app Brain Focus to time out my cycles and stay productive using this method. The app allows you to stay on track of your breaks and it also helps you stay out of social media because it ‘’locks’’ your phone when it’s work time.
Besides Pomodoro, you can also use Google Calendar which is great to keep track of your schedule and you can also opt for Forest. Forest is an app that blocks your phone for you, so you can’t use it while doing your chores, and if you don’t unblock it before the time limit it plants a tree.
With Forest, you stay productive and help the environment.
Tip nº 5: Grab (virtual) After-work/study drinks with your friends and co-workers
Who doesn’t enjoy some drinks with friends after a long day of work or studying? I certainly do! You have no idea how much I miss going out to drink a beer with my friends.
According to The World Economic Forum, it’s very important to keep social normality during this quarantine and a great way to do that is having after-work drinks — on video chat — with your friends!
Honestly, I approve of this recommendation! I approve of it so much that I have been doing it with my friends.
You can watch movies with them on Netflix Party, you can do a skype call or even Quiz Night! (I did a Quiz Night last Sunday and it was really amazing)
According to a report on SDG 8 — Decent Work and Economic Growth — as of 2018, youth were three times more likely to be unemployed. And this is very concerning.
From my experience in the working field, one of the things that employers value the most is our ability to adapt. And this is a great time to show our future bosses that we can adapt, pretty well, to any situation.
So take these tips and become a pro at working or studying from home. Show the ‘’grown-ups’’ that we can do it and that we can adapt.
Nevertheless, it’s up to us to make the best of every situation. I guarantee you that, if you follow these tips, you’re going to feel a lot better and maybe, who knows, you might come to enjoy working from home better!
