5 challenges when working from home and how to overcome them

Over the past week, we have seen quite substantial steps by both governments as well as organizations. Amongst those, many companies have shifted to ‘work from home’ (WFH) wherever possible. 

You don’t have to be an epidemiologist to appreciate that the situation is not going to go away by the end of March. And that there is a fair chance that restrictions will be prolonged or even tightened. So where we are at might be the new normal for the next weeks and months.

But life must go on and so must the economy. So, the question is how can we be most productive under the current circumstances?

Working from home challenges

WFH comes with quite a few challenges for both employees as well as managers. Personally, I love working remotely and the flexibility it gives me. Some may like the idea of working from home but can’t manage it in practice, and others dislike the whole idea altogether. There’s also a big difference between WFH a day a week whilst still having the stability of the office environment vs. WFH for prolonged periods of time (two weeks or longer).

In this article I would like to share what I see the biggest challenges for individuals with WFH and a few tips how to get through those…

Challenge #1 You feel lonely and disconnected

Loneliness and lack of human interaction can’t be underestimated as a de-motivational factor. Anyone who has worked from home for extensive periods of time will be able to vouch for that.

Unfortunately, the usual solutions to deal with this, like working from a coffee shop or a co-working space to find some company, are off the table for now.

So, time to amp up the face time and limited interactions you can still get. Leverage technology as much as you can and don’t be shy to set up additional video conferencing meetings or calls just to stay in touch with coworkers. Don’t always need a specific business reason to have a chat with your colleagues. 

Time with your family and friends whether in the same household, or over Skype has become increasingly important too.

We are all in this together

Challenge #2 You have issues managing your time & productivity

One thing that many of us are afraid of, is the risk of procrastination and falling for the many distractions at home. Struggling with getting started in the morning? Tempted to fix one thing quickly in the kitchen or living room and spending the rest of the day focusing on it? Find yourself getting sidetracked on Facebook?

The solutions - Routines, discipline and proper time management

Lots has been written about the benefits of morning routines - Get up at a reasonable time (don’t touch your phone!), then perhaps meditate, work out, do some yoga with your favorite youtube instructor, or whatever works for you. Shower, put on some (at least half) presentable cloths and go to your work area.

Time management becomes increasingly important so schedule your day. There are many resources out there to help with your time management, effectiveness and efficiency. Covering all of them would to too much for this article, but one Tim Ferriss question that always helped me was ‘What’s the one thing that I can do today that will render everything else irrelevant?’ and then make sure you do it.

Focus on being productive instead of busy - Tim Ferriss

Challenge #3 Too many interruptions

Being at home, potentially with your family and kids that are being home schooled in isolation, means many distractions. I don’t have children but I can only imagine. Also, I love my wife to the moon, but the amount of times I heard ... “Love, when you have a moment could you…”

The first point to note is that when your confined to a space, you’re in it together. The others are locked up with you just as much as you are with them! It’s not easy for anyone and it will take some time to adjust. So be patient, considerate and have a discussion with them around the new way of working from home.

Make sure everyone understands boundaries and your need for focus time. Maybe a signal such as wearing headphones or being at your workstation can work as a sign to not be interrupted.

Focus does not mean saying yes, it means saying no - Steve Jobs

Challenge #4 You can’t switch off at the end of the day

One of the less obvious challenges with WFH is to not be able to unplug at the end of the day. It’s so tempting when you are already at home to finish one more thing… and in no time it’s 9 or 10pm. Work never stops. This is especially true in times of self-isolation when many won’t be able to leave their home after work. Creating a hard line between work and personal life in this case is tough but here are two things I have found here very helpful – creating a place to work and strict end of day routines.

Have a dedicated workspace that you can go to in the morning and leave at night, almost the same way as with the office. Unfortunately, not everyone will have the luxury of a dedicated home office but a desk somewhere in a corner, or a place on the dinner table that forces you to put stuff away once done for the day will do too. Bonus points if you can make it ergonomically fit for you.

In addition to scheduling enough breaks throughout the day, make sure to put some events on the calendar that force you to end your working day. Maybe a family workout routine in the living room at 6pm followed by dinner?

Communicate those with your manager and team, especially if you work across different time zones so everyone understands your boundaries. Then be disciplined with shutting down your laptop, switching off mobile phone communications (if you can) and sticking to your schedule.

Be fair to yourself as well as your family

Challenge #5 Communication challenges and being visible

It’s unlikely that you’ll be the only one in your company working remotely. Communicating between people that WFH can be a challenge, particularly so if email becomes the primary form of communication. Emailing can reduce much of the message you are trying to convey and can open the potential for misunderstanding.

It’ll be particularly difficult for your manager to understand what everyone is doing for example, and trust that things are still on track, as much as they can be. In this case, make sure that you are clear on what you are supposed to achieve, by when and then share updates slightly more frequently.

I think in these uncertain times, you almost can’t overcommunicate. So, take it up a notch, be more sensitive to the best way to say what you’re trying to say and what is the best format to communicate it. Perhaps try to talk more, as mentioned earlier, don’t be shy to use those video conferencing tools. Set up an additional 15min call or two with someone if things are not clear. Or if you feel you are being misunderstood. 

Communication works for those who work at it - John Powell

Every crisis has an opportunity

These are stressful times. But all crises present us with opportunities. This might be your opportunity to rise and shine.

So, it takes discipline to adjust to WFH. But once the new routines and habits are formed WFH can be very effective. And what’s the alternative right now? ‘Working from home doesn’t work for me…’ is not an option for many of us anymore...

Thanks a lot for reading if you have gotten this far.

Do you have any other tips or challenges that others would find helpful? Leave them in the comments below. Like or share if you found this useful.