Beat the winter blues and stay productive:
There is a chill in the air. Winter is here. Some of us love it and others hate it. When the sun is out, even the cold does not hold many of us back. We drape in our thick woollen clothes and enjoy the wind on our cheeks. This is for the brave !
Unfortunately, for many, the reality is cold, grey, and damp ! Shorter days, less sunlight, fewer outdoor hours, and lull after the amped-up festive vibe makes many of us feel down and under. It becomes a struggle to function at our normal pace. Fatigue sets in, motivation runs low and it gets tough to maintain a positive mindset. Making it harder for many to leave the comfort and warmth of their bed! The loneliness slowly sets in, and many of us experience the “winter blues”. 2020 has been even more harrowing, because Covid has already left many lonely, and the winter blues could be more excruciating.
Fortunately, all is not lost. The time has come to stoke the flames!!
What can we do to beat the winter blues away?
As many of us continue to work from home this winter, look at creative ways to stay productive. The good news is there are ways to combat the winter gloom and boost your productivity as you work from home. So, whether you are living in snowy New York or rainy London, these expert tips help you make your home office a place of inspiration and motivation. They give us a different perspective when the coldness of winter starts to pull us down.
- Create a designated workspace: It is easy to focus on work when you have a designated workspace without distractions. This workspace should be set up for productivity rather than leisure, with items that spark creativity and positivity. Add lots of green plants. All this will help create a self-soothing work environment.
- Eliminate unnecessary distractions: Remove as many distractions as possible from the home office setup. Deactivate Google Sync so you are less distracted with social media. Turning off most telephone notifications go a long way towards productivity.
- Lighting is crucial when setting up a productive home office: Invest in good lighting, to brighten up your work day and your mood. Set up your desk to face a window so you can see natural light. Having sufficient, pleasant, and lighting at the right place helps keep you motivated, energised and productive.
- Work-life balance is important and essential: Create space between your work and home hours. Have firm boundaries with your work hours – maintain consistent work hours. Embrace the flexibility that comes with working from home. Create a few small rituals to begin and end each day. Resist the temptation of logging after the work day has ended.
- Good habits to improve productivity and stay motivated: Take small breaks to stretch and move during the workday – it refreshes the mind. A movement break boots your ability to maintain focus while amping up your energy for greater productivity. Get 6-8 hours of good sleep as this regenerates the memory cells.
Our take on this:
Do not let the winter blues take you down this winter working from home. With a little bit of initiative and creativity you can change the way you handle winter months. Just remember that a happier you are, it is a more productive you!!
About ExpenseOnDemand
ExpenseOnDemand was founded in 2003 with a vision to enable companies and their talent to focus on their core job by offering a smart, simple, and intuitive expense management solution. We serve as a one stop solution for all the expense management needs of small & medium size businesses (SMBs). Our goal is to offer customers a leap in value. Our mission is to help SMBs automate their employee expense process at a price which is not a burden for any business. Deeply discounted prices are offered to select SMBs & Charities, with a view to reduce the financial burden, save costs, free resources, and alleviate lives. We make it simple to capture, process and share financial information instantly. A unique combination of AI-powered & OCR technology and machine learning turns documents into digital data faster, with a level of accuracy you can trust. This for us, in our own little way, is revolutionising the way the world works! In short, we have removed the “fear” from the fear of automation.