Making 'Work from Home' Work

While most people argue in favour of Work from Home, its efficiency is often debated. I mean who doesn’t like chilling in their pyjamas with no one to stare at your laptop behind your back.

Often it is not easy to switch on and stay away from the distractions of home, which is something that an office space facilitates. Sometimes we even get too comfortable, often leaning towards being lazy.

I hate wearing formals, but the origin of formal clothes can be traced back to military where wearing the uniform is a trigger for the mind to start showing specific traits*. So psychologically it makes sense that the workplace and norms add to productivity but how can we manage the same productivity levels while working from home. Here are a few things I do:

Trigger a start and a finish:      Our mind is a beautiful device, but sometimes you must manipulate it into believing things – Things like work time has started/ ended. Start your day with a trigger before opening your laptop. I sit down and have a bowl of oats like I do at work. Also, have a trigger to indicate that the day is over – Like I go for a run or do a set of pushups.

Maintain work timing:               Try and work for the same hours as your office work timings and with the same efficiency.

Be comfortable, but not too comfortable: Avoid working from your bedroom and find a spot where you are comfortable like a dining table. Try and sit facing a wall and away from Television or Playstation to maintain focus.

Find Focus mechanisms:          Music helps me concentrate and I play the same song repeatedly when working on a task and it lets me focus on the task and not the music. Once I finish the task, I reward myself with another song. Find what works for you.

Take reasonable Breaks:         We are often tempted to take long breaks which in turn increases our working time to deliver the same result which takes away the advantage of avoiding travelling hours. On the contrary, not taking a break might cause burnout. Try and replicate breaks like what you do at work and maintain a healthy balance. One day I even decided to go play a game of 10 pin bowling all by myself during my lunch break and was back to the grind fresh. A friend of mine watched standup comedy clips to reward completion of a task. Don’t slack, be responsible but mot importantly enjoy your flexibility.

Take a proper lunch break:     I am a big proponent of taking a proper lunch break at work. It lets you disconnect and reflect on the day. Often the second half after the break is more efficient. It’s like a half time break during a Football match. While at home, close your laptop and have a lunch break. Do not try to avoid lunch to finish early as your body is used to a routine.

Leverage Collaboration tools: At work I leave it to the receiver to read mails and respond but when I work from home I try and over communicate – Err on the side of caution. Often my mails are followed up by calls or Microsoft Teams message.

Plan the day:                              On a sticky note I add a set of tasks and timelines by when I plan to finish them. The feeling of cutting off a task gives me a kick an the sticky note is re-evaluated during lunch and while closing my laptop.

Differentiate tasks:                   I keep tasks which are data heavy and require more focus for work from home. Try and have a set of tasks ready like that.

Know Your Manager:                Our experiences shape us. One of my managers was regarded a high performer because he was the first and last one in office. He grew fast professionally but this stayed with him. I knew he wasn’t the most comfortable with me working from home so I used to send him a mail when I would finish work, with all the tasks I had delivered for the day along with a plan for the next day. I was the one who got work form home easiest in our team.

Some of you might have engaged in water-cooler conversations like - I know you would be like I want to be treated like an adult, if I deliver results why can’t I work from home, my manger is a control freak etc. etc. But in reality, you can’t change the cards you’re dealt so you can either join the gossip conversation or just allay her/his concerns proactively and make it a win-win.

Most importantly, every individual has what works for them. Mull over what work environment work best for you and under what conditions are you the most productive. And during the times of COVID my favourite 2 quotes which we can all keep in mind are:

'The Future has never been this important.' and

'We are all we have!'

Stay Safe. We will come out stronger, we always have.

P.S. COVID-19 will change the way we work forever. Companies will realize that most issues allowing working from home were psychological and managerial.

P.P.S Here's a Forbes article on similar lines - https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenmenabney/2020/03/06/what-you-need-to-know-to-start-working-from-home/#39dac0235251

(*Unfortunately corporate working style promotes masculine traits and hiding feminine traits but that’s a topic for a different day– Read: Reinventing Organizations by Frédéric Laloux. I’ll write bringing our Emotional, Intuitive, Rational and Spiritual self to work sometime soon)

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