Optimizing Your Covid-Constrained Workday!

Now that we have become used to—even inured to—working from home to deal with the spreading global pandemic we must adjust our work habits for its long-term impact on how we manage our lives. Some companies, especially those in high-tech verticals and many in the Silicon Valley have already announced that their employees can work from home until the end of Summer 2021. Some will even allow their employees to work from home or from wherever they want to be, indefinitely. 

Managing a household in these shelter-in-place times has also got more challenging; everything takes longer, telephone support lines are clogged, and many businesses have curtailed their office hours. 

Although this shift in the way we work may come across as an unexpected boon stemming from the unfortunate global pandemic, it has its downside, as many will attest. This new work regime has created unforeseen problems and unexpected consequences for many professionals, especially if they have school-age children. These parents have double duty to perform while working from home: tend to their children’s personal and educational needs, while focusing on their own priorities for their everyday work. Managing a household in these shelter-in-place times has also got more challenging; everything takes longer, telephone support lines are clogged, and many businesses have curtailed their office hours. 

So, what are some of the changes you, as a working professional and a parent of school-age child or children, must make to bring some semblance of a rhythm to your newly foisted lifestyle? Here are some suggestions that emerged from talking to many of my clients over the past seven months as they surrender themselves to the regimen of working from home under these conditions: 

1.     With people now working in all 24 time zones and synching-up with their teams it is important to keep your regimen so that you have a structured schedule that remains predictable in how you manage your day. The best way to keep your own “workspace,” is to have an “Open for business” sign posted on all your inbound communications so that all your team members know how and when to expect a response from you or to get in touch with you. Of course, in the event of urgent matters they must know how to reach you, regardless of the time of day. This simple rule will allow you to keep your sanity to attend to your personal priorities without guilt.

2.     Even more than before limit your email distribution to those that are in your “action circle.” Be considerate of flooding the in-boxes of your colleagues with unnecessary messages. Think of their workload. 

3.     When you send out an email be clear in the Subject line so that people do not have to guess about the message. If you want a recipient to respond to your message start your email in its body with a bold headline: Action Required or Requested. Then make the email concise and easy to attend to, so that you get an efficient response. Numbered paragraphs with short narratives can help people deal with messages more effectively than reading long paragraphs on a screen. 

4.     Because of this strange environment and uncertainty around the pandemic people are stressed out and they are not their normal selves. So, be patient with those who have difficulty expressing themselves. If they come across as accusatory or querulous in their tone do not respond in kind and exacerbate the situation. Either de-escalate the situation or call them and talk about how things are going for them; it never hurts to do a welfare check when you suspect that something does not feel right. 

5.     Send messages of understanding, consideration, and encouragement to your teammates without any other agenda in that message. “Hi Sally, just checking-in to see how things are going for you these days. I want to thank you again for taking on that extra workload last week when I was attending to my sick brother. I really appreciated that. My brother is better now and hope that I can return the favor; just ask.”

6.     Bosses have anxiety, too! Do not assume that just because someone is your boss that they are immune from what is happening all around us in these anxious times. Send a note to your boss and cheer them up: Hi Jim, “Just a short note to check how things are going for you these days. We are all dealing with this strange situation in our own ways, but I wanted to thank you for your understanding and cutting me some slack when I missed the deadline on that project last week due to my son’s illness. Things are back to “normal” now for me and I appreciated your backing me up despite being late. I’m lucky to have you as my boss!”

7.     Find time for yourself to recharge throughout the day by having a disciplined regime and structure. If you can have fixed time for regular exercise, TV, meals, and other such outlets it is much easier to keep that rhythm. Since you are home it is easy to deal with your stress by grabbing snacks and by eating throughout the day—without giving it any thought—even when you do not need to. If you feel stressed put on your shoes and go out with your dog, pet your cat, or talk to your parrot. It is easy to put on extra pounds as you deal with being home and watching those snacks languish on the kitchen counter! Also, if someone upsets you in a Zoom meeting do not take your anger out on your family members or your pets. 

8.     Take regular breaks away from your screen. It is a good idea to be away from your work area or screen(s) for a 10-15-minute break and treat yourself to some dry-eye treatment as lubricant (e.g., Thera Tears) to sooth your strained eyes. 

9.     Most home office work configurations are different from those provided at work. The latter are more ergonomically designed for prolonged engagement. Many of my clients continued working with their regular home office set-ups and got themselves into acute pain situations due to lack of ergonomic work set-ups. One client had to take some time off after seeing a doctor to treat his repetitive stress injury stemming from a set up that was different from what he had at his work desk. Make an investment in your home-office set up to prevent any damage to your musculoskeletal functions or to avoid injuries.

10.  Do not let the lack of ongoing social interactions with your teams and colleagues prevent you from having virtual social get togethers. You can still do that using remote connections and keep them strictly social to recharge your batteries every now and then. Take charge and organize one for your team and your boss!

Good luck!