Still struggling to work from home? Here are a few tips!

The concept of ‘work from home’ is not alien to us. Working from home has always been a thing, and did not become a novel concept with the onset of COVID-19.?The amalgamation of office work and living space is a great way for communities to efficiently utilize resources, make the most of the space at hand and work cooperatively.?Essentially, I believe it helps the human mind take a break from the hustle and bustle of the office premises.

But then, how do we get our mind to not wander and focus on work? Here are a few simple tips that can help us work diligently, not divert our attention and become an expert at managing office work from home:

Set an agenda

You are your own task master when you work from home. In order to give your undivided attention to work, create a task list and assign time to the tasks that make up your list.?Aim to create a list for either a day or a week.?As and when you finish tasks, tick them off your list (trust me, that makes you feel like you are on top of the world :P). This can help you know what’s on your plate, how much time you need to assign to these tasks and will give you a direction in terms of work.

Beautiful Desk Space

Bed and Couch are really not the ideal places to sit and work. These call out to you and ask you to sleep or take a nap. The ideal space is a beautiful desk space.?Just how we crave living in a beautiful house / mansion, a beautiful desk space can motivate us to work efficiently and complete our assigned tasks.?Keep all your essentials on this desk space — bottle, pens, notebooks and other things as you may like. You can enhance it by keeping a small plant, a photo of your loved ones, books / novels and make it aesthetically pleasing.

Take adequate breaks

Do not force yourself to work round the clock. This will make you feel tired — mentally and physically. It is important to take adequate breaks — lunch break, evening coffee time, a break to maybe just meditate for 10–15 mins.?Ensure you are not around your work screen during this break.?Catch up on your favorite show streaming on Netflix if need be to help your mind relax. This break will help you feel at peace.

Divide time between office work and household chores

Getting a call from office while on a grocery run? Went for a bath and missed your manager’s call? These things are bound to happen. Distinguish and segregate your time clearly for household work and office tasks.?Keep your team informed when you are away from your screen, out to grab a coffee or on a last-minute grocery shop run. Do not keep them assuming and then get screamed at.

Match your music and food to the day

Music helps me concentrate better. It makes me feel pumped up and drives me to finish a presentation.?If you are one of those too, who needs music to feel alive, tune into your favorite songs and finish tasks.?It won’t feel like a burden then. Same goes for food — if certain dishes or food items like chocolate, sugar, fruits etc. give you that rush, make sure you eat those to feel lively and fresh. These will help you get through the day better.

Interact with other humans (other than your colleagues)

While you are definitely interacting with your work buddies and having a toast on Friday with them (maybe),?have a quick chat or call with your friends / family / loved ones who can talk to you about things other than work?and keep you at ease. This will bring positive vibes and energy and you shall concentrate better.

Set expectations right

Children can mingle around, pets can bark, your husband may not know where you keep a few things- leading to disturbance.?Communicate about your expectations with everyone clearly?so that you can have your own time while working. See how you can align yourself with their expectations too. Similarly, do this with your team too. Keep them posted of your schedule and try to wrap up majority of work while they are around (in case you work with cross-functional teams and your work is dependent on others).

Lastly, treat this time as the universe’s order for you to spend time with your family and work cordially with your office peers too.?Work from home isn’t that bad after all. If required, you can find a healthy balance - choose a hybrid mode of work - wherein you get to be in office too and work from home too (best of both worlds). Hope these help :)