Work From Home - Life in the time of Coronavirus

Coronavirus is quickly changing the way we work. The prescribed method to isolate is to work from home. For many, work from home is new however, for me, it is not something new. I have been working mostly from home from 2008 and in this article I share a few tips that may help you to adjust to this current work style.

In 2008, my life witnessed the most dramatic change as I left the Microsoft community and joined Openbravo. Career wise it was a significant move but more than that my work-life has changed completely.

Work from home was a new concept in those years. What looked so exciting to begin has started becoming a reason for monotony soon. However, I slowly made certain resolution that helped me immensely and I certainly started feeling more creative and efficient. Here are the list of things you should be doing now.

Create A space

It is important to have a corner as your office space. Decorate the space as good as possible with all the resources you have. It is important to have a desk and a comfortable chair. A comfortable chair means an ergonomic chair. For me the most comfortable place was a sofa. However, I have developed severe back pain and made permanent damage to my spine before investing in the right chair. So do not wait, this is a must.

How to choose the right chair

Timetable

It is extremely important that you maintain a timetable. Workaholics like me had an issue to overwork when working from home. My role was managing partners from almost half the globe (Australia to Saudi Arab) with a time-space as different as possible. I remember waking up early in the morning to work with my partners in Australia and ending the day with the people of Saudi Arabia. To avoid situations like this, you need to manage a strict timetable. If you are using google calendar, set a working time and please stick to it. In fact the calendar works amazingly when you work from home. Also try to schedule every meetings in the calendar. Keep a fixed time for lunch, watering plants, feed the fish in your aquarium etc.

Ultimate guide to Google Calendar

Stay Fit - Eat Healthy

The most difficult thing is to remain fit and stay in shape. I gained almost 10 kgs in my very first year of working from home. The high level of cholesterol, triglycerides came along with it. When you have lots of time, you actually have less time for yourself. In time of such pandemic, when most of the gyms are closed, it is important that you start doing some freehand exercise to remain fit. Yoga is also a very good option to start the day.

I normally wear a smart watch to keep a count on my steps when I work from home. Remember, you ideally loose a few thousand steps naturally when you don't go to office. So walk a bit, take frequent short breaks and in between it is not a bad idea to play with your kids for some time. It will keep you relaxed and help you focus better. There are multiple fitness apps that helps you remain fit but it is important that you take help of a nutritionist to have a measured and right diet.

10 Best Fitness Apps

Work-life Balance

In our generation the most used phrase is "work-life balance". When you work from home, you actually need to manage two things. Your work and your family. It is important that your family members understand the importance of your work. I remember having a hard time convincing my 5 years old son. For him it was difficult to understand why am not playing with him even when I am home.

One of my cousins gave me a great idea. She made a gamification of the concept. She made four cubes of Green, Yellow and Red. When she is busy or in a call, she keeps the Red cube on in front of her desk. She changed the colour to green when she is ready to play. It took her some time but now even her small daughter keeps a red cube on her table when she is doing her maths.

Variety is the spice of life

Working from home brings boredom at times. Give yourself choices. I have always indulged in learning new things. Nothing is more fun than learning new things. Knowledge is the easiest thing to gain in this age. So register yourself with some journals. Read articles and do some certifications. Digital world is changing very fast so keep learning new algorithms and technologies to keep yourself updated.

Sharing jokes and chatting with a few friends will also keep you healthy. After all, nothing can replace the office gossips but you have the whole world at your disposal. Read some great stories and finish the latest series on Netflix. Life has too many things that you missed for so long.

Stay Connected

The current scenario made us extremely vulnerable. We all are extremely worried. Unfortunately we have no choice but to stay indoor. But even in this time, try to see near and dear ones at least virtually. Make video calls with your colleagues instead of a voice call. It makes a lot of difference when you see the expression of the other person. On the weekends keep calling your parents, relatives and friends. The feeling of having people around always helps. So don't get paranoid to live in this virtual world. You actually have lived in a virtual world for long for so many years. The difference was only you had an option which you do not have today.

Remember the situation is not going to change dramatically. So it is not a matter of just one week of working from home. As an optimistic person I see only positives out of this. I see the world is going through a positive change. It may change the way we have worked till date and made us amazingly effective. At the same time, it will dramatically reduce pollution and more importantly travels and other expenses for your organization.

I wish you all to remain healthy and be positive. Life is not going to change but it will only change the way we think and the way we work. Wishing you all the very best!

#stayhome #stayfit #stayhealthy #workfromhome #fiightcoronavirus

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