Many people have been working from home for a while. If you are one of us and at this time you haven’t felt the urge to push your laptop away and just be done with it, then you’re a superhero! I know I can’t be the only person struggling with this booby trap tagged working from home.
When my office assigned us projects to handle from home after the eased lockdown, I was equal parts excited and unsure because I was already missing social interactions. However, I was looking forward to my own space with hope that work output would be on the increase.
A few days into working from home, I was still going strong. Then weeks passed, then a month. It started to become a struggle not to pull my hair out from the tedious routine of it all. I was moody and tired. Productivity was on a decline and I found it hard to get inspired as I usually did. By the time I hit that roadblock, I knew something had to change. After talking with a few of my colleagues to find out how they coped, I took a few steps to resolve the issue.
Changed My Workstation
Since I am not a fan of routines, I switched up my workstation. I found three locations around the house where I felt most inspired and moved my portable workstation there. Mondays to Wednesdays for the first, Thursdays to Saturdays for the second. The third location was for when I became bored with the first or second choices. It can be a bit too much though so ignore this if it’s not your cup of tea.
Spread Work Over A Timeline
I had to dust up my to-do list and follow it well. One thing that led to my burnout was haphazard arrangement of work. Deadlines started giving me sleepless nights because I didn’t prioritize having a clear workflow.
Get An Accountability Partner
If you struggle with procrastination as I do, getting someone to be accountable to is a must. Let your accountability partner be someone who inspires you with his/her work ethic. It won’t do any good if both of you are lazybones.
Truly, this whole period has been ‘learn-as-you-go’ situation and these activities helped with that. Above all, it’s okay to put yourself first even when you have a huge workload to handle. Find out what works for you and whatever adjustment you need to make for your well being.
All the best!