Making your work from home productive and healthy
In the past few months, work from home has become a new normal and it has resulted in some unprecedented situations for which we never prepared ourselves. When our workplace changes, a lot of other things also do and this new option has certainly thrown some health challenges in front of us. Especially when the gyms are closed and you cannot go to public places for a regular walk. Moreover, you can just wake up and start working without even brushing your teeth since you don’t have to face anyone physically.
While it sounds very tempting to work in the comfort of your home without the need of wearing formals or adhering to several other rules, it could be quite difficult for a lot of people as well because there are tons of things at home that can distract us from work. Thus, it is very important to create a conducive environment in which you could keep yourself focused on work and could also pay attention to your health.
Here are some tips that will make your work from home schedule more productive:
1. Make your own routine: Though work from home gives us an option to just wake up and start working, it is very important to go through the full-fledged schedule that you followed earlier. You don’t need to dress up in formals and do your hair elaborately, but you must stick to your normal schedule that was followed in the pre-covid times. That could include a shower, a cup of tea or coffee, walking your dog, doing some fitness activity at home, etc. By doing that, you can feel energetic throughout the day and keep yourself fit as well.
2. Create a to-do list every day: You will have to dedicate the predetermined hours to your work but if you have something else that you consider important, then include it in your routine. It might be ordering groceries online, talking to your friends or relatives, or pursuing an extra-curricular activity. Remember, the more things you have in your mind, the more efforts you make to manage yourself.
3. Dedicated workspace is a must: The idea of sitting with your laptop in bed or couch is too cozy and you need to avoid it then and there. That’s because this is when you start to get comfortable and give more priority to ease than work. In order to be productive at work, it is crucial to feeling attentive towards it and that’s why we have cubicles and tons of ergonomic practices to follow. You may not be able to match the standards of your office, but you can certainly get a dedicated workspace unaffected by any other chore at home.
4. Don’t skip your breaks: This tip is especially for workaholics who might find this as an opportunity to get immersed in tasks without being pushed by the peers for taking a break. Even if you are working from home and it is possible in most of the domains to continue to work without keeping a track of time, it is recommended that you take your breaks on a timely basis and to quite work after the dedicated hours. Otherwise, it could bring a great imbalance between your personal and professional life and could even lead to stress.
5. Always eat on time: Since you are working from home, you have the liberty to tweak your eating timetable but you shouldn’t really do that. And even if you bring some changes, try to align them in a schedule, do not eat in a random fashion as it is very unhealthy. You can certainly make a sandwich in a few minutes and get back to work, if you do in an irregular way, it would take a toll on your health.
6. Opt for healthy snack items: If you want to keep the pangs of hunger at bay for focusing on work more, you should better switch to some healthy snacks. Packaged food with lots of fat and sweet is easy to get but if you consume them more, you know the consequences to your health already. Try to get protein bars or some energy bites that keep the cholesterol level low in your body and provide you some nutrients.
7. See the outside as well: The spread of Covid-19 has forced all of us to stay at home, but if you are holed up 24/7 and seeing nothing but the walls, computer, tv, and web shows, it could make you quite depressing. Even for a few minutes, step out of home and see the sun, you can do it from the backyard or if you decide to venture out, just make sure that you maintain social distancing while taking some fresh and soaking the sunlight.
8. Workout Daily: This is a very important thing to add in your schedule and you must take out some time to move your muscles. Even if it is for a few minutes, you must take some time out of your routine to dedicate to some physical exercises. If it is possible, you can also include meditation or yoga, but if you cannot, at least do some push-ups, crunches, or whatever you feeling comfortable doing to keep yourself in shape.
9. Keep yourself socially connected: Though it is not possible right now to conveniently visit your friends or loves ones, you can certainly keep in touch with the outside world through internet. The past few months have been stressful for many people since being holed up in one place is not an ideal situation. If you feel vexed about something, share it with your friends, colleagues, and try to find a creative solution to it instead of venting out the anger in some other ways that could be harmful to yourself and the people around you.
Work from home is a new thing for most of us and we are still trying to find ways around it. We hope that this blog will give you the headway you need and help you maintain a productive work and life balance.
