With the advent of COVID-19 and many companies opting to allow employees to work from home to promote social distancing, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding productivity when working from home. The reality is, it is not the same as working from the office, and we must prepare accordingly.
Here are some tips to help you maintain your productivity even when you are working from home.
Working from home with family members and children
- Create a designated workspace
No need to break the bank while scrambling to create a fancy home office. Think out of the box; turn your garage or bedroom into a no-go-zone during office hours. Remember to lock the door when you’re working.
- Announce your work arrangements
Don’t assume that your family will “get the hint” when they see you working on a laptop at home. Announce officially to everyone that you will not be on leave, but will be working from home. If other family members are also working from home, arrange times when you will alternate keeping the children busy.
- Reward children for chores and tasks
If you have more than one child of school-going age; get them to create an artwork daily and submit it for grading when you knock off, and reward the winner with a simple prize.
You can also create a chore list for older children and reward the child who completed all their weekly chores with a special prize. Immunity from certain chores, like washing the dishes during the weekend can be the ultimate prize to be awarded once a month.
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Maintain a sense of normalcy
- Start the day with a shower, and wear day clothes to get into “work-mode”.
- Take “water cooler breaks” to chat with family members or catch up on social media. Pack your breakfast and lunch daily.
- Have a lunch break as you usually would at the office to refresh your mind. Don’t forget to stretch.
- Take your breaks, knock-off time and leave days seriously so that there can be a distinction between work life and home life.
- If you usually work while listening to music through headphones, continue doing so.
Take care of yourself
- Look after yourself and exercise. Have a look at these tips to help you stay healthy and happy as you work.
- Drink enough water daily. Here’s why.
- Practice the measures to combat COVID-19 (Coronavirus) as stated by President Ramaphosa.
You might also want to read this post on useful gym hygiene tips if your gym has advised that they will be adhering to the measures to combat Coronavirus.
