Whether you are a rookie and you are working from home for the very first time or you are familiar with this model, you need to stay productive in your new environment. In a time of social distancing there are many ways to deliver results and avoid going crazy, from setting up a good workspace to the way you talk with your team and spend your free time.

From my point of view, one does not have to be strong or clever to adjust in this new way of working, one needs to be flexible (or agile, as we like to call it).

Here are some extra ways you can stay connected with your colleagues and, at the same time keep yourself mentally healthy.

  1. Arrange virtual coffee breaks, interact and socialize with your coworkers as if you are at the office. The point is to stay connected with each other! Isolation can lead to depression and anxiety, so holding a virtual meeting, jumping on a phone call or sending a text are some of the ways that can help you not feel lonely or left out from everything that is running at work. It is a great way to replace your “water cooler” short chats.
  2. Organize virtual happy hours with your team after the work is done. Virtual pizza parties or remote happy hour cocktails are perfect to share news, bond with each other and keep in touch.  
  3. Keep doing fun stuff even in this virtual environment. It’s time to leverage on technology. You can still sing happy birthday via video calls, celebrate goals reached and projects completed with your team. Not everything is cancelled. Relationships are not cancelled, conversations are not cancelled, kindness is not cancelled.
  4. Maybe it is an ideal time to acquire a new skill. Being stuck at home gives you extra time to develop your personal skills.  You can read some books or go back to an online course that you never finished.
  5. The secret to success is to stick to your routine. Try to keep a sense of normality; get up in the morning, eat a healthy breakfast and try to exercise at a certain time every day. The same applies to your working hours.  It is true that there is a lot more flexibility, but you can end up working all day long.
  6. You should set up your workspace instead of lying in bed with your laptop. It's not all PJs and Netflix, when you work from home. Also, it's a good idea to treat your bedroom as a space, where you only go for sleep or relaxation, not as your temporary office.
  7. You should not neglect to take care of yourself. Take advantage of this time to unwind, sometimes. Give yourself some time away from the laptop screen and get some fresh air. Experts say that we can be more productive if we take short breaks away from our desk and computer, throughout the day. This also helps us cope with anxiety.

 

Walk the extra mile and you will make this new situation acceptable and fun, for as long as it lasts. And remember, we are all in this together, right?

 

Author: Villy Pavlochristou.