Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees have opted to transition to a work from the home set-up. Some of these employees were required to do so. Although the number of work from home jobs have grown steadily even before the pandemic, most people are still accustomed to having a standard workplace.
This new set-up can dampen our moods and productivity because of the social distancing that has become part of the new normal. Productivity just isn’t the same when not in the professional environment that most of us have gotten used to in specific settings.
Developing harmony in this union of personal space and professional space can be hard to achieve, with all the distractions and temptations we all have in our homes.
Working from home means that you won’t have to worry about wasting precious time in traffic. But walking blindly into this new set-up can lead to more time wasted than your daily traffic jams would. Even the slightest gestures of affection from our pets can turn into hours away from work.
You might find it hard to focus upon seeing spots in your house that need a bit of attention. Homes with kids are even more challenging, as parental duties can coincide with professional ones. At silenthomehub.com, you can find solutions to minimize the noise in your home. You’ll be surprised at the level of noise in your home that can be reduced significantly.
But to get you started, here are a few guidelines that can boost your work from home productivity in no time:
Maintain A Schedule
Because you’re at home, you can sneak in a little bit of fun into your schedule. Be it reading your favourite book while eating breakfast or putting on your favourite record before starting work.
What’s important is that you have to find your rhythm and match it to your routine. Focus a little more on your time for work and make sure that it’s separated enough from your relaxation time. If you are handling employees, give them this tip so everyone in the team can be at the same pace even when working apart.
Make Your Home As Quiet As Possible
It is common knowledge that it is almost impossible to focus in a noisy environment. A minimal noise level is the biggest thing that sets apart office spaces, libraries, and even your favourite coffee shop from most people’s homes. The chances are that your house has plenty of noise sources that you never thought can be eliminated.
Of course, residential areas generally tend to have a particular noise profile. These can be from dogs barking, vehicles passing by, and kids (and sometimes, even adults) having way too much fun. That’s why it’s a good idea that you find solutions to soundproof windows, doors, and other points where noise can enter.
However, you can make your noise even quieter by investing in equipment designed to operate as quietly as possible. Many appliances and pieces of equipment in our homes emit a considerable amount of noise that we all just got used to because we never thought they could be avoided.
Take Note Of Your Priorities
In the workplace, supervisors have an important role. They are responsible for making sure that things are going as planned and that every part of the workflow goes smoothly. Having a suitable supervisor for a team will make it so that projects are done correctly while promoting each team member’s work-life balance.
While the conventional supervisor set-up does not translate fully into a remote workplace, workflows are still possible to be as efficient as possible. For this, prioritizing tasks is a must. But, it is more important than ever to prioritize tasks in a way that encourages a healthy balance between work and life.
Employees working together can use to-do lists to make sure that things are on track. Furthermore, tasks can be classified and sorted according to their urgency. This way, procrastination can be reduced while improving productivity.
Communication With Your Team Is Gold
To maintain and even improve teamwork in the new normal, we should all get used to communicating with each other over the internet. Your company probably already subscribed to a video conferencing service, which is no surprise. Most of us are using these services only for meetings and not for the random brainstorming sessions that usually happen when a team member comes up with an idea.
Aside from helping improve a team’s cohesiveness, it also helps take care of each member’s mental health. It can be a way of minimizing the lonely feeling that being in quarantine brings. In this time of working from home, finding ways to make meaningful connections is an important asset.
Simulate Your Daily Commute
It’s a fact that most people dislike their daily commute. Even so, for those travelling during the rush hour, where traffic is at its worst. However, this routine conditioned us to be mentally and physically prepared for another day of work. Listening to your favourite song, tuning in to a podcast, or reading a book doesn’t just make commutes bearable but also provides us with the right way of transitioning to “work mode.”
These transitions between home and work enable our brains to shift between modes smoothly. Even our commute going back home is the right way of removing pressure from work.
The right way to achieve the same effect when working from home is to engage in physical activities before and after work. Physical activities provide the contrast necessary for our brains to recognize that it is time to shift modes.
Aside from improving productivity, doing physical activities can also enhance our overall health. It also provides a way for us to stop for a moment and breath. It comes in handy during stressful days, such as when a project’s deadline comes near. It enables us to ease out of particularly pressured meetings, for instance.
What’s important is that we make this a routine the same way that daily commutes have become part of our working life.
These guidelines should make us rethink what working from home means. A good work from home routine shouldn’t just be an online version of your previous office set-up.
It should be a routine that takes advantage of the comfort of being at home while still having the professional atmosphere of an office. It might be challenging to do, but it’s not impossible. All it takes is a little adjustment, and who knows? We may even find that we prefer working from home!