The term “telecommuting” was first introduced in the 20th century to describe a working arrangement where employees do not commute to work but rather rely on information technologies to get their work done. The newly remote workers find it increasingly challenging to remain focused and productive. It could be said that remote work is not for everybody. Some of us are more efficient when working alone, others have the need to have direct lines of communication to bounce ideas off their coworkers. At the same time, it is possible to rearrange certain everyday habits to achieve better work results. YouTube has plenty of people sharing their tips on how to do just that. To spare you a day of watching every one of them, here is a brief overview of the main tips that will assist you in your work from home (WFH). Don’t work in your pajamas Mariana, who had to readapt to her old routine from when she was working from home says, “Make sure you picked an outfit that you wouldn’t fall asleep wearing.” It’s crucial to get ready for the day the same way you would if you were going to commute to your office. It’s easy to fall prey to the “nobody can see me so I don’t care” mindset. But taking care of yourself by staying clean and looking sharp will give you the extra boost of confidence that you might need to stay on track. It’s about Discipline “I don’t think you have to be productive every single day, every single minute, every single hour, because that’s just unhealthy… But you should aim to have some sort of discipline, and having a routine or a schedule gives you that discipline, discipline is what matters most.”, says Oliur, a web designer who’s been working from home for the past eight years. A great piece of advice on setting up your own schedule is coming from Jordan B. Peterson who famously quipped: “It’s not a bloody prison! Set the damn schedule up so that you have the day you want.” (Source: Jordan Peterson on Goals, Scheduling, Negotiating & Friendship) Separation & Isolation Thomas, who’s been working from home for more than a decade says we should have “a space that has a singular purpose. The surroundings that we put ourselves in have a certain amount of influence over our psychological states and on the choices that we make.” For instance, if you often eat at your desk, your brain will consider that space as dedicated to eating. Hence the urge to constantly snack while working. Bonus Tip: Go grey! Hannah has been working from home for six years now as a freelancer. To her, procrastination is completely natural. What she does is realize that she’s “going down the spiral of scrolling, clock it”, and leave the app then and there. That takes discipline. “It’s people’s jobs to figure out human psychology and design an app that will make you have that reaction to it [going down the spiral of scrolling]. The apps are designed to manipulate us in that way.” Know what triggers you, know what tends to derail you from getting the work done, and look for ways to minimize those stimuli. Try switching your phone display to the B&W mode. “If you have lots of color and contrast then you’re under a constant state of attentional recruitment. Your attentional system is constantly going, ‘Look look look over here”, says Bevil Conway, National Eye Institute investigator. (Source: Take Away the Color, Take Back Your Attention Span?) And last but not least... Be kind to yourself Brogan has been working from home for a few years now and says, “You are doing your best. Everyone works differently. Try and find your groove. It’s going to take time to adjust, but it is possible, and you might find that you really enjoy it.” It’s easy to beat oneself up for not always being on top of things. A lot of us have the need to stay productive no matter what. We need to remember that we didn’t get to make the decision to work from home. The lockdown had taken us all aback. That being said, give yourself the time to get used to the new situation even though it will hopefully be only a temporary one. Stay home. Save lives. Photo by Lisa Fotios
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