Working from home can present new stressors for those who are neither familiar nor comfortable with the practice. Meditation and breathing exercises may work for some, but for many others – especially parents who need to manage kids where personal space is largely non-existent – mindfulness does not.
The challenges of working from home are very personal. We all have different work habits and needs that enable us to be productive. Now is the time to take a step back and see this newfound requirement to work in a different space as an opportunity to optimize our work styles around what truly works for us.
David Sparks and Mike Schmitz, the hosts of the Focused podcast, take on the challenges of working from home in their new podcast. Below are some of the key highlights from their discussion.
- Set a schedule and stick to it. Planning will help you stay sane.
- Talk to your family about the new rules for the house.
- Cordon off a space where you can limit distractions.
- Use signals such as wearing headphones to indicate you are not to be distracted.
- Set up your workspace to keep you calm (reduce clutter).
- Leverage video technologies that allow you to maintain privacy (e.g. background scenery in Zoom).
- Create new habits to allow you to be productive – if you need more sleep, then sleep in!
- Don’t slouch! Be attuned to your body, especially your neck. Listen to your body.
- Take brakes. Stand up, go for a walk, or do some jumping jacks
- Set boundaries. Don’t overwork yourself just because it’s there.
- Leave your work in the space you’ve dedicated to doing work.
- Don’t strive for perfection in your workday. You may not get a full 8 hours of work in every day. Just do your best.
- Timebox. Set a time or work increments. It could be 25 minutes of work or 45, but experiment with chunking your day into parts.
We know it’s a tough transition, but we can do this. We wish you luck as you journey into the opportunity of working from home.
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