Working from seems to have come as a revelation to some, and a difficult change to adapt to for others. In a recent study done by mentimeter, that surveyed 1500 employees working from home, 56% of workers said that they feel as though their feelings and opinions were being acknowledged less in video meetings, and 23% of employees miss their face-to-face interactions with their colleagues. If you’re on the latter side of the fence, here are a few tips to help you cope with working from home.
Stick to your routine.
When working from home it becomes easier to put of your usual routine. Studies show that discarding your routine results in productivity decreasing and increases in procrastination. This has a domino effect, with people generally feeling overwhelmed by deadlines and scheduled appointments.
Know when to switch off.
When working from an office, we know when we start work and know when it’s time to knock-off. Working from home hardly imposes on these restrictions, with the ability to wake up at 3am to start working and switching off at 10pm just to get tasks done. Not being mindful of the amount of hours you’re working can result in burn-out, with more days needed off in-between to try and recuperate. Setting a set amount of time to do work helps improve your routine and keeps productivity consistent.
Communication is key.
Working from home doesn’t eliminate potential problems that may arise, in fact, it may amplify them in certain aspects. Communication is exceedingly more important when we’re not seeing our colleagues everyday. Being able to communicate freely, not only about concerns, but achievements no matter how small, is not only critical to productivity, but morale.
Take note of the amount of distractions you impose on yourself.
Working from home can amplify the amount of distractions we’re faced with. Statistics show that 30% of workers name their family members, partners and housemates being the number one distraction. Although external sources of distraction are not easily controlled, we do impose a good amount of distractions on ourselves. With the ability to check our social media feeds more frequently, it takes a good amount of concentration away from work being done. Limiting the amount of distractions you can control can help aid in productivity and lessen the chance of procrastination.
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