Working from home seemed like a dream just a few short months ago. Anyone in an office would think, “Oh heck, wouldn’t it be nice to be sitting in my own house where I can control the temperature and not give into the whims of some savage who thinks that everyone wants to sit in a frigid 19 degree icy tundra?”
But now that most of the nation is forced to (or lucky enough to) work from home, we’re discovering that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. And the new colleagues are weird. Granted, they’re kids and don’t understand why they can’t join your Zoom meeting stark naked, but still.
Don’t feel bad if things aren’t going as you thought they would. Working from home is actually a learned skill, not something that you can just slip into with relative ease.
To help you out, here are 5 strategies for you try.
1. A failure to plan is a plan to fail
These are wise, if not cliched words. As much as possible, sit down to work with a goal in mind, which is only made possible by creating a daily list of tasks. It’s also better to complete 1 task at a time (as much as you can) rather than leaping from goal to goal and ending up with 6 half-arsed projects.
2. Get you a dedicated workspace
Yebo, this is crucial. And we get that not everyone has their very own home office, but be that as it may, you do need a dedicated workspace. A particular spot in your home that’s just for work and isn’t in front of the TV.
3. Work time is time to work
You need to be disciplined in your routine and make sure you put in the hours from home. This means focusing on work during work time. As noble as it is to do a round of laundry for the family, if it distracts from your daily set of work tasks, it’ll only hinder your productivity.
Rather save housework for the allocated slot in your schedule.
4. Distractions are really just unallocated tasks
Listen, the laundry needs to be done. Meals need to be prepared. And if you need to deal with the admin of life, like chatting to your insurer about how to bring your car and home insurance premiums down (like these chaps here are doing for their customers with helpful tips), then that also needs doing.
But if you don’t allocate a time to do these tasks then you’ll just get distracted and it’s already been proven that multitasking doesn’t work. The answer is your schedule, which is why it was our first point.
Bonus tip
Working from home can be very productive if you treat it like a military operation that has a sense of humour. What do we mean by that? Well, just that you should stick firmly to your plans, go after your goals, and remember to smile when things go pear-shaped. Because things will go pear shaped, and wouldn’t you rather know that you handled it calmly like a rational human rather than an angry bozo who overreacted to your toddler who interrupted that Zoom meeting with a picture she drew especially for you?
So keep smiling, keep trying, and know that you’re doing the best that you can. And if you need a reason to smile, this insurance company is offering decreasing car insurance premiums to help you keep your normal life costs low.
Posted in partnership with King Price Insurance
