Sitting in the corner of the house clattering on a laptop’s keyboard is the new normal world. A world where every house now has a small office space too. With work-from-home culture, both the organization and the employees are adapting to this new work lifestyle.
According to statistics by Global Workplace Analytics, remotely working jobs have grown 173% since 2005, with around 4.7 million people now working from home at least once a week.
With the cultural shift in the industry, the change hasn’t been easy on anyone. Be it the organization’s outcome or employees’ work efficiency. It’s a phase where efficiency, productivity, and outcome is questioned even more because the company’s future might be at stake.
In the work-from-home atmosphere, employees should hold responsibility for their actions individually. As an employee or a team what you do directly impacts the company. Hence, every worker must know what impact their actions are going to have.
Remote working jobs give the freedom and flexibility of working in pajamas with no hurdle of commuting to the office or spending hours in traffic. This work culture comes with its pros and cons at the same time. Every organization at some point wonders why the productivity graph is still going down the scale, even when employees burn up their fuel the whole day.
Now, the job isn’t about working for eight to nine hours in a shift, instead, it’s about how much productivity has turned up. The hour games are going off the table, and the companies who have adopted this, are now in a better performance stage.
When productivity is questioned, only employees know the challenges behind it. The fact that the lines between work and personal life have blurred out is one of the major reasons.
At the times when employees are working from home, it might generate a feeling of isolation. Furthermore, while you are working from home distraction is too easy especially for a newbie.
All this time you would love to work in your pajamas, maybe take a little walk outside, or maybe finish that Netflix series you have been waiting to watch or the kids are running around playing and shouting causing you to come off the work track.
If you are still trying to cope up with work from home challenges and enhance your efficiency, here are the six ideas to facilitate adjusting to a new work lifestyle.
Choose the right corner
In the brick and mortar model, the offices are designed for the greatest convenience and efficiency. But when you require to create a workstation at your home, be thoughtful.
You cannot work in a space with lots of noise or easy distraction. Ideally, choose a quiet place with natural light. In case there isn’t any window, try decorating the wall with something cheerful and bright. Make sure there isn’t any couch or bed in the space.
Plan the right workstation
A dedicated workspace will allow you to have an office -like environment and hence will boost your concentration. Working on the couch or cooping in bed with a laptop on your lap seems tempting. But once you start working in such places, you will find yourself asleep some hours later.
While working from home, it’s crucial for you to set up a proper work station with a table, chair, and other amenities. Major of the organization when implemented the work-from-home have given office essentials to the employees to help them create a workstation.
Get ready for your office
Attending the morning meeting right off the bed isn’t something that will help you in maintaining efficiency. Also, when it comes to working remotely, who doesn’t want to work in their comfort zone. But that zone takes down the productivity with it.
Follow what you used to do while going to the office. Get up early, take a shower, dress up, eat your breakfast and come to the workstation. This is a little trick for your brain to keep alert throughout the day.
Maintain consistent working hours
Do you keep an eye on the clock while working remotely? We often don’t do this and almost every day lose track of time when our mind is onto work. Once or twice a week, it’s fine to extend your working hour, but doing it regularly, it’s an unhealthy practice.
You need to maintain the work-life balance as your personal life is as important as your professional one. Always keep a routine of your working days and hours. Plan on to work straight for 8 hours, from 9 am to 5 pm, and stick to your schedule. Working past the office hours will stress you out both physically and mentally.
Start sharp as the official time to wrap it up at the right hour.
Prepare a to-do list
Remember the reminder app or the sticky notes hanging around? It’s time to utilize them. Working remotely requires self-tracking to understand the most and the least productive hour. Creating a to-do list at the beginning of the day will allow you to complete your task more efficiently.
With a to-do list or a reminder app, you will not be missing out on any deadlines, scheduled meetings, and appointments. This practice will keep you focused without devoting your headspace to constant daydreaming.
Interact with your team
When the team is working remotely, you miss out majorly on lunch break gossip, tea/coffee breaks, or team activities. Apart from team meetings, check on your colleagues to know what’s going on at their end. Human interaction is essential to boost up the energy and productivity.
With different work schedules and piles of work, it might create a bumpy road for you. So, ask your managers or leaders to implement virtual team-building exercises to reinstate the team’s interaction and energy level. There are several organizations to help the teams to solve this problem and help them reconnect with teammates.
Conclusion
Motivation to work and keeping the energy high is the baseline for more efficiency in work. Apart from the above-mentioned six most important ideas, the other thing to remember is your health. Always practice a set routine right from sleeping, eating to working hours. As mental and physical health is what keeps you going.
Employees are accountable for every hour they spend at home during office hours. If you are on the lookout to enhance your work efficiency, these practices will help you take your productivity to the next level. For virtual team building activities, you can come to us, as we have a crew dedicatedly working for your team’s productivity and energy.