Working from home (WFH) has become the “new normal” for sometime & expected to continue for a long time. This is much needed to battle the spread of COVID-19 and embraced by many more businesses for the safety of their employees. For those who find themselves working at home in the coming weeks, an important question must be asked: what’s the best way to maximize productivity, maintain good health, and get the most out of your day working remotely how to master it.

• Selection of Work Area

Your need to create a workspace in your home which is conducive for WFH. Ideally you should work in a room by yourself behind a closed door. Invest in the right furniture to make it comfortable. A proper desk and work chair should be preferred over a couch or sofa. Keep your desk clean and make sure you have a wall or background which suits video conferencing.

• Get Organized

Keep your laptop, diary, pen, cell phone and chargers in place. If you are in noisy surrounding, invest in a noise cancellation headphone. With schools closed, designate someone to take care of the children and keep them away from disturbing you. If your partner is on WFH too, share time slots and child related chores.

• Embrace Technology

Learn how to use the technology available for a WFH. You can use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts or Skype, etc. for a team video call and Slack or similar tools for messaging. Project management tools like Asana and a list app can help organize your day. Speak to your IT department for any assistance, including setting up a VPN if required.

• Plan Work-day-flow

Plan your work before you start the day. Have a task list in front of you. Priorities the projects and allocate time slots including extra time to cater for contingencies like unforeseen calls and new tasks. When you start a task, continue it till the end. Do not switch between tasks. Multi-tasking or frequent switching is a productivity killer.

• Effective Communication

Effective communication is the key when doing WFH. Your peers need to know that you are available and taking WFH seriously. Hence, call your colleagues on video or chat with them for routine queries instead of sending an email. Have regular discussion with your manager and get adequate face time with him. If you are alone at home, you run the risk of social isolation hence participate in remote non-work-related video hangouts with your team. As a manager share additional information with your team, organize social interactions and discuss how they are coping with the situation.

• Block People

The biggest challenge everyone faces during WFH routine is the presence of other people at home or in your life. Set ground rules with them and avoid the distractions. Pretend you are not at home during office hours. Do not get involved in conversations, personal calls or household chores. Use headphones and lock the doors to create boundaries.

• Time Management

Even though we are doing WFH we should be committed to our timings and deliverables. Avoid personal work during office hours except during scheduled breaks. Don’t abuse WFH by being unavailable and compromise your professional respect.

• Avoid Social Media Distractions

Social medias are deadly productivity killers when you are WFH. Don’t login to your social media and turn off all notifications both in your laptop browser as well as on your cell phone. Switch off your mobile data and use it only for calls.

• Productivity Boosters

Even though we follow the best practices, we can’t be super-productive on Day One. To crack the productivity code, we can schedule the toughest tasks for the morning and calls in the afternoon. In-between your work, take a short breaks go for a walk to get some fresh air. Listen to music which makes you happy and helps you to focus. When you are productive and happy, you can enjoy and appreciate the benefits of WFH.

#WFH #StaySafe #StayHealthy #StayProductive !!!

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