Working from home is soon to become a permanent fixture in our lives. Nearly two-thirds of HR leaders across the world foresee this. This remote-working experience has brought about a paradigm shift in the work-life balance of people. There will be lesser travel, more productive time available at hand, more focus on family and relationships, more openness to work with diverse cultures, and more savings. At the same time, there can be a decline in social skills, loss of the rhythm of the routine, mental health issues and fall in professional productivity.
Here are 5 solutions that can help you evolve smoothly into this new world and use the new opportunities most productively.
1. Go from ‘Pro-crastination’ to ‘Pro-ductivity’
With this transition in working styles, staying productive in a new environment has become necessary. Here’s what you can do:
a. Wake up on your regular time, and get ready like you would if you were going to the office
b. Make a To-do list that will help you in planning your day better. You may use Trello or Todoist to manage your day effectively
c. Tick off the activities in your To-Do list as you finish them. This will keep you motivated and make you feel accomplished
d. Set clear and achievable daily, weekly and monthly goals for yourself
2. Organize your workspace
Are you still taking your Zoom meetings wearing pyjamas and sitting on your bed? If you just said a silent ‘Yes’, then read on to know how you may have to change that to up your focus.
To stay focused and feel accomplished with your work by the end of the day, you need to get a well-lit workspace, miles away from your bed or couch! Dedicate time to make it lively with flowers and pictures, get new office supplies, and have your favourite work playlist playing in the background. This will help you stick to your work-mode, and also enjoy it!
3. Make continuously learning and staying fit your new habits
This new reality of the corporate will come with fresh time available for you to learn things you’ve always wanted to, but didn’t have the time for. Set one learning goal at a time and work towards it. These can be personal goals or professional ones. Read new books on Kindle, take courses on Coursera or Udemy, learn a new art, a new language on Duolingo, and make time for that daily cardio which was being eaten up by being on the road for hours every week.
4. Strengthen your relationships
More time at hand and lesser stress of travelling also means an opportunity to strengthen your personal bonds. Communicate more with your family, spend time with your kids, cook and have meals together, watch Netflix together, share household chores, and be there for each other.
5. Don’t forget your mental health
Distancing from your peers and decreasing physical interactions in this new paradigm may result in certain negative fallouts on the emotional front. It’s okay to not feel okay sometimes, but it’s important to do something about it.
Keep a check on your mental health. Talk to people when you feel low.
Take out some alone time to meditate for 10-15 minutes each day, don’t let your work hours stretch beyond a limit, and make sure you get enough sleep. It is absolutely necessary to indulge in self-love every now and then!
When work and life get integrated, there is a new meaning to work-life balance. Having new flexibilities doesn’t mean that you either overwork yourself or stagnate your progress.
Do things that make you happy! And if you’re missing office gossip and your work friends, who said you can’t set up a virtual chit chat tea party!