The pandemic outbreak has brought a change in almost all areas of life which includes working style. Almost all working professionals have gradually shifted their work setup at home.
Initially it did seem convenient for most of us, but the evergreen task of striking a balance between personal and professional life is now posing a greater challenge.
A weekly office routine would typically mean waking up at a particular time, getting groomed for work, and if you belong to urban cities then spending long hours in traffic would be inevitable. Since the latest lockdown was announced, the entire work routine has again undergone a change - right from wearing shorts and pajamas for work to answering emails in the washroom.
This has clearly blurred the boundaries separating work and personal life. However, it is resulting in more number of individuals experiencing burnout, disturbed sleep, mood swings and physical health issues. Let us look at few tips and tricks to manage Work from Home (WFH) more efficiently.
Setting up a routine again
Plan your day in advance. Set up an alarm, complete your morning chores just the way you did before lockdown was declared. Get dressed and groom yourself for work – neatly combed hair, applying a nice perfume, and everything else that you preferred doing before leaving for work. Set short term goals rather than targets for months or years from now. Setting a work routine also plays an active role in building work mindset.
Dedicated office space
The physical environment can have a positive as well as a negative impact on our productivity. Creating an exclusive office space for yourself in some part of your house is a good idea. Avoid sitting on your bed where you also spend your resting hours, for two reasons – firstly, it will never really give you the motivation to work, and secondly, it will not let you enjoy the feeling of ‘being relaxed’ after work hours. Maintaining a clean and de-cluttered office space not just adds aesthetic value but also helps keeping office stuff more organized.
Set your office hours
Setting boundaries is important in every domain of our life. Inculcate a habit of switching off from work after your working hours are over. You might be tempted to open the email received in your work mailbox but still do not give into the urge. Setting boundaries at work and letting colleagues know about it helps keeping one’s own mental health intact.
Take short breaks
Human body is not built in a way to sit for long hours in front of a laptop or a desktop. Spending excessive hours (anything more than 45 minutes) sitting in one position can result in back and neck pain. Getting up from your seat, walking around the room, sipping some water helps break the monotony. Taking short breaks will boost concentration and will also help you work efficiently and effectively. Moreover, short breaks can be beneficial for your eyes which are constantly glued to the screen these days.
Check your body posture
It is important to keep a track of your body posture; especially if your work requires spending long sitting hours. Avoid lying down while using a laptop or mobile. Make sure your back and spine have a good lumbar support. Getting up and doing couple of stretches will break work boredom and bring some element of freshness.
Effective communication
Work from home has reduced the offline human interactions which means no chai breaks, no gossip time in the washrooms, and has increased text and email based communication. Virtual medium of communication shares a wide range of challenges when it comes to expressing and understanding others owing to subjective biases we as humans fall prey to. Not being able to hear the pitch and tone of the communicator and absence of non-verbal cues creates scope for misunderstanding. Whenever you are in a state of doubt, cross checking what the other person meant to communicate can avoid the unnecessary emotional and interpersonal conflict.
Maintaining emotional hygiene
While there is not much we can do about how others feel, taking note of how ‘I am feeling’ in the current moment can help us maintain our emotional hygiene. Express and communicate as much as possible to vent out disturbing thoughts; journaling as an exercise helps us maintain good mental health. Practising mindfulness in your off working hours, like breathing exercises, mandala or Zen painting, or just random scribbling can be great source of letting your unhealthy emotions to flow out of your system. Expressing gratitude to every person, everything, every situation that is helping you thrive in these challenging times can bring immense peace within.
Reach out to a mental health professional, if needed
With prevailing clouds of anxiety and fear, it is obvious for work performance to get affected. At any point, you feel emotionally exhausted or a burnout, reach out to a mental health professional. The signs of burnout can include disturbed sleep, body aches, mood swings, hot flashes, drastic change in your food intake, or a sense of meaninglessness. Tackling these burnout signs is of utmost importance so that it doesn’t become a chronic issue.
This is an unprecedented time, but it shall pass. However, it is important to balance our time between family and work. There is a high possibility and growing instances where one of the two would interrupt and spill into the other, but the act of balancing work-life during WFH age will have to be learnt and mastered gradually by all working professionals, as both, family and work are equally important realms of our life.
(The author is a Ph.D. Psychology, MBA-HR and Developmental Psychologist, Clinical hypnotherapist, and Arts Based Therapy Practitioner. Views expressed in the article are her own. She can be reached at dr.shambhavisamir@gmail.com)