Are you one of those who work from home?
Many companies around the world and their employees have to work during the coronavirus pandemic work from home. That it requires a great deal of self-discipline, namely success, creativity and work productivity depend on it.
There is research that shows that working from home makes some tasks easier and others harder. This one research found that people performed the most boring, simple tasks better at work than at home. Why? Because they were more interested in the usual distractions in the home environment (watching TV, walking the dog...) than work. Productivity can also suffer, says Prof. Glenn Dutcher from Ohio University. Let's see why. According to him, when the entire team works from home, not everyone works as hard as they would at work. And this is only because they themselves believe that they will be less productive.
We present five methods presented by prof. Dutcher and with which you can optimize and improve work from home.
You talk to your team
Although people can excel at creative tasks when working remotely, it is "sharing ideas extremely important for creativity", says Dutcher. Since this is more difficult in this case, find other ways to stay in constant contact with your team. Maybe set reminders for calls at a certain time of day.
Break the routine of the day
“Try and take advantage of this kind of open environment,” says Dutcher. This is an ideal time to start a project or endeavor that you know needs creativity or peace and quiet to think. Take frequent breaks, if possible, go for a walk (with social distancing!). Research namely show that a walk in the fresh air "opens the free flow of ideas".
Work strategically
"You know yourself best, so plan your day sensibly" says Dutcher. Maybe the things going on around you bother you the least in the morning, so do the work tasks that seem more boring to you then!
Change your feelings
Your feelings about working from home change from time to time, you may go into a "crisis" when you feel that your productivity is declining. Therefore, remove all distractions from your home environment, say if you don't need social networks, disconnect. It is important to recognize this so that you can focus more easily and increase your productivity.
Learn from experience
Some employees are more productive when they work from home. Maybe it's because they didn't take as many breaks, or because there aren't distractions at home like more people in the office. Others fall into the trap of working from home because they lack self-discipline and have too many interruptions. They are disturbed by household chores, roommates who cause noise, the absence of a suitable working environment, tools and equipment. From this we can learn that it is very important to we self-discipline, that you, if necessary, we make a schedule for performing work tasks, we do the things that are most difficult for us when it is least distractions or best in the morning, when we have the most motivation, etc.
May working from home be as stress-free and productive as possible these days! Let's be patient, because that's the only way we'll overcome the epidemic together and get back to work very soon! Good luck!
