Working From Home as the New Normal

Working From Home as the New Normal

Working From Home as the New Normal.

Working from home is the new normal. How can we make this adjustment while staying productive and maintaining positivity? Find a few simple tips and insights below on how to make working from home bearable and maybe even enjoyable!

Working from home for many has been an ongoing challenge brought with navigating the COVID-19 virus. The first stage was confusing and many thought this would be temporary. Something that would last just a few weeks. Little did we know, we would still be here months later. We are still here, at home, away from our teammates, coworkers, and colleagues, slightly less confused, but learning how to manage this new normal.

Now we enter into stage two, creating a new normal where virtual meetings and online communication are the only option. To say working from home is hard would be an understatement. Distractions such as  pets, kids, your kitchen.. have become a barrier between having a productive work day and completely losing motivation.

  • Create a space in your home that is dedicated to work. By having a dedicated work space you can differentiate your home life from your work life – a space that has everything you need to be productive. Free of distractions and with plenty of light. Try to resemble your work environment that you were previously used to. Did your office have a picture frame in it, sprouting plants, a calendar, mugs of coffee, books of sticky notes? Surround your new at home space with as much of the similar characteristics as your pre-pandemic office work space.

  • Stay on task by creating a list of tasks you wish to complete by a certain time. Maybe a list of the tasks you need to complete by the end of the week will work for you. Or maybe you need more structure, timelines, or deadlines for yourself. Writing down a list of tasks you wish to accomplish before your lunch break or before your afternoon team video check in. A list can help you stay on task, focused, and boost productivity.

  • Reach out, check in, and communicate when you can. Stay in contact with your coworkers even if you do not work with them directly. This will help maintain a sense of normal and will continue that collaborative office environment. Sometimes a little bit of human interaction will spark innovation, new ideas, and generate a sense of teamwork even from each other’s living rooms. Schedule weekly check in meetings or individual check ins with your team. For many, their colleagues were the people that they saw and talked to every single day. Working from home has completely changed that dynamic. Create a virtual communication normalcy with your office mates by scheduling check in meetings that may not always be centered around the next deadline or project.

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