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The possibility of working remotely is usually a nice change and a privilege associated with employment in a large, modern company or a freelance profession. Popular culture feeds us with elegant, casual scenes with a laptop in the lead role, which take place against the background of a cozy, peaceful apartment or a bustling café. The coronavirus epidemic has put these images to a painful test: home office, which is becoming a necessity and the only mode of work, is losing some of its charm. What can you do to prevent remote work from turning into a nightmare?
Bright frames
First: our biggest enemy is the lack of structure. We don't have to commute anywhere, we don't have to dress up, we don't even have to get up - all you need is a cup of hot coffee, a laptop on your lap and that's it, the bedroom becomes a remote command point. Although it's tempting to reduce unnecessary movements to a minimum, it's worth separating the work zone from the relaxation zone more clearly. Then we have a better chance for healthy sleep, relaxation after mental effort, and also for more effective work. Besides, epidemic or not, a healthy breakfast (we have more time for it now!) is the best way to start the day.
In every apartment, even the smallest one, there is a place to designate an office space. Let's make sure to work there and not make an office out of the whole house. Let's not take the easy way out and stick to our usual routine. For some, morning training is essential - let's not neglect it! Let these few quarters of an hour remain a moment for ourselves, breakfast - a nice ritual, free from emails and phone calls. Let's sit down to work with a rested, nourished body and a fully awake mind, and everything will go more smoothly.
Hard rules
Singles tend to fall into a strange sequence during home office, which starts at an unspecified time in the morning and ends at an unspecified time in the afternoon. You suddenly jump out of your chair to realize that you are extremely hungry, have no feeling in your right leg, which went numb about an hour earlier, and have completely lost track of time. In the long run, such a mode is a direct path to problems with your spine, circulation and digestion, and even concentration. When you work alone, in a quiet apartment, nothing distracts you and you easily lose count. Regular breaks to rest your eyes, stretch your body and a few simple exercises are a guarantee of better concentration and well-being at the end of the working day.
The second pole is remote work in intermittent mode. When it so happens that the forced home office finds us at home with the family, organizing the workday - the day itself, in fact - is a big challenge. Let's leave aside the issues related to the cosmic efforts to reconcile professional duties with home e-learning under the banner of school 2.0 in the Polish version. Let's even leave aside the quite obvious difficulties in finding, in a limited space, silence. Let's focus on one thing: without the division of duties between partners and a lot of patience and understanding, it will definitely not work.
Let's try, although it's no small task, to agree that when we work, we work, and not put on the laundry and cook dinner at the same time. Three quarters of an hour of full concentration on the task will bring more tangible benefits than three hours of interrupted work, when we constantly shift our attention from one activity to another and inevitably lose our thoughts, thread, and work rhythm. A clear agreement with a partner on the principle: "Today I'm away from home for three hours in the morning, and tomorrow - the other way around" will certainly prove to be a better solution than nervous multitasking.
Good attitude
Attitude is everything. If we treat the time of mandatory isolation as an opportunity to complain incessantly, our well-being will fall apart, our efficiency at work will inevitably drop, and fatigue and irritation will not allow us to enjoy even our free time. We are now very limited in our freedoms and forced to work in stressful and unusual conditions - a fact. What is worse, we do not know how long this strange state will last and when we will be able to return to our normal life, professional and social. All the more reason to try to fight for a better mood and eliminate dark thoughts.
It's not like we're advocating morning affirmations in the mirror and conjuring reality. However, it's worth realizing that in a situation where we have no influence on the chaos surrounding us, the only thing we can fully control is our reaction. A good attitude can work wonders.
The glass is half full
Are there any positive aspects of remote work, which has replaced all F2F contacts with a virtual option? In a situation where we cannot count on a real meeting, we all start to miss contact with another person. We become more open to our interlocutors and more willing to listen. Online meetings in the era of the epidemic may prove more effective than usual, because greater focus on the words of the interlocutor will probably contribute to faster mutual understanding.
Another advantage of remote work is (in the case of singles) the lack of opportunities for distraction. It is very possible that we will complete our tasks more efficiently, easier and faster than in the office. No one will drop by to chat, no one will take us out for coffee and no one will drop in with a "small request". One note: this rule will only work if we leave social media aside. If we want to use the forced home office to catch up on a large part of the outstanding, long-postponed tasks, let's make sure that the smartphone is out of our reach.
The last thing: the issue of the natural need for contact with another person. Productivity is productivity, but the lack of a casual conversation with colleagues at work also affects the mood, especially since we don't have a beer after hours. In order not to go crazy, let's use digital tools to contact friends as often as possible (after work), and during online company meetings - if possible - let's turn on the camera. Just don't forget that we're wearing pajamas.
