How The Heck Do I WFH?
By: Lauren Fiedler, Account Director
If we are all honest, working from home has its distractions. For one, these four and two-legged children of ours are not understanding that even though they can see us in our pajamas on our computer at the kitchen table, that does not mean that we aren’t ‘at work.’ Also, when did the dishwasher always need to be emptied? Oh, and have you seen that new series on [insert streaming service here]? If you’re like me, it is hard to not get distracted on your tasks at hand; it’s like working in an open-concept office at the circus. So, knowing that I can’t be the only one suffering from this, I wanted to share a few tips and tricks I have learned to keep myself on task and motivated.
Schedule out your tasks throughout the day as you would meetings. This way you can schedule times away from your computer to do the random tasks like folding the laundry or letting the dog out for the 5th time.
Take a lunch break as you would have at the office. It gives you a sort of normalcy to the workday to walk away from your computer and eat. Heck, if you are able, take a power nap during this time to re-energize yourself or a short walk around the neighborhood.
Stay off your personal social media. Think of it as if you were at the office before. It’s a black hole that will seem like five minutes of your time, but end up being one hour.
Remember the rules have changed and adapted. It comes as no surprise that people have had to adapt to working from home, and some of us are better than others. Have patience.
Get ready in the morning. I know, I know. It’s easier to roll out of bed with your punk rock t-shirt and jammy pants and go straight to your computer, but you will be amazed at how much better you feel if you brush your teeth and hair and change your shirt. Changing your pants is optional with video calls, but take note of some epic fails on this with those who have accidentally stood up forgetting their wardrobe choices on their bottom half.
At the end of the day, everyone adapts differently, but always remember, we all are starting to wonder if we really meant it when we said pre-quarantine ‘oh you work from home? I’m so jealous.