How to Work from Home and not Die Trying

by Josefina Ruiz

COVID-19 has us all working remote, but this doesn't mean we should lose our productivity. While working from home you may feel anxious: there are many distractions and loneliness might make you feel overwhelmed.

Tips for you work in a healthy and productive way from home:

  • Make a list of all the tasks you must complete every day and order them by priority. This will help you organize yourself and optimize your time.
  • Prepare a good workspace, an area of your house that mentally prepares you to work. This certainly  isn't your sofa or bed.
  • Be in constant interaction with your team. Check-in, communicate what you're doing, ask questions, even send memes... just as if we were in the office! We use Slack channels to chat and ZOOM for video calls.
  • Be disciplined and focus. Don't visit the fridge every 3 minutes, don't check your phone and don't lay down in bed. Instrumental or classical music may help you concentrate!
  • Take off that pijamas! Our mind needs to understand we are in our daily working routine. Take a bath, dress up, have breakfast and start your day.
  • You and your family or roommates must understand you are not available even though you're home. It's not time for you to clean the kitchen or to help your kids with homework. Act as if you weren't home.
  • Set a finish time, allow yourself to disconnect from work. Workaholic's have a hard time working from home because they can't stop!
  • Take breaks outside of your workspace. Have a proper lunch and take a 15 minute walk. This will help you clarify your mind and be more productive at the end of the day.
  • If you're a team leader, it's important to be clear with your work-from-home policy. Also remember to give everyone tasks and ask them for updates.
  • If you're a collaborator, don't be afraid to ask questions or for tasks if you have doubts or are out of things to do.

In times of coronavirus, allowing your team to work remote is a way of helping everyone stay healthy and collaborating with a worldwide issue we need to solve together. Don't be afraid to trust your team!

Good luck with your remote experience and share other tips in the comments!