The recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to stay home and perform daily activities like Office work, schooling, etc., from home.
It sometimes becomes difficult to adjust to this new life routine. Here are some tips for Working from Home and Homeschooling.
Did you know? – 30 percent of those who responded to the survey stated that they work for a fully remote company. Source 1
Table of Contents
01. Stay away from your phone after wakeup
This is the most difficult and the easiest.
The easiest Temptation is to look up your phone and start reading WhatsApp messages, news, and email as soon as you wake up. This strains your eyeballs, and any negative information or message you read will spoil your whole day.
This will be difficult initially, but later, it will become a habit and benefit you in the long run.
02. Workday schedule or to-do list
Once done with step one, let’s move to step 2
A healthy routine will make things much more productive and stressful. Take a few minutes to write down the schedule for the day or your to-do list.
Maintaining a to-do list will make you look like a professional, and you can begin your daily activities by glancing at this list.
Start with the high-priority items first, followed by the low ones. This will simplify your life, and you will enjoy school or work.
You can use the apps on your phone or laptop to keep these notes. A simple notepad with a pen or pencil will also suffice.
03. Wear professional clothes and Groom well
The next logical thing to do is mentally prepare yourself to work at home or take school lessons.
Dress as if you dress for going to work or school. Groom yourself well. This will mentally prepare you for schooling or working at home.
It will also make you presentable to join an online video conferencing session for school or office work.
Being at home, we tend to ignore this, but let us start practicing it going forward.
04. Proper workplace
Desk, Chair, pen paper, laptop, headsets, etc.
Maintain a workspace environment for school or office work. This will not just make you get organized but will also mentally prepare you for employment. It is like having a virtual experience of an office or school at home.
If you have a separate room, get it converted to look like an office or school. You only need a table, chair, pens, notepad, and a laptop.
If you do not have a separate room, choose a corner in some room and convert it to an office. You can use a curtain or put up some partitions to isolate yourself from the rest of the room.
05. During my free time, watch YouTube or free webinars
One advantage of working from home is saving travel time and money. Your classes would be for a few hours, and most office jobs do not expect you to work continuously for 8 to 10 hours.
This is a good time to learn or upgrade new skills. You can do this by watching YouTube videos or by attending live webinars.
Nowadays, companies will have many online webinars to promote or sell their goods or services. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about new technologies and ideas. The best part is that these are free.
Get yourself certified – You may also consider getting certified in some areas of your current job. This will help you get promoted in your company. Consider acquiring some new certificates. For example, someone in the Information technology space can get some Microsoft certification.
Getting yourself certified or learning a new skill will help you in the long run as companies seek multi-skilled people.
Business from home – This is recommended for those running their business from home. For example, suppose you are in the tourism industry, like a hotel or travel-related services. In that case, learning how to develop your website and use chatbot Technologies to gain new customers will be a good idea.
For Children – Children should be encouraged to stop watching games and cartoon channels and start watching YouTube videos that are informative and educative.
This habit at an early age will take them ahead in life. Learning to sing, dance, or play a musical instrument should be encouraged.
06. Shutdown and leave the workplace
Return to your everyday personal life once your work hours or school sessions are over.
Get back to casual dressing and prepare for non-work-related activities. This is an excellent way to turn yourself mentally from the office to home.
Shut down your laptop, and keep all your stuff neatly so you can use them the next day.
07. Evening activities or going out for a walk, gym, friends, etc
Now that you are back to your personal life. Spend your evening with your hobbies, meeting friends, gym, evening walks, etc.
Personal time is as important as school or office time and use it wisely.
Children can take guidance from parents on this aspect.
08. Maintain a daily routine…Get up, have breakfast, sleep, etc
Maintaining a healthy daily routine will make you more productive and bring a feeling of well-being.
Set up a routine for yourself. What time do you wake up, have breakfast, work or school, have evening activities, have dinner, and have bedtime?
This will help your body rhythm intact and promote good health, too.
09. Reduce screen time
With the advancement of gadgets like smartphones, TV, Netflix, etc., you tend to spend more time in front of the screen.
Limit these activities as they put unnecessary strain on your eyes and keep you away from other indoor and outdoor activities.
Protect yourself from social networking tools like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I am not saying to stop using it completely. Just set yourself a schedule for using it. Maybe 30 min to an hour daily.
10. Good night’s sleep
A good night’s sleep is the perfect medicine to rejuvenate your body, and it is ready for the next day.
Reading a book or meditating is an excellent way to calm and prepare your body for rest. Sleep well and wake up fresh to begin the new day.
Conclusion
The lockdown due to the Covid pandemic has forced us to start attending work or school from home. Some tips are as follows. First, stay away from your phone when you wake up. Second, have a to-do list or work schedule. Third, wear professional-looking attire and groom well. Fourth, have a proper workspace.
Fifth, try to learn new skills and attend online webinars. Sixth, shut down your workspace after work and prepare for a personal life. Seventh, perform evening activities like meeting friends, etc. Eight maintains a daily routine. Ninth, reduce screen time. Tenth, have a good night’s sleep.
