Tips to the Socially Distanced

"Out of sight, out of mind."

In the days of forced 'Work from Home' for a bulk of the corporate workforce worldwide, the above proverb may sound a bit outdated. One might argue that in a world that's never been this connected, where communication is instantaneous and there are whole ecosystems that thrive on remote working, location is not truly a deal breaker. 

However, when we're used to doing things a certain way, it is not easy to change all of a sudden and adapt instantaneously. Being a solo-entrepreneur, I firsthand experience how incredibly lonely it can get when you're cooped up, which in turn affects productivity. (People have often told me how cool is must be to be my own boss, but that also makes me my own employee, and that is very hard!)

When Governments are educating people on how to cough and sneeze, guess it's not a bad idea to explore some tips on working from home. 

Plan your work, and work your plan

The first function of managing anything is to plan. While the overall work would be planned for us anyway, defining everyday action-items and more importantly, implementing the plan when we're on our own takes tremendous motivation and discipline. We need to come up with challenging and yet realistic plans to stay positively motivated.

Beware of distractions, wear a watch

In the name of 'multitasking' (and thanks to our constantly beeping smart devices), we've made ourselves very vulnerable to distractions. How many times have we picked up our phones to check the time, and then caught ourselves watching a 'Top 10 Whatever' video on YouTube some fifteen minutes later?! Disconnecting and setting breaks to check your phone is surely a productivity booster. 

Use digital assistants effectively

We might not have the luxury of having an Alfred or the technology for JARVIS, but we definitely have a smartphone with a digital assistant. Setting multiple reminders for even trivial things throughout the day can be outsourced to our phones, and it frees up a lot of memory in our head to focus on other things without worrying about slip-ups.

Conscious Communication

There is no chance of passing by your manager's office, or bumping into a co-worker at tea time when working from home. These social situations are when most of the 'FYI' communication happens in an office. We have to account for their absence when remote working, and need to ensure that we consciously take out time and effort to communicate things. 

More Milestones

One of the best things to have in times like these is a reporting manager who (somewhat) micro-manages! If we divide the work into smaller chunks and create more milestones, there's a higher chance of ensuring better efficiency. If you have people reporting to you, help them create shorter milestones. 

Share more

Situations like these are very uncommon, and everyone is figuring out the best way to adapt to the new circumstances. If we've got an idea to improve things, let's share it; let not the fear of rejection, or our work title, come in the way of what might make life better for all. We all bring in a variety of experience to our teams; what might be obvious to one might be outlandish to another. 

Digital Co-working

Perhaps one of the very under-rated functions in human relationships is being there for someone. Having the digital presence of a friend (or co-worker, or family, or anyone around whom we feel comfortable) or small groups can be a powerful motivating factor to achieve our milestones for the day. 

Set boundaries 

Running errands while at home is nothing uncommon. But if we don't set clear boundaries and allocate particular time to it and take it up as it comes, it'll be a disaster. It can eat up our productive time, slowly build up as we try to catch up and then put tremendous pressure when a deadline is near. It is not good for anything; our mental health, the quality of work, the half-completed errand or our emotion towards the person who gave us the errand! Nobody likes to be tied down to their laptop 24/7, but it is a very easy self-destructive pit to fall into if we are not careful. 

Feel Complete

One of the positive things about not having to commute to work is the extra time we get. If we plan and execute our day well, then working from home can be a joy, as we are in absolute control of our time. 

Take breaks. Stretch your spine and limbs. Check up on your family. Have a fun filled con-call with friends. Read. Walk around. Get back to a long-lost hobby. Rest well. Learn something new. Teach someone. Laugh. 

Do what makes you feel complete. What good are we if we feel incomplete ?