After the pandemic, most of us worked from home in our pajamas. It sounds like a fantasy come true. But we all know it was challenging, it is not as appealing as it sounds.
For the freshers who had just started their careers or even for the seniors, it still might be a challenge. I am working from home since the pandemic hence it is close to 3 years now and it was a challenge.
So let's discuss what challenges I faced and how I overcame them.
Challenge 1: No social interaction
When I started working remotely, it became apparent to me how much of my day was wasted commuting, chit-chatting with colleagues, etc. Once I was able to focus I was able to get most of my work done in a shorter period.
But with the time that peace started to demoralize me. It felt like I wish I had someone to chit-chat and go out with on an evening snack. If I used to see someone outside my house, I was like “Let’s go and talk to him/her”. We are social creatures and a feeling similar to jail is not something all of us are used to. So yes, it becomes frustrating after a few months and after a year it felt like I am going crazy, HELP ME!
Now let’s discuss the cure that I analyzed with my 3 years of experience.
Set out activities away from work
- Daily: Go for a walk, read books, spend some time with housemates, go to the gym, and get some hobbies. You can select the one you love but yes try to set some boundaries.
- Weekly: Get out of the house to interact with other people, your housemates don’t count, and head to a coffee shop or for a dinner date ;)
I even found keeping my working room and bedroom separate. It gives the mind an indication that this room is for rest and this is for work.
Challenge 2: Work Management
When no one is looking over your shoulder it becomes very easy to be distracted. Let’s watch a series, or a reel, and that one reel leads to 100+ reels. We think we have the rest of the day and night and can complete the work later but this type of thinking leads to disaster because we all know we end up too tired later on to sit and work.
What is the solution for this? In my opinion, set a schedule for each week for whatever hours of your wish and stick to it. This has worked for me and I know it will work for you too ;)
Challenge 3: Motivation to work
Even if we manage our work and time but after some days or months we won’t feel like doing any work and we started scrolling through our phones.
In the office, the boss is over your head and you have to work anyhow but at home, you are a free bird which makes you procrastinate things. One solution we already discussed above is to fix a schedule next is remove all distractions and temptations from your working environment. Keep your phone in a different room so when you feel like using it your laziness will not allow you to, same goes with TV, comics, and many more.
Another is to set a focus time of at least 15 minutes and start working. During this time you have to work no matter what. For me this has worked wonders, those 15 minutes most of the time turn out to be 1 hour of undivided focus.
I feel working from home is a gift and we can make this work for us. Don’t you feel that way?
