Ways to manage work from home 🕞

Work from home has always been a desire to every professional, who doesn’t like siting back at home and working in a cozy environment then let it be work in a study or lying on couch or giving pain to sofa. Noise free, monitoring free environment with delicious homely cuisines. Started imagining ??? 😛

Don’t wonder that much as other way round it’s not a hankering which cannot be fulfilled, rather each one of us used to do same in every 10, 15 days .(Depending upon daily office hacks). Planning used to be like………….,

Five working days, office on Monday, Tuesday ,“Wednesday(WFH)”, Thursday, Friday. Or, for some it used to be like, “Oh!! I have Friday night party, let me do WFH on Friday so that no chance of getting stuck till late in office. Blah!! Blah !! Blah!! reaching same destination with different routes.

One day, 2020 came in the colorful movie and “work from home” came out of the screen and became real instead of reel. Now what, wish to permanent WFH came true but no more in a same happening way which it used to be, unlike earlier days when it was chosen by us. What all 2020 bought for us, can be discovered by new Normal 2020.

Since, it’s our new working way. Either it’s a hectic day with many client calls or a day which needs maximum 2 hrs of productivity, everything has to be managed here itself along with the balance at your personal upfront.

Some live in a nuclear family and some in a joint family. Office work doesn’t welcome this factor, rather more productivity is expected. 😶 When you move out to office, house hold activities are no more in vision from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Mind is fully occupied by office stuffs), post that after being home again same routine.

Don’t you think now we need some time management kind of things or some vows to ourselves to maintain a thin line between office and household stuffs. Let me share my vows which are helping me manage things smoothly:

Don’t play with the alarm clock:

Alarm ringing!! Our lazy mind is well aware of no office going day, all kinds of clouds getting formed to have some more time on bed. Half and hour passes and you still be on bed, eventually, the day started with more tighten schedule in comparison to normal days.

“You will find the key to success under the alarm clock.” -Benjamin Franklin

For better management, if you don’t play with your morning alarm then you can complete all activities before office start time with an ease along with buying out time for yourself. Alas! utilizing the extra time in self grooming which was not possible during office going days. Like, standing quietly in your balcony and giving your thoughts sometime and experiencing refreshing morning breeze in sunlight with a cup of tea. Opting for meditation, exercise, newspaper reading , gardening, etc., whichever is better for one’s self-esteem.

Be in your working area by 10 a.m.:

Commonly, 10 a.m. is the time defined as the start of office day. Since, we have to pursue work from home, there is a possibility we login the day bit late, again it will be categorized in wrong practices. Obviously, it won’t effect the assigned office tasks because that’s the job you are being paid for so you will accomplish it but you won’t be able to focus on extra productive things. Your goals will be set with boundaries, “it’s not you don’t want to” but in the view of the fact “you don’t have time to”.

No alteration in eating habits:

Factually, work from home is equivalent less physical work in comparison to office days. Of course, some are health conscious but again “some” not “all”. Count to foot steps being at home is not even one-fourth of number foot steps taken while being in office.

In office routines, you generally prefer having baked or nutrient full breakfast and carrying lunch box and weekend comes with bit heavy and oily edibles. One reason is obviously, healthy living and other is due to lack of time to prepare multiple cuisines.

What happen during WFH??? Don’t you have time to cook??? Yes!! you have. In fact, much more time (don’t have to go anywhere). You can daily try new things, give as much as time you want, it won’t effect office work because any how you will complete it but will surely affect your life style.

You will not be able to differentiate between five working days and weekend. Kitchen will be marked as your ultimate goal accompanied by health issues. Contra, if you be bit conscious about self and follow same routine as in office days, having same kind of breakfast, don’t act as an multi-cuisine restaurant then that same time which you were not able to utilize for your own grooming in office atmosphere can be well invested now.

Work upon your skills:

Are you a automatic watch or a quartz?

Must be feeling uncanny with a question, let’s relate it with oneself.

Both the watches are used to deliver time, former is independent while latter is dependent on battery. Similarly, is the case with us, if you work like a quartz then for enhancing your skills you always have to dependent upon getting time from other works to attain it.

While, considering yourself as an automatic watch all you need to know is what you have to achieve. Further going, no dependency, no excuses, just work upon. Indeed, we all know never in 365 days we work for exact 9 hrs (May be less or more). So, what you do if it’s less??? Then the comes to choose which type of watch your are. When done with your office assignments in less than 9 hrs then why not invest left over time directly upon your skills, rather than indulging that same productive time in house hold thing (Then be like ,“Let me now complete some more house hold stuffs then will work upon skills”)???

When you are in office from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and you need productivity for less hours. Do you be home early or in mid to perform some of your housing tasks??? So, utilize the time to upgrade yourself according to market, and that can be done by considering whole work time similar to office even when doing work from home.

“Lost time is never found again.” — Benjamin Franklin.

Family time:

Family an important and crucial component of our life. It’s good to be sincere towards work and giving 100%. But that 100% should be covered in your shift hours (exceptions are accepted). Post that, till next day starts it should be bontemps (french 😅) with a family.

One can think of running fingers on keyboard even after office time ends. Appreciable in terms of professionalism but not on personal upfront.

One who makes office as a primary place may become guest in a family.

Above stated is what I came up with during lockdown and a new way of life. Few time management strategies to maintain a gap between office and home else work from home will mess up all office, work, home, working day, weekend.

So, a thought emerged to share with everyone may be some get help by it or some may suggest better than this.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Suggestions are welcome…🤝

Happy reading.😊😊