Effective self-isolation: remote work strategy

Many employees dream of working from home. Statistics published in foreign editions, as well as the latest research conducted by the Mirobase company, show that about 70% of the staff prefers remote work.

However, the personal choice of the format of work and the method of work imposed from the outside are not the same thing. Self-isolation as a result of mass quarantine was a psychological blow for many employees who are not used to or have not tried to work from home before. In addition, even under normal conditions, about 30% of the staff is not ready for the “home office” mode.
Psychologists around the world regularly post video blogs and publish guide articles with useful tips. We decided to combine valuable recommendations and supplement them with our experience: after all, in our company, a significant number of employees have been working remotely for many years.

Tip 1: Organize your Workspace

One of the priority factors that reduce the efficiency of homework is the lack of a “work zone”. Any space is always strongly connected with certain associations. For example, by opening the office door and performing a sequence of “morning rituals”, a person switches from the “rest” mode to the “work” mode.

In a home atmosphere, everything is the opposite: it is very difficult to focus on important tasks while sitting in your favorite chair, which is associated with watching football. The situation can be aggravated by relatives who are forced to stay in the same territory with a “home worker” and turn into a distraction.

The solution that will allow not only to solve labor problems effectively but also to avoid scandals – is the division of space.

For example, you can allocate a room or a place to work. That’s all, now from 9 to 18 it is a working area, within which only business issues are resolved. Lunch, watching movies, or other activities that are not related to the performance of official duties must be taken out of the designated perimeter.

As soon as the working day is over-everything that reminds you of work should be removed away, and switch to the “rest” mode.

The devil is in the details, and personal effectiveness is in the details. It’s hard to focus on multi-million dollar deals or an important project while sitting in a bathrobe and slippers with a plate of noodles in front of the monitor. Separating personal space from the work, removing all the distractions out of sight, bringing appearance in order and setting up a “battle rhythm” can solve most problems with concentration.

Tip 2. Time planning

Not only the place is important, but also the time: most difficulties arise when external factors begin to creep into the usual rhythm of work. On the Internet, someone is always wrong, Malakhov can start broadcasting on one of the channels, and the neighbors have an extraordinary exciting scandal.

Elements of distraction in a second unsettle the performance of routine tasks. All the plans fall into the mixer, turning into a mess of chaotic actions. As a result, the tasks are not done, and the employee is tired and psychologically exhausted. After all, instead of a full rest, there were incomprehensible throwing from side to side.

Working remotely, it is important to clearly build your schedule and follow it as accurately as possible. Get up at the same time, exercise, have breakfast, read the news, plan tasks, and start the work day with your brain already turned on and full awareness and understanding of what to-do list you have to complete.

Tip 3. Goals and enjoyment

All routine tasks can easily be divided into two conditional categories: achieving a goal and getting pleasure.

Everything that brings enjoyment and helps to relax, most often, does not bring tangible benefits. But it helps to distract and relieve stress.

At the same time, achieving both financial and personal goals can be associated with painstaking hard work and rarely brings pleasure.

The paradox is that both types of activities cannot exist without each other. Working in non-stop mode leads to nervous exhaustion and burnout. And the endless exploitation of the joys of home life is a path to dismissal and bankruptcy. In order not to get lost in the wilds of home self-organization, it is necessary to take into account all the activities and include them in the plan of daily tasks.

Let’s be honest: no one works in the office continuously from 9 to 18. Any employee is regularly distracted by communication with colleagues, coffee breaks, trips to the smoking room, entertainment sites and forums. At the best, 80% of the day is left to complete tasks. And this is an excellent indicator. Most often, office workers devote 50-60% of their time to fulfilling their official duties.

If the process cannot be stopped, it must be led.

Determine which activities help to relieve stress quickly, and plan them. To stay within 80% of the time of business activity, you can use time-tracking programs. They will help you find factors that distract you from your work and reduce your personal effectiveness.

The main thing – do not try to play “multitasking”. Julius Caesar is not the rule, but the exception. Usually, an attempt to do two things at the same time ends with the fact that one is done poorly, the second – even worse. Focus on something: either work hard, or take a break and relax without being distracted by incoming messages.

Tip 4. Social cooperation

Man is a social animal. When working remotely or in the case of self-isolation in quarantine, it is the lack of communication that negatively affects the psyche.

If you live alone, make it a rule to include communication with colleagues or friends in Skype in your daily plan. Any brainstorm or meeting can be an outlet in the face of a lack of communication.
For those who share a living space with their family, there is a great life hack: spend your lunch break together, discussing the latest news or a previously viewed movie. Communication will help you switch and remove the accumulated psychological burden.

Tip 5. Take the time to be creative

The worst thing about isolation is self-exploration. Constant attempts to analyze the situation, concentration on personal problems and failures, obsession with negativity – a direct path to prolonged depression. And, as a consequence, the low efficiency of labor. You can break out of the vicious circle by switching to creativity.

Write songs and stories, draw pictures, and play musical instruments. It doesn’t matter how well or poorly you do it. The main thing is to get maximum pleasure from the process itself. This approach can be combined with additional social activity, organizing competitions with friends or spending evenings reading stories or singing songs together.

Don’t think of creativity as wasted time. This is an opportunity to have fun, and it doesn’t matter what happens as a result. The process itself is important.

Tip 6. Learn a new skill

Quarantine is a great reason to learn how to do something new. Firstly, any skill, you will be able to “monetize” in the future. Secondly, you will spend your time usefully. And, thirdly – you will practice in setting and achieving the goal.

Gaining new knowledge broadens your horizons and, in the future, helps in personal and professional growth. Fortunately, on the Internet you can find manuals, training videos, paid and free courses for every taste. The main thing is the desire to learn.

But even here you can not do without planning and clear time management. Any educational process is based on regularity. You can only achieve success by training new skills every day. And to do this, you need to select a “gap” in the plan.

A well-organized organization of “labor” and “entertainment” activities will help you not lose your current “work efficiency”, reach new professional heights, and minimize stress from unusual working conditions.

If self-organization is not your strong suit, you can always use an electronic assistant that will assess the current situation with time management, identify “bottlenecks” and tell you how to properly reorganize the working day, combining maximum efficiency with a minimum level of stress.

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