The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many companies, which have closed their doors and affected to implement the work remotely to protect their collaborators from possible infections.

Remote work is a solution to maintain business operations, however, from a personal point of view, we are facing a challenge. The COVID-19 shakes up our routines, forcing us out of our states of physical and mental comfort. This tied to the stress and anxiety caused by not being able to go out and the news of the pandemic.

The big question is: Can we really be productive working from home? We have many distractions and if we have children, even more.

Here are some tips to help you work productively from home and lessen stress:

1. Wake up early and organize your day.

Organize a schedule of activities to do. Planning is your key tool for achieving productivity. Get up early, if you follow your usual bedtime and wake-up times, it will make you better the day and the moment we return to our normal routine, you do not have to adjust them. Also, establish your hours of work, meals and rest. It is important, do not forget to plan your hours of recreation and exercise.

2. Get out of your pajamas!

Although you spend all day at home, change your pajamas for some comfortable clothes that make you feel different. Grooming yourself up a bit will encourage you to send one more fresco and it will lift your mood. Believe it or not it works!

3. Establishment and design of activity areas inside the house.

Design separate activity areas around the house. Try to establish areas for eating, working, recreation, exercise and rest. The idea is to improve the coexistence of the people who live in the house and achieve a separation between work and home. It can be a bit tricky for small spaces, but this tip helps you recreate the physical separation you need so badly to work.

4. Create a suitable workstation.

Create a workstation with all the tools you need. It should be in a quiet place, with little noise and good lighting, it is essential to achieve adequate space.

Use a comfortable and ergonomic chair as possible. Remember that spending 8 hours sitting and with poor posture can cause musculoskeletal injuries that can be very painful. The bedroom and bed are not recommended as a work area.

5. Don’t get stuck in distractions and news from COVID-19.

Combating distractions is the big challenge for working at home. Anything can catch our attention and waste considerable time on it. That is why we must evaluate possible distractions and separate them as much as possible from our workstation. Turn off cell phone notifications that are not important and related to work.

Right now, the biggest distraction is focused on the COVID-19 news. It is important to be informed, however, the reports are overwhelming creating possible episodes of anxiety and stress, which do not help you focus on work. The recommendation is to wait until the end of business hours to catch up.

6. If you have children, create activities for them and share with them on your breaks.

Children at home need attention and can distract you from your chores. The best recommendation is to place educational activities that allow you to have a little space to work and share with them during breaks. You can create a schedule of homework, games, television, among others.

7. Take advantage of technology to share with your coworkers and friends.

Communication is very important to meet the goals of your organization. Take advantage of technological advances to chat with your coworkers to share information and experiences. You can use applications such as WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Gmail Hangouts, among others.

Take advantage of these applications to share with friends and family. Remember that the balance between work and personal life is important for a healthy mind, even if you are at home you can have much needed social interaction.

8. Set personal goals and do activities you like.

Surely you have goals and habits that you have abandoned due to the lack of time that the daily routine generates. Take advantage of free time at home to take that online course that you both wanted to do or take up lost habits like painting, doing crafts, cooking, exercising, among others.

We hope these tips are helpful. Remember to follow the instructions of the official health sources and stay home. Take care!

Source: New York Post and Themuse.