How to maintain work consistency and productivity during coronavirus outbreak

How to maintain work consistency and productivity during coronavirus outbreak

The Covid-19 continues to keep many of us locked up inside our homes, forcing us to work remotely.

With so much happening in the world right now, many are struggling to be productive and keep up the momentum of their work. Any semblance of normalcy is heartily welcome in current times. But days now tend to blend, if we allow them to. Experts, thus, suggest that keeping a routine – whether an entirely new one or the one before the pandemic – has a crucial role to play in maintaining one’s mental and physical health, provided the routines are healthy.

The pandemic has pushed millions of employees to adapt themselves to working from home, including many who have never done this before. Many of these remote-work arrangements were suddenly implemented, without a proper structure in place, leaving employees and managers alike to wade through a new work reality alongside personal issues and anxieties about the prevailing public health crisis.

As a result, the new set-up has left many workers feeling distracted, demotivated, isolated and stressed out.

Here are some tips to navigate through these uncertain times and successfully develop an effective routine for productive outcomes:

1. Create a daily routine

The first issue that arises when working from home is building a home office. Experts say that making an office out of one’s bedroom will not be a bright idea. However, if the space available is scant, still set up a dedicated workspace – even if it’s just the corner of a kitchen worktable.

This can serve to help the brain distinguish between work hours and off-duty hours. Working from home does accord one to sleep a few extra hours, but creating and continuing a regular workday morning routine would help one switch on their work mode efficaciously.

2. Make a to-do list

Having a concrete, defined list of things that one has their mind set on accomplishing is critical to both staying on top of their work and keeping themselves from feeling overwhelmed. Many struggle to figure out which tasks to treat as priority and from where to start. They can, thus, make a to-do list and pick up the most strenuous or time-intensive tasks first and foremost.

3. Get dressed

Throughout the pandemic-induced lockdown, many people felt no need to get out of their pyjamas and get dressed. This too tends to make one sloppy and lazy. When one has to work, however, putting on some fresh clothes, which do not necessarily have to be formal, can signal the brain that it is time to get things moving.

4. Cut out distractions

When it’s time to work, social media and news websites can be a waste of time. The best way to deal with these is to turn off notifications for all the apps. This eliminates the tendency to check updates when one should actually be working.

Similarly, it’s crucial to let one’s managers and colleagues know that they are not accessible outside of their official work hours.

5. Eat healthy and take breaks

It’s very easy to be consumed by one’s work in remote-working. If one doesn’t take regular breaks in between or stretch out a bit, it can prove detrimental for one’s health. Taking occasional mental and physical breaks from the laptop screen is important.

Also, a sedentary lifestyle and constant snacking throughout the day can lead one towards obesity. Instead, one can meal prep in advance and arrange healthy snacks for those hunger pangs that one tends to get, especially while working from home.

Summing it up

Working from home means distractions abound for all and declining motivation to keep up the pace. These trying times call for practicing good sleep habits, eating healthy, staying active, and giving mind and body the much-needed rest for a better performance at work.

Authored by Alok Bansal, MD and Country Head, Visionet.

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