How to better #WFH
You don’t gotta go to work, work, work, work, work, work, work
But you gotta put in work, work, work, work, work, work, work
The covid-19 attack has hit the tech workforce. Voluntary to mandatory work from homes imposed by tech giants companies has made a significant section of the workforce move to working from home. Thanks to technology that tech workers can avoid public spaces and get their tasks done while being at comfort as their homes.
Many companies have announced indefinite work from home policies. I thought of sharing some tricks that have worked for me while working from home.
#1 Hydrate yourself: Keep a bottle of water handy, it will save you trips to your kitchen, and you will not be reminded of your favorite snacks every 5 mins.
#2 Keep Caffeine handy: This is optional for people who are not into Caffeine. But people like me who need to be high on Caffeine, I make sure I have few flavors or tea and coffee within an easy reach. And the option of flavors is especially essential if you are a connoisseur, who might have the urge to run to the nearest coffee shop.
#3 Plan your food: Plan your food timings and plan what do you want to have. If you are going for home delivery, make sure you order an hour in advance so that your food is delivered on time. Have your cookies and bars ready for a quick break for those sleepy afternoons. If you are cooking, maybe you will need an hour extra than how much time you have set aside. Mark your calendars that people know it is your lunch hour.
#4 Have a good setup: You need a chair and a desk that can help you get in the mood. I also want an equally high-resolution monitor to get stuff done with the utmost efficiency.
#5 Stretch: The problem with our homes is that they are often tiny as compared to our 10K sq. Ft offices. Make sure you get up from your seat and do 1–2 min stretches every 90 mins or between meetings. The pace is yours, but do stretch to take care of your back and hamstrings. Stretches can be beneficial when your body starts getting restless towards the end of the day.
#6 Get dressed: Working in your pajamas is not a good idea, and if you are the lazy kind, it will pull yourself to bed. Freshen up in the morning and put up an office attire to get in the work mood. You will feel more in the work mood, and your beautiful mind buys it. Also, it helps not to look soggy when you turn your video on in meetings.
#7 Set up your work hours and set goals: Set strict work hours- 6/8/10 hours. Promise yourself you are not going to let work bleed into your non-work schedule. Set tight times and goals for the day. I often mark my work hours on my work calendar.
#8 Don’t let friends interfere: Your friend might give you a call instead of a text when you are WFH, but maintain your decorum. Know what your goals are for the day and converse as you would do with your team around. Also, don’t show up at their place either to deliver a pack of cookies.
#9 Limit media exposure: Audio is fine, but try not to use your big screen. You may have a set of pending episodes on the latest season of Homeland, but don’t deviate from regular media usage, it’s highly likely you will get distracted. That also doesn’t mean you can’t post an IG story or a FB picture bragging about your comfy coffee mug.
#10 You don’t need to be always available: While at home, you tend to be available for everyone — emails, chats, and be highly responsive. WFH doesn’t synonym-ize for availability. It’s fine to let poking and queries to be on hold while you get your scheduled tasks done.
#11 Be connected: with your office folks in a non-formal manner. I generally share a GIF, article, or something funny with my folks so that I get that quick jinx before the next meeting begins and remain connected.
#12 Clean your desk: Civic sense increases in public places(;)) but don’t let it drown in your WFH schedule. Clear out your coffee mugs, use wipes to clean your monitor, and arrange your work desk.
So here are a few tips for working better. I work in UX and have a few UX recommendations on how my projects work and what works best for UX-ey stuff. If you are an SWE/Sales/Writer/Student or any other, you will have your specific hacks for your field or projects. Figure out the tips and work for having a healthy #WFH routine.
Being a people person, it’s a big challenge for me to #WFH, but having the silence at my apartment also helps me concentrate and be productive. The tech workforce will come out of this virus season with a significant conclusion on #WFH. And I am eager to watch what that is!
I have always believed in remote work and I strongly feel it is the future. Maybe one day soon I will be writing my ux takeaways from the beaches of Bora Bora
