Keep the Same Schedule
To give your day structure, keep the same routine as when you went into an office. Get up at the same time and make a to-do list. Check in with the same person every morning.
Your schedule will change over time as you adjust to your new working arrangement.
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You won't have the same cues as you do from your workplace to remind you to get up or get lunch. When you lose the pace of your day, everything can start to blend together.
Treat your exercise, meals and stretch breaks as you would any other meeting. Put it on your calendar, at least to start.
Pick a place for your office away from distraction.
Boundaries also apply to other people who may be sharing the same space. Children can work alongside you as if they were coming to the office.
The evening commute is often a way to end the workday and beginning home life.
It is important to continue to end your workday when you work from home, even if you only move to a different spot in your home or shut down your work applications.
Proactively stay in touch with others rather than waiting for someone to reach out. It could be emailing colleagues more often, using chat tools or just picking up the phone.
Getting a pet is another way to break isolation, or playing a familiar movie for a background hum to break the silence.
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Global companies, from the UK to the US, Japan to South Korea, have recently rolled out mandatory work-from-home policies amid the spread of the new virus.
Working from home will become the new normal for many. Some employees will be working from home for the first time, and need to figure out how to stay on task.
Environmental associations are cues from your working environment that tell your brain "I'm in the office, so it must be time to work." Most of them are assimilated subconsciously (for example, your office space, the draft you always feel coming from the air duct next to your desk, and the view as you look out your office building's window.)
But when you work from home many of these associations are gone and your brain receives a confusing mix of "work time" and "relax time" cues.
Work hours are up! It's time to get some relaxation going and it's harder to relax with constant buzzing from your work e-mail and it's extremely tempting to check them.
Practice "Out of sight, out of mind."
â¤ď¸ Brainstash Inc.