Be your own authority at home. Exercise discipline to manage time, know what to get done and at what time.
Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio
The novel coronavirus has struck hard, forcing us to take measures we never thought we could ever take. Talk of schools being closed. Travel bans. Churches, malls, and other public places setting up sanitizing points at every entrance. Public events getting postponed indefinitely, and at worst, cancelled. Employees working from home - now that sounds fun, no? Sure, it would have been better if we stayed home under other circumstance rather than a pandemic. But here we are.
Now that employees are working from home, a huge shift in productivity is likely to come with it. With all the distractions and freedom (your supervisor is somewhere washing hands and probably getting distracted too) productivity teeters on the edge of a nosedive.
In this brief listicle we examine productivity and how you can be super productive, even at home. But first, are a few distractions that are likely to make working at home challenging:
1. Sleep: Yes, this one had to start us off. When reporting to work, the alarm goes off early to provide time to prepare and commute, keeping in mind the traffic snarl ups in Kenya. When working from home however, you can sleep through to 9 in the morning then jolt up, open your laptop and as long as it is connected to internet, work in bed. Now that is a good way to get no work done, but sleep. This should be viewed as having more time that can be utilised to do more.
2. Family and friends: Someone’s making pancakes in the kitchen, the aroma gets wafted to your nostrils and that 5 – minute break ends up with you running in circles and getting nothing done. Or it’s your relative yelling at you from the living room to come watch a breaking news. Or your neighbour who stops by with a stack of cards. Last night they beat you at the game, and your ego craves revenge. Whichever scenario, friends and family are a distraction.
3. House chores: Your mind has drifted far away; to the deepest and wisest part in your skull, in search of the right words to use in that report your boss awaits, when your eyes land on dirty dishes in the sink with fruit flies hovering around. You like things as clean as a whistle, so goodbye to the report.
4. Social media and Netflix: At work, these have no leash on you because supervision is watertight. At home, catching up on an episode before acting on an email won’t do any harm, right? It ends in suspense, so just one more episode, then boom, you’re running out time and nothing has been done. Or your best friend or crush is live on Facebook! Can’t miss this! Sayonara, work.
With the above opponents (among others) beating the discipline out of us, can we really be productive while at home? Yes, and here are some tips:
Have a dedicated space: Yes, get off that bed. A dedicated space could be a desk. Set up in an environment that bars distraction. This will help your mind focus on the job at hand, and keep family and friends off your map because your dedicated space is your sanctum of silence.
Photo credit: Andrea Davis
Discipline: Why is it that when at work you are productive but when at home productivity flat-lines? Authority draws the line. Be your own authority at home. Exercise discipline to manage time, know what to get done and at what time. Know your concentration span and use it to draw up a to-do-list, with break activities in between, could be to eat; read a chapter; take a walk; talk with someone etc. In the book “Talk to the Hand”, Lynne Truss calls it obedience to the unenforceable. No one is nudging you, but you are your own authority and you obey the unenforceable. What a character to have in this day and age!
1. Find purpose in what you do: When you understand that it is not only about the salary you get at the end of the month but also about the difference your input brings and the value you add to the society, you’ll work well even in a trench. Okay, let’s just keep it at even at home. People who have found purpose and meaning in their jobs have been quoted saying that for them, Saturday can be Monday and Monday can be Saturday! I guess that calls for self-reflection.
2. Break work into intervals: This might be the magic you need! Instead of working throughout, compartmentalize high concentration tasks and low ones, and then break them into intervals with reference to your concentration span. The Pomodoro Technique works.
Was this article useful? We would so much love to hear from you. Happy productivity while #StayingSafe #WashingHandsWithSoap #HelpingStopCorona
