COVID-19: Work From Home

The first step to living through a pandemic like COVID-19 successfully while working from home is to accept the fact that anxiety is normal. This is an unprecedented and unpredictable situation which neither you nor any other human can control. The best you can do is to convert your anxiety into something positive with utter responsibility: take all the precautions and preventive measures, and ensure that your family and loved ones do the same. 

Staying at home, washing your hands regularly, maintaining respiratory hygiene - all of these are steps that you should practice strictly. Remember that doctors, scientists, healthcare workers and essential service providers are working hard to keep you safe and stop the spread of COVID-19, and you should do your part by converting your anxiety into a positive and healthy approach to life.

The first thing that is likely to go for a toss when you’re working from home is your sleep-wake pattern. Simply put, the sleep-wake pattern is the 24-hour cycle you follow every day to maintain proper biological functions. Usually, the ideal sleep-wake pattern consists of eight hours of sleep and 16 hours of staying awake during which you perform all the essential tasks of life - including eating, exercise, work, leisure activities, etc.

If you start staying up late or do not get enough sleep, then this pattern will be disrupted and the hours during which you’re awake will not be used optimally. Fatigue, sleepiness and irritability, etc., are bound to come up. So, maintain your regular sleep-wake pattern while working from home. Go to sleep at the time you always did, and wake up on time every day.

A routine always helps you stay focused and maintain concentration levels. Simply because you’re now working from home does not mean that you should work in an unplanned way and not maintain a regularised routine. Make a complete to-do list every morning before starting work. Involve your colleagues and managers in this process to ensure proper communication and accountability.

Then, also let your family know what your workday at home will look like so that they know when not to interrupt you. This will ensure that you can focus on just yourself and your work during the working hours. Try to maintain the same hours and pattern of work as you did while in office - so, take tea and lunch breaks at precisely the same times.

Now that you’re working from home, it’s unlikely you’ll get a similar level of physical activity every day. You are not going to travel to your workplace and come back every morning, which is bound to disrupt your activities. Going to the gym or going to the park for a jog or walk is not possible either. So, how can you maintain physical fitness during a lockdown?

The easiest way to get some exercise is to devise a stretching, meditating, yoga or exercise routine for right after you wake up in the morning. The other thing you can do is to get some exercise during the timings you would have spent travelling to and from work. This will ensure that you get some exercise at least twice a day.

People working from home often make two basic mistakes: they work in bed and they work in their “home” clothes. Avoid both these mistakes and create a professional atmosphere while working from home. Working from home anyways involves a merging of the workplace and home. If you don’t create an ideal work environment at home, you’re likely to suffer more due to this merging.

Select a separate place of work within your home - preferably a place away from any noise and distractions. Keep this area clean and uncluttered. When you wake up every morning, follow your usual work routine by bathing, getting dressed and then moving to your workstation at home. This will make you feel like a professional even when you’re at home.

Communication is everything when you’re working from home. While in office, you could walk up to people and communicate with them. Since this is not possible while working from home, you have to use every other means of communication available to maintain regular workflow. Use phone calls, video calls, emails, etc., to keep in touch with your colleagues throughout the day. Keep your managers in the loop and ensure that you make a list of the work done throughout the day and send it across. 

Once the workday is over, switch off from your colleagues and communicate with your family and friends. Maintaining communication with loved ones, especially during a pandemic, is extremely important for your mental health and everybody else’s too.

You know it’s not possible to completely cut-off from the world outside, ever. It’s especially impossible when you’re working from home while the world is in the throes of a pandemic.

You may be concerned about the spread of the disease, whether healthcare professionals and scientists are close to finding a cure or vaccine, knowing if your neighbourhood, home or loved ones are at an increased risk and if essential supplies are available or not - these are likely to dominate your thoughts, and even increase your anxiety levels. 

So, take some time out during fixed times throughout the day to get updates about the pandemic and the news in general. This will help you stay grounded and updated even while maintaining social distancing, and help you take better care of yourself and your family.