by Jessica Duemig
I am a person who – both personally and professionally – thrives off the energy of those around me. My world – just like everyone else’s – was thrown into disarray last year when the work from home order came down from the CEO of my former employer. As a society, we automatically shifted to certain tactics. Although I consider ZOOM and other meeting technologies to have been business-savers, there is no replacement for human-to-human contact.
Flash forward a year and half and here we are. Some businesses are required to go back into the office. Some are not. Some are allowing a hybrid scenario. Some are offering home office stipends or providing memberships to shared workspaces. Bottom line? Some people have options. Some people don’t. Some people live alone. Some people don’t. Some people like working in solitude. Some people don’t.
Working from home has become synonymous with working 24/7. So how do you maintain your sanity and your productivity in your new normal? I’ve put together a list of SIX tactics to break up the monotony of working from home.
Tactic #1 – Take Breaks
Early on, I found myself sitting at my desk starting at 9am, and not getting up once until 3pm. Between the likelihood that I replaced my commute with a few extra minutes (like, 45) of sleep, skipping Starbucks and going straight to my desk, the back-to-back video calls, and no time for lunch, I was lucky if I got a minute to use the facilities, let alone eat lunch or wrap my head around the content of the 17 meetings I just endured.
Schedule your breaks if you have to. No, seriously! Reserve 15 minutes here and there on your calendar to do one of the other things on this list, but don’t let yourself get overscheduled. Definitely employ this tactic to take a full lunch break; and try to avoid screens during these times!
Tactic #2 – Make a Phone Call
Video calls are challenging – Who are you looking at? Are you muted? Someone’s not muted. Is your hair out of place? Did you share the right screen? Talk about overstimulation! Sometimes, you can accomplish everything you need to accomplish by making a good, old(ish) fashioned phone call.
Be mindful of your engagement while you’re on the phone; and if needed, specifically ask the person on the other end for their undivided attention. You’ll ultimately save time, energy and effort with 10-minutes of laser focus versus 30 minutes of mindless chaw while you maybe get to the point.
Tactic #3 – Take a Walk
As I mentioned above, you’ll probably find yourself sitting for hours at a time. I imagine it felt like this back when you were in an office, but I noticed that I took for granted the micro walks I took all day… either to the bathroom, to get coffee, to talk to a colleague, etc.
Compile all those minutes spent walking to and from and doing your business at each destination, and you’ve probably racked up about 30 minutes of ‘idle’ time throughout a regular office day. Take a few opportunities to stretch your legs and get some fresh air throughout the day.
Tactic #4 – Talk to Yourself
I find I have the best conversations with an intelligent, engaged, educated people. I assume you’re the same way, so it stands to reason that talking to yourself would yield a great conversation. It may sound a bit strange, but actually verbalizing the thoughts rolling around in your head will not only help you to sort the wheat from the chaff, but also simply get them out of your head altogether.
Similar to how listening to a song that’s stuck in your head will free it, this tactic allows you to focus in on the most important ideas and thoughts without the noise. Try it – you’ll see. And so will you ????
Tactic #5 – Get a Whiteboard
This tactic applies no matter your learning style or way of organizing your thoughts. Whiteboarding lends itself to intense and focused brainstorming, while allowing you to capture words, pictures, spatial relations, doodles, images and organization. It also encourages and facilitates edits, re-writes and do-overs with the ease of erasure. Do yourself a favor and get a variety of markers to color code EVERYTHING!!!
Tactic #6 – Shake it Out
So let’s say you woke up on time. You showered and made it to the kitchen to brew some coffee before your first meeting. Nothing like a good burst of caffeine to wake you up and sharpen your mind! But wait…you didn’t walk anywhere. You didn’t talk to anyone. You didn’t do…anything. That caffeine coursing through your veins feels like it’s going to spew out your fingertips.
You soon find yourself fidgety and uncomfortable, shifting your weight in your chair…Fear not! Just shake it out! Flip your camera off for two seconds, step into a clearing and shake out each leg individually, and then your hands at the same time. Roll your head around your shoulders a bit and stretch your arms above your head. Hell, let out a groan if you want (MUTE FIRST!).
This will relieve all the jitters and allow you to focus back in on the meeting or task at hand.
And if none of these work for you, check out this post!
After over a year at home, I’ve found these to be the most helpful in breaking up my day and allowing for optimal productivity. Agree? Disagree? Have other tips? Share your thoughts below!