The world is facing a big challenge right now with the COVID-19. The good news is that several companies are being conscious of this and are encouraging their employees to work from home. Still, WFH can be a bit tough for some people, because of the different working settings and home distractions that can affect your full attention. Luckily, we’ve put together a few tips, so you can perform make your WFH easier and more productive.

1- Don’t start working as soon as you wake up

People love to sleep! There is nothing wrong with enjoying some minutes/hours more for a couple of weeks, but avoid to start working as soon as you wake up. Looking at emails or answering messages a few minutes after waking up it’s not healthy or productive. Plan your morning, set your alarm on as you used to or at least 30 minutes before you actually start working. Do some indoor exercise, prepare yourself a nice breakfast, create a routine before opening your notebook, your body and mind will thank you.

2- Avoid wearing pajamas

PJs are very comfy but can be negative for long WFH days!

Put some casual clothes or the ones you used to in the office. For sure, if you usually work in a very formal environment, don’t wear your suit at home, it would just make things very weird and uncomfortable. Wearing a different outfit than pajamas, helps your mind understand that it is work time and not relax time, which tends to increase productivity.

3- Find a good workplace

The bed is probably one of the most comfortable places to be when you are working from home, but definitely not the most suitable one to work for three main reasons: back pains, laziness, and ZzZzZz…

It’s very tempting to spend some time working laying on the bed or maybe spend the whole day there. But for the sake of your back don’t do it. Find any other comfortable space and set it up as your “office” space at the house, slowly your brain will assimilate that spot as a working spot, and will change to a working mindset when you are there. Try using the comfiest chair you have with a table. Your neck and shoulders will thankful too.

4- Cook some nice food

Planning and having balanced meals boosts your immunity system and also makes you feel great. It can also be a great way to reduce stress. When you are WFH it’s normal to feel a little bit more anxious and to open the fridge every now and then. Be conscious of that and if you still feel like eating something prefer to eating some fruits instead of snacks. Avoid greasy food, chocolates, and sodas. Treat your self with just one fatty snack per day and try to add fruits, cereals, and juices to your snack diet. You will feel more energetic and less sleepy 🙂

Plan your meals, buy supplies for a few days and cook your favorite food more often, it will cheer you up.

5- Keep the focus

There are two main types of WFH personalities. Those who concentrate working from home and those who definitely can’t.

I’m the second one. But I have two strategies that help me a lot to be productive:

Music and Sprints!

Listening to a great playlist might affect your mood positively and create a great work rhythm, which is ideal for focusing.

Sprints are definitely what organizes my day and my favorite technique when I WFH.

The one I use is the Pomodoro Technique. It’s probably the most common one.

All you need to do it’s to break down your day into several short tasks of 25 minutes, work on them for this period and once you are done take a short break of 5 minutes, that you can use to stretch your legs, get a cup of coffee or check your social media.

It’s important to take longer breaks after two or three tasks because your brain needs to rest a bit after consecutive decisions and work.

6- Avoid being a hermit

We are living atypical times, working a lot remotely will be part of your routine at least for a couple of weeks.

That might make you feel lonely since you’ll have much less social contact.

Every day take a few minutes to interact with your co-workers and talk about how they are feeling, share a funny meme or just chit-chat.

Remember to use daily/weekly catch up meetings to make sure everyone stays on the loop of work. And turn your video on, so you can keep eye connection, get more focused and avoid distractions.

7 and most important: Create a WFH process that works for you

Set a starting and end time for your work every day. Plan your routine, point 3 key results you want to achieve for the day, and evaluate it at the end. Most of the people are working from their homes, so it’s normal to have a bit more extra time during these days. Use it wisely.

Don’t forget to add some relaxation time: Start a new hobby, watch a movie/series, write an article, do some indoor training, start yoga/workout from an app that, read a new book or even drink a glass of wine with your friends on Hangouts.

Just Stay creative! There is no right or wrong way of working from home, I encourage you to find your own way to stay productive. We are going through something the world has never gone through before, but that doesn’t mean we need to freak out and collapse. Maybe this “crisis” is just an opportunity for a new way of working from home.