Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it! Yes, we all wished at some point in our work lives to just work from home all day, every single day. And now we got it! But just as quickly as that wish is granted, by choice or otherwise, so did the pitfalls of working from home suddenly become apparent. The disorientation feels like someone hurled you across the room from a spinning slingshot. Nope, you didn’t see this coming and let’s face it, you’re a mess. Not because you skipped the shower and decided to just work in your pajamas all day long but because you’re feeling a void in your core where your daily routine once lived and you don’t know how to fill it.
So how do you cope with this new way of working? Here are some clever ways you can adopt as you try to get back to that familiar groove of productivity and take yourself and your team to your highest flow state when working from home.
STRUCTURE IS FREEDOM
We all think of structure as this rigid and limiting process of getting things done. In a world where flexibility, and fluidity is an expectation, structure seems to be out of place. But structure can in fact be liberating. Here’s how : By being intentional in making space for the things that we need to get done, in the order that it needs to get done, gives us permission to be fully immersed in doing what we choose to do. By knowing that all the other important things will get their fair share of our time and effort when their turn arrives, it sets us free from having to worry about all the other things we are not doing at the moment . This kind of approach allows us the freedom to think and act according to the task at hand - mindfully present, fully centered, laser focused and super effective.
Don't forget to weave in family time in between tasks. This helps keep the cutest distractions from kids or needy pets at bay. I find that when my daughter asks for playtime with me while I'm working that all it takes is a good solid 10 minutes of pretend beauty salon or coloring a page together from her coloring book before she decides she’s had enough of me. She goes her merry way and I get my solitude back almost instantly.
SET-UP YOUR OFFICE
Contrary to popular belief, the best office space is not out there , it’s in here - in the mind! Picture your mind as a house. In that house you have many rooms. You have the Family Room where you spend time bonding with family members including your dog, the Kitchen where you eat and nourish yourself, the Bedroom where you rest and recover. You can make as many rooms in your house as you like and you are free to go in and out of these rooms. Designate one room in your mind to be your Office Space where all your creative and intelligent thoughts reside. You are in this room when you’re working and you step out of it when you’re not. You do the same for all the other rooms you choose to be in following your “structured freedom” approach.
This is probably the oldest trick in the book as far as psychology and neuroscience is concerned. It’s a mind-setting technique and a form of self-hypnosis that allows you to shift your perspective and focus your attention to a chosen task regardless of your physical environment. The result is increased concentration and fewer mental distractions.
Getting there is simple. Just close your eyes, picture a door leading to the office space in your mind. Listen to your breath to a count of ten as you visualize yourself walking through that door. Open your eyes and start hacking away at your computer.
BE KIND-ER TO YOUR COWORKERS
Release any preconceived notions of your co-workers’ work habits, priorities and time management skills. For some people , being in the office was a way to escape the challenges of family life, while for some it's vice-versa. So accept that although most people will thrive, others will struggle with working from home. If you are leading a team, reign in your need to control people’s outputs. Manage by deliverables instead of managing by tasks. This is good for business as it puts less stress on your people and allows for more trust to build over a short period of time. And we all know that trust builds confidence which leads to better work outputs.
Pay special attention though to members who are quiet and do not seem to be needing anything from you at all. Not knowing how to ask for help or even knowing what help to ask for is the most depleting kind of stress in the workplace. Just because nothing is wrong doesn’t mean everything is alright. The quickest way to get to someone’s true state is to ask them directly these two questions:” What’s going well for you today?” and “What’s not going well for you today?”. If you listen to understand , these two powerful questions are all you’ll ever need for a meaningful coaching conversation that will get them to open up and give you a way in to deliver the help they truly need.
KNOW WHEN TO QUIT
Not your job, but your workday. Don’t be tempted to make yourself available 24x7 just because you’re at home and your laptop is tied to your hip. Especially if you’re leading a team, your workstyle will determine your team’s productivity and more importantly their sanity. Ditch the guilt and the false need to do more because you were accorded the comforts (and the distractions) of home. Go over your day and remind yourself of what you have accomplished. That sense of completion will help you close up shop for the day with a sense of pride in the work that you did and will power your through more lockdown days ahead.
Remember that you’re not just working from home, you’re also living at home. So live and let live.
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