The pandemic has changed many of our habits. During the confinement many of you had to work from home and I am sure that not all of you will have yours to the office once this is finished. That is why we have thought that some tips for surviving teleworking they could be useful to you.
Teleworking has advantages that we are all capable of seeing: we save on trips and enjoy greater time flexibility. However, only those of us who have been telecommuting for years we also know their difficulties. We have experienced them and have found some very useful tools to overcome them.
Set limits to the workday
Learn to manage time it is key when telecommuting. The fact of having greater time flexibility and the home office can encourage us to extend our working hours, either because we procrastinate, or because once the work is finished we are tempted to continue answering emails.
Put limits on our working hours at home it is important so that our day does not have 24 hours. If they don't set a schedule for you from work but set goals, limit your hours. Decide from what time to what time you go to work and when you go to rest. If you want to be productive and maintain a balance between your work and family life, you must learn to disconnect from work and respect your hours of rest.
Create a working "mode"
When one begins to telecommute, temptation causes one to lose that need to get dressed to go to work. It is usually a first error that links many others. And it is that to survive teleworking it is key to incorporate habits that make us enter work mode.
Differentiate work mode from family mode it is key for our head to function properly. Also to educate our family, if we have one, of when they should and should not interrupt us. Choose a place to work That you only use when you are working and dress as if anyone could appear at your house at any time. Concentrate on your work as long as necessary and then forget about that space or collect your work supplies in a closet and make yourself comfortable.
Educate the family
When no one at home has ever teleworked before, the whole family is forced to adopt a new routine. And all the changes in habits and routines require a period of adaptation. Talking with our family, explaining our schedules and that even if you are at home you will not be fully available until the end of your day is key to every good start.
The temptation It will invite your family to interrupt you the first days while you work and you to attend to household chores that can wait or to enjoy certain pleasures that you do not have access to in an office. It is logical to be distracted during the first weeks, so during that period of time it is even more important that you be firm and that if you have someone at home while you work they can warn you when you get distracted, teamwork! Once you all get used to it and the new routine is internalized, everything will be easier and you can be more flexible.
Organize your agenda
If you carried an agenda when you went to the office, why stop now? Organize your schedule like you did before and review the tasks every morning, prioritizing over time those that are most important. Write down from what time to what time you will work, what time you will dedicate at noon to eat and rest ... You can do it using a paper agenda, the Google calendar or simple and intuitive applications such as Todoist.
Leave home
When we telecommute, we lose the social side of going to an office, chatting with colleagues or having coffee with them on the way out. Inertia, moreover, can push us to stay home after work and resisting will be essential to survive teleworking. When you telework it is more important if possible meet friends, participate in a team sport, go out to eat or go on a weekend excursion ...