Although a growing number of workplaces are putting plans in place to get us back to the office, many of us will carry on working from home for the foreseeable future – and after months of working remotely, it’s inevitable that a summer slump is on the way to drain motivation and productivity.
The key to beating work from home fatigue is to face it head on. Here’s how…
Set yourself a timetable
It’s probably not just you who has been stuck at home this whole time – you and various family members or flat mates have probably been standing on each other’s toes over the last few months. To make sure everyone knows when it’s time to work and when it’s time to relax, set yourself a timetable and share it around – if you need quiet time to concentrate, put it in your schedule.
This will also help you to avoid blurring the boundaries between work time and free time – lockdown has often made it feel not so much that we’re working from home but rather we’re living at work.
And it might help to get everyone in the house involved by setting their own timetable – not only will this be particularly useful for any kids who are missing out on valuable classroom time, it could also help ensure that everyone is working at the same time, which will help to lessen distractions.
Work out your best work times
Working outside of the 9-to-5 is an alien concept to many of us, but if you’re an early riser or a a bit of a night owl, the restrictive nature of the traditional working day can curb your creativity or put paid to productivity.
So why not make the most of a strange situation and break free of the 9-to-5? You might still have an obligation to be online for meetings at various parts of the day, but why not take a big break in the mid-afternoon slump and work late into the night or at the crack of dawn if that works best for you.
Don’t take too long on one task
If you’re work routine has been thrown out, it can be hard to make the most of your time, meaning tasks that are usually a breeze can take an age. To make sure you don’t fall behind, you need to avoid taking too long on any one task. The most effective way to do this is block out time for each individual task, and once that time is up, move on to the next.
It might be a good idea to not be too strict with your time blocking, as stopping one task when you’re in full flow could be counterproductive. It’ll be a case of trial and error at first, but it’s well worth taking the time to figure things out.
