Hello from a safe, social-distancing distance away!
For everyone new to working at home, you’re about to discover some fun challenges. At the best of times, making the switch to working from home comes with its own set of hurdles. If you have kids or a tumultuous home environment - not gonna lie, this is going to be a fun new challenge for you. Even without that added fun-time bonus of extra distractions, getting used to working from home can take some time. So first things first – give yourself a break if you’re struggling to be productive right now. Between friends and family trapped in other countries, or sick, or you yourself just getting home and facing an empty fridge and 3 day waits for grocery delivery, trying to get any work done right now is going to be hard. It’s understandable if all you’ve managed to do is stay glued to the TV or your phone, constantly refreshing for updates. A lot changes in a few hours right now and staying on top of who’s locked down where and what’s newly closed or restricted is about all many of us can do.
At some point we’re going to start to settle in to this new normal. This post isn’t to make anyone feel guilty for not being super productive right now. You have every right to be struggling at it. That’s okay. This is just to help give you some ideas to try that might help out with that, should you be ready for them. If not, totally cool. The nice part is this will be here for you when you are ready.
First thing’s first – working from home will at least be similar now than before COVID-19. There are some new challenges to face with the addition of everyone being at home right now, but they are generally challenges of scale rather than anything specifically new. The key is going to be finding the routine that works for you and your family. That’s going to take a few weeks to figure out. It would even without the current world events, so don’t feel bad if it takes a little longer now because of them. It’s at least to be expected.
These are a few suggestions of things to try, not an exhaustive list of surefire strategies. What works for you might not work for someone else.
Create an Office– Find a room with a door you can close. Even if you can get work done while supervising your kids from your kitchen table, there will inevitably be times that you need to make private phone calls. Having a room that’s separate with a closed door that you can make the ‘whoever is using this room needs to not be interrupted’ and enforcing it can make your life a bit easier in the long run. Just make sure that you reward folks for respecting it when you emerge from it.
Be Upfront– Do you have kids at home? Caring for an older parent? Let people know that your work-time phone calls and video conferences might not be interruption-free. Also be upfront with your family – yes, this may feel like vacation days to them, but you really do have to get some work done. Expect that it may take a couple of weeks for the routine to become, well, routine, so the sooner you start setting boundaries the quicker that transition will happen for everyone.
Virtual Babysitting– Can you set up virtual playdates with grandparents via skype? There are Skype a Scientist programs that might be useful for you right now. There are museums putting stuff online for free. There are a lot of resources starting up to help parents entertain their kids for a few hours so they can get some work done. I’ll include a list of resources at the end of this post, but I trust you can google. By the time I post this my list will likely already be out of date. Keep that in mind. If you find some excellent resources, be sure to share them via social media for other parents.
Work in Shifts– You might have to break your day up into chunks and either get up earlier or stay up a bit later to get a bit of extra uninterrupted time. If you have a partner and you’re both working from home, work out a schedule for who entertains the kids for an hour so the other one can make phone calls and conference calls. It will require a bit more coordination and communication to ensure you can both get work done, but it gets easier once it becomes more routine.
Have a Routine– I’m sure you’ve read the advice to get up every day at the same time, shower, get dressed, etc. It actually is important. It’s surprising how quickly things can break down without it. Also keep in mind that there is, in fact, a giant global pandemic happening so all routine is kind of out the window at the moment. If you need a week or two to get that out of your system, take it. Just keep it mind that you’ll have to figure out a routine eventually. And working in your pajamas might be the new normal that works for you. If it does, have at ‘er. If you find that your productivity is waning, try adding a bit more structure to your day and stick to it. It’s difficult to be the one in charge of your own productivity if you’ve been relying on other people to do that for you. There will likely be all kinds of apps and gadgets coming soon to help people create structure in their lives during all of this, so help will likely come soon.
Be Kind to Yourself– Most importantly, remember that you’re doing the best you can with what you’ve got right now. We all are. Remember to reach out to family and loved ones because it will become easy for people to feel isolated and alone at this time. We’re all in this together. So if you find yourself overwhelmed and struggling, please reach out. You don’t have to do this alone – social distancing, yes, but that doesn’t mean alone.
I’m here if you need me.
Online Resources
https://www.skypeascientist.com
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/75809/12-world-class-museums-you-can-visit-online
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/gardening/g31746949/gardens-you-can-virtually-tour/
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-kids-activities.html