How to Work from Home (Productively)
In the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis, many of us are being “encouraged” to stay and work from home indefinitely. To stop the spread of this disease, social distancing has been deemed the solution. For many, it sounds like a dream! I mean, who needs people anyway? (I’m actually pretty extroverted, so I enjoy the presence of others, but My Friend is introverted and overwhelmed by my presence alone most days.) The benefits begin with your commute. That time is instantly eliminated. It’s now more clear than ever that most meetings can actually be phone calls. Best of all, you're in the comfort of your own home with your own rules and all your favorite snacks (if you’ve stocked up). Let the productivity begin!
But not so fast. It’s Day 3 of quarantine and you’re having trouble staying focused and being productive. Why, yes, the luxury of working from home (or anywhere you so choose) comes with its own challenges. I’ve been there! As a full-time writer and entrepreneur, I’ve spent the past few months finding my own groove to ensure I both meet deadlines and actually see the light of day. Here’s what I recommend to make the most of your remote working experience.
1. Start on Purpose
My dad used to say this to me growing up, but it’s one of those things that doesn’t click until you really need it. Working from home can tempt you to want to wake up just in time to log in and work from bed right at 9 or 10AM. Instead, I aim to wake up, shower and be dressed by 9AM each day. Yoga pants and sweats are my outfit of choice most days, but I still try to make it cute. Just because you aren’t leaving the house doesn’t mean you have to look worse for the wear. Between 9-10, I like to stream worship music on YouTube while reading my Bible and journaling my notes. Then work begins at 10! Just like any other workday, have a clear start and stop time. It’s easy to constantly check emails even when you’re off the clock, but unless you’re expecting something critical, resist the temptation!
2. Designate a Workspace
If you can help it, make your bed an off-limits space for working. The bed is a place for rest and maybe late-night reading. When I contaminate it by making it also a workspace, I blur the line between work and rest. Working from home shouldn’t mean working more, it just changes the location from which you do it. There still remains a time to work, a time to play and a time to rest. Having a designated area to work in creates that distinction in your brain, which helps you work when you should be working and rest when you should be resting.
3. Outline the Priorities
It’s helpful for me to write this out the night before so that I wake up knowing what needs to get done. While it’s true I do my best thinking in the shower, I don’t want to pressure myself to remember every single thing in that moment. I’d prefer for it to be a more relaxing time that my brain can dream of extracurricular things that will add to the list, not initiate it. Anything you begin aimlessly, even a remote workday, runs the risk of having no real or positive outcome.
4. Leave the House
Don’t always stay home. When I first began working from home on a regular basis, I didn’t think it would ever get old. It still hasn’t, but a change of scenery is often good to spark both creativity and productivity. That’s why more and more office spaces are offering employees various areas within the workspace to do great work. Very few people want to sit at the same desk looking at the same stapler and pencil cup for days on end. Depending on how long this “social distancing” lasts and the extent to which it’s enforced, you can use this time to visit local coffee shops, take up shop in a bookstore and explore other scenic places nearby to get work done. I was recently exposed to The Forum at Columbia University, which is a great open space to plug in and focus. Just be sure to have hand sanitizer in tow.
5. Disable Desktop Notifications
This is a big one for me. If I’m constantly seeing texts and other notifications come in throughout the day, I’m more likely to be distracted by the preview text. Instead of reading and replying to each text as it comes in, I disable those notifications on my laptop and do periodic sweeps to respond to timely messages. This is how I sometimes come back to more than 300 texts from a single group chat in the span of a few hours.
6. Hold Yourself Accountable
Being in an office environment with others who are working productively (allegedly) provides the social pressure to not scroll Instagram literally all day. Working from home doesn’t offer that same...luxury...so your own discipline is what will ensure you honor the time you’re being paid for. Disabling desktop notifications won’t help much if you still continue to check DMs, scroll, pin or Tik Tok every few minutes. This season will be a true test and challenge of your focus and follow-through. Prevail at all costs!
7. Phone a Friend
The media, government, CDC and all them are trying to convince us that our best bet for surviving this pandemic is to isolate ourselves from other people. They recommend this for good reason, but it often induces fear, panic and ultimately, selfishness. (I know you’ve seen the videos of people fighting in the grocery store to defend their 17 packs of toilet tissue. Don’t let that be you.) Be wise and use discernment in your decision-making, but don’t forget your need for people in times like this. Several of my friends and I are excited for this time when all our schedules are more flexible than ever to spend quality time together, even coworking a couple days a week.
For many, this remote working opportunity seems like a gift from God. For others, it presents far more challenges than simply getting work done. Parents with children now home from school can’t eliminate distractions as easily. If remote working isn’t an option for them, childcare has become an unexpected expense. Those working in entertainment may have found themselves without steady income because large gatherings are being prohibited. Without question, we need one another, especially in times like this. So be kind. Find ways to help sustain your community. Support small businesses. Take only what you need from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s or wherever you make your groceries. Offer to sit for friends with kids. Open your home to small worship gatherings on Sundays. Resist the temptation to be selfish. Instead, use wisdom to be generous to those around you in need. In these ways, you can both work and serve from home.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
