Many of us in the aftermarket are on our second and third weeks of working remotely as most of the country is under shelter-in-place guidelines to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
While remote work offers a number of upsides (hello all-day pajamas), it can be a bit of an adjustment as well. Here are a few work from home hacks to help you nail the fundamentals.
- Dress For Success –All kidding aside, while the idea of doing Zoom calls in your PJs sounds dreamy, it’s not really conducive to creating a mindset that separates your work day from resting hours. When confined as we are these days in quarantine and self-isolation, maintaining a regular routine is important. According to this article from TheLadders.com, certain parts of your brain actually shut down when you slip on those flannel jammie pants:
“Working in your pajamas may seem like fun for a couple of days, but you’ll soon find any productivity wanes,” writes Joshua Duvall, an author at Researchpapersuk and Last Minute Writing, “Our bodies appreciate the comfiness of our bed wear, and consciously or unconsciously, our minds react to this comfortability by shutting down the practical parts of our brains.”
- Carve Out A Dedicated Workspace – Boundaries, people. Your home also is doubling, maybe tripling as an office and classroom these days so be sure to create a work zone where you can not only focus, but leave the workday behind when 5 o’clock rolls around. This is a fundamental according to Forbes.
“A separate workspace is healthy as well as keeping to your regular work routine, even though you are not in the office. Plus, it lets you close the door and leave work behind.”
- Take Regular Breaks –You may remember from high school and college study guides, the human brain only has the capacity to maintain focus for a short period of time. Research has shown that there is a magic number when it comes to the length of time a person can stay focused, after that, you end up reading the same paragraph over and over again and retaining nothing. This Inc. article shows that scientists found 52 minutes of work with 17 minutes of break in between is the ideal ratio.
“The human brain naturally works in bursts of high activity that last about an hour, and then it switches to low activity for a while. When that happens, it’s in your best interest to take a break.”
Need a few more great ideas? Here are the best practices our Babcox Media colleagues are abiding by these days.
What are your best work from home tips? Let us know! If sharing on social media, please use the hashtags #oursharedstory and #aftermarketathome to add your own.
