by Heather Redding
People have been demanding an increase in remote work for a while now. According to a survey conducted by Buffer, 99% of employees would love to work remotely at least part-time.
Other studies have shown that employees would happily quit their current job to take a career with a business that offers remote working schedules.
However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many companies still weren’t prepared to leap into the remote working landscape. This left many organizations struggling to establish environments where teams feel supported and empowered.
If you’ve had to make the swift transition from office life into remote work, you might notice that you’re experiencing more stress and anxiety than usual. Here’s how you can address that problem.
1. Practice Gratitude
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the bad things happening in the world right now. You might be sitting at home, wondering when your life might return to normal, or how often you’ll be able to see your friends in the weeks to come. At the same time, working at home exposes you to a lot of information that you can’t always control.
Working from home means that it’s easy to check in on social media whenever you choose. You might even have your television running in the background for some of the tasks that require less focus. However, this can mean you’re dealing with a constant stream of bad news.
To protect your mental health, reduce your exposure to too much information. Balance out the worries about what you don’t have, such as social contact, with gratitude for what you do have. For instance, you’re still healthy, have a job, and people who care about you.
2. Create a Routine
The lack of a routine is one of the biggest shocks a person will face when they’re getting used to remote working. To help you make the most of your creativity, your boss might allow you to choose your own hours.
Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to confusion for people who don’t know how to manage their day.
The best bet is to choose a routine that you feel comfortable with. You might even find that you like to get up at the same time as you used to when you went into the office and start work at the same time.
Sticking to a schedule gives you a sense of predictability in your life that can reduce feelings of stress and uncertainty.
While scheduling is a great way to protect your mental health, try not to be too rigid. Give yourself the freedom to finish work a little early if you complete your projects for the day. If you want to take a break and then work later, you can do that too.
3. Improve Communication
Communication is at the heart of any good business strategy. That’s true whether you’re working with a remote team or people in the office.
Although remote workers often say that they have better productivity and efficiency levels than their in-office counterparts, they also frequently suffer from feelings of isolation and loneliness.
With that in mind, it’s important to make sure that you’re making time to communicate with your coworkers as often as possible.
The good news for today’s remote workers is that there are plenty of great ways to stay in touch. For impromptu conversations, you can use instant messaging tools like Slack.
When you need the human touch of a face-to-face meeting, video conferences are a great choice.
Remember that you don’t always have to talk about work. Many businesses create “water cooler” rooms on team collaboration apps where people can chat when they feel stressed or just build relationships with their peers.
4. Get to Know Your Needs
For some people, switching from office to remote work can be such a shock to the system, that they forget to continue the normal activities they would usually do to look after themselves.
For instance, if you’re working at home and no longer have your morning walk to the office to keep you active, you might need to add exercise to your day in other ways.
At the same time, it’s essential to get the right nutrition when working from home. If your office is close to your kitchen, it’s tempting to snack throughout the day whenever you feel hungry.
However, this can lead to sluggishness and weight gain over time. Instead, set yourself a lunchtime, and make sure you have a healthy meal ready for it.
It’s also worth thinking about your needs when it comes to scheduling priorities. Some people work best when they place their most difficult tasks at the beginning of their schedule.
Other people need a little while to wake up before they can be their most productive. Find out what works for you.
Look After Yourself
The world is experiencing an unprecedented change right now. Most people have never seen a virus quite like COVID-19, and that means that there’s a lot of confusion and panic for everyday people to deal with.
Working from home can help to protect you against the possibility of infection. However, you still need to make sure that your remote working environment is healthy for your body and mind.
Use the tips above to boost your chances of getting the most out of your home working experience.
At the same time, remember to pay attention to how you feel. If you notice that you’re getting stressed over time, ask yourself what you can do to reduce that problem, and talk to your boss or supervisors about implementing new strategies.
It’s going to take some time for most companies to get used to a new working style. The good news is that if you can learn how to master remote work, you’ll be on your way to higher productivity in no time.
(Heather Redding is a part-time assistant manager, solopreneur and writer based in Aurora, Illinois. She is also an avid reader and a tech enthusiast. When Heather is not working or writing, she enjoys her Kindle library and a hot coffee. Reach out to her on Twitter.)
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