“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”—Matthew 6:34
Many have become “acclimated” to the new work from home (WFH) routine for our employers and are finding ways to optimize how we work and how we adapt to our new regime. This involves working remotely without having the benefit of “dropping by” someone’s cubicle or office to bounce an idea or to just shoot the breeze. Now that we have come to accept this new WFH reality for a long and uncertain while, we must find ways to get maximum benefit from this new regimen and give maximum benefit to those who rely on us to come through. Simultaneously, we must use this time to rebuild our own preparedness for a long-haul of dealing with uncertainty with fortitude.
This blog is about some ideas I’ve tried in the past six weeks during which I have been working from my home office and helping anxious clients across the world, who call or email me more frequently that in usual times to get my input on how they should work within this new environment and framework that has suddenly become their current reality. Many of these ideas are actually derived from what we have tried and what has worked well for my clients. Adapt them to your situation and share your successes in the Comments box below so that others can benefit from your adventures.
- Establish your routine: Even though you are home you must work with some structure and discipline. With kids now home from school and pets wondering throughout the house it is difficult to get into a mindset of that detached reality. So, create your own space that is relatively free of these intrusions and allow yourself to work from this space during your work hours. As a part of this routine take frequent breaks and join the kids and your spouse during this break and recharge yourself. Working alone, especially when the rest of the household is going about its way as if this is a “vacation” can be difficult, but with some effort, structure, and boundaries this can be done over time.
- Take breaks: Apart from short breaks with family members or playing with pets allow some time to recharge yourself by taking long walks, meditating, exercising, and doing something that you enjoy. If such breaks are of a long period—one hour or more—post an entry on your shared calendar that clearly states when you would be back at your desk, so your team or boss does not keep bothering your during that time.
- Communicate asynchronously: Meetings are often a waste of time even when things are normal. Instead, learn how to identify what is needed for you to manage your workflow and to keep others in the loop of any developments that affect them. Learn how to write succinct emails and send them only to those who need to know or to act. Before calling someone on video or phone see if you can use email more effectively. The problem with synchronous communication is that the other party may not be in the best frame of mind to be receptive to your ideas when you are all charged-up about them. In such cases a simple discussion of ideas can quickly escalate into a major confrontation. So, find yourself in the best frame of mind, compose that email, let the recipient respond in kind, when they are in their best frame of mind. This approach is both efficient and effective. Try it! In your email state that you are willing to wait for their response when they are ready to give it their best.
- Be considerate: Everyone these days is anxious, stressed out, and is seeking for someone to comfort them. Learn how to be a comforter in this time of their need. Do not jump right into the business at hand, but inquire about their welfare, how they are coping with their new regime and if they need any help in their affairs. Compliment them for anything worthy of praise, not just orally, but even in writing. Nothing boosts someone’s spirits more than when seeing a written message that unexpectedly arrives when they are not feeling all that great. See how they respond to you and see how that makes you feel, in return! Do not hesitate to praise your boss and complement them when they have done something good for you. Bosses are human, too, and it is OK to treat them accordingly!
- Watching the news: With wall-to-wall Covid-19 news coverage it is almost impossible to stay away from the news stories, most of which are about all the pain and suffering, incompetence of politicians, finger-pointing, carnage, and problems people are having in today’s reality. Discipline yourself to watch the world or national news once at the end of the day and a few times for local developments. If something really major happens when you are not watching the news, trust me, you’ll know soon enough!
- Find an outlet: Find something that energizes you throughout the day. Staying in one place and fixated on the computer screen can be stressful and can result in fatigue more frequently than when you have a variety of activities that typically occupy a workday at your office; meetings, informal chats, and celebrations often provide that break which can make getting back to the pending task much more inviting. So, find something that which is worth doing to energize yourself. Once again, taking your pets out, working on a hobby, reading, playing with your kids can all be great outlets. YouTube videos can also be a good outlet, if you have a plan to watch them with some purpose.
- Self-development: Many of my clients often lament that they do not find time for self- development. This includes how to write well, developing a new skill, learning about business, financial skills, etc. During the past two months I have worked with my clients to carve out time from their new routine to take one of the pending tasks on their list of “To-dos” and allocate the time saved from their daily commute to this activity.
- Help someone: Many are suffering during this crisis. Although social distancing is preventing people from physically participating in volunteer activities, you can do many such acts virtually. Find out where such need exists and do your part. If you have financial resources donate to a cause that you want to support. Help someone with their cause. There are plenty of opportunities.
- Post inspiring narratives: People are feeling down and they need anything to make their day a little brighter. Write some inspiring story of a personal experience and post it for others to read and enjoy. Post a picture or a video that tells a story. I post an inspiring quote every day on LinkedIn and I enjoy how my readers respond to it. It is also a morale booster for me as well!
- Take day at a time: With the looming uncertainty no one knows when and how this is all going to end. So, rather than fretting over it and getting anxious about it just take one day at a time and deal with what is front of you. Go with the flow. Worrying today about the future has not made what is coming tomorrow any less inevitable; you have merely wasted your energy on something that is better spent on making today better for yourself and for those around you. So, why not do that, instead? If you have trouble with this notion, go to the top of this blog and re-read Matthew 6:34! (“There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.”)
Stay safe and stay well!
