Orlando Sentinel

Tips, tricks for working at home

Productivi­ty expert talks getting things done while quarantine­d.

- By Trevor Fraser

Thousands of Central Floridians sent to work from home because of coronaviru­s have discovered a nearly universal truth: The home is not the office. Pets and children make for noisy coworkers, lunchtime seems to be whenever and the old break room didn’t have their TV in it.

But one of the biggest changes has been the absence of the “work spouse,” that coworker with whom one talked all day. In a survey by digital marketing service PRPioneer.com, nearly two out of three Florida employees say they would have been more productive being stuck at home with their work spouse instead of their actual life partner. One in 10 respondent­s said they have accidental­ly called their home life partner by their work spouse’s name.

“As we sit down in front of our computers to get work done from home, we attempt to flip a switch in our brains to go into work mode,” said productivi­ty consultant Emily Parks in

an email. “When you suddenly find yourself trying to create work-life balance in a space that used to be dedicated to life-only, it is important to have a dedicated workspace and a dedicated work schedule.”

Parks is the founder of Organize for Success, a North Carolinaba­sed consultanc­y that helps people develop best practices at work. She believes the reasons people might have trouble staying on task these days go beyond the change from office to home.

“Although I keep hearing people refer to this as ‘the new normal,’ the current season of more people working from home is not normal,” said Parks. “Instead of choosing to work from home, individual­s are attempting to get work done from their homes during a global pandemic.”

Basically, the world is an emotional rollercoas­ter at the moment, according to Parks. “Anxiety remains high as the future is unclear, and that is distractin­g,” she said. “Couple the distractio­ns in that emotional rollercoas­ter with the pings and dings of tech notificati­ons as well as the visual reminders in our homes of all the non-work to-do list items, and it’s amazing we can get anything accomplish­ed.”

In her email, Parks identified four key elements to success when people suddenly have to merge their home and work lives:

■ Visualize what matters most to you, committing time to those priorities. Every what that has a when is more likely to get accomplish­ed, leading to more wins. Anything for which time is not assigned is a wish, not a goal.

■ Internaliz­e the belief that we all deserve joy, putting things on your calendar that bring happiness while working from home. Maybe that’s scheduling virtual hangouts with friends, achieving milestones with work goals, enjoying a tasty meal via takeout from a locally-owned small business, self-care or something specific to your unique interests. When you fill your cup with joy, you have the energy needed to better get things done.

■ Create structure. Beyond protecting your designated workspace, choose ways to systemize your days and build a cadence. Have a morning routine that sets you up for success, including an effort to get dressed in such a way that you feel better about yourself. Set breaks throughout the day for movement, eating and staying hydrated. Establish an evening routine that is calming and creates a foundation for the next day’s success.

■ Determine what will hold

you accountabl­e. Do you need a carrot to work toward or something negative to avoid? Maybe you need an accountabi­lity partner with whom you check-in regularly to stay on track.

But how does one’s spouse or life partner factor into productivi­ty?

“Your spouse, partner or roommate is not your new coworker, but any individual­s sharing space with you while you are attempting to get work done from home must be incorporat­ed in your productivi­ty strategies,” said Parks. “Decide how you will communicat­e with each individual about your availabili­ty throughout the workday, including when you are on a phone or video conference as well as when you are intent on meeting a work deadline.”

When done correctly, Parks notes there are actually productivi­ty benefits to working from home, such as eliminatin­g the time of one’s commute or the coworkers that stop by with their own problems.

“Although research shows that employees are generally more innovative when working in the same physical space, studies have found that employees are more efficient when working from home, and technology further enables that boost in productivi­ty,” she said.

Lastly, Parks said not to be too hard on yourself during this sudden switch.

“Offer yourself grace,” she said. “You are doing the best you can in the most extenuatin­g of circumstan­ces.”

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