EFML: On working from home

Note: This post assumes that you are passionate about your work and enjoy what you are doing. If that is not the case, I suggest you first introspect on why you feel that way and what you could do to change it! :)

This post is based on my 'working from home' experiences. Since most of the world is trying out working remotely for an extended period now, I hope some of these experiences and the consequent wisdom is of use to my Readers. I am sure countless articles have already been written on the topic, but I hope to add some personal flavor and novelty to it. 

The first time I decided to work from home for more than a day, I couldn't be more excited.
Yay! No more commute--I get back 3-4 hours of my day. How much more productive I could be! I'd get more work done, find time to exercise, and even catch up on a neglected hobby or two. Also, I could do those dratted household chores in parallel, schedule grocery and other deliveries throughout the day. Snacks were always at hand, and I could walk over to the kitchen to get what I wanted. I could even get a quick afternoon nap. And I didn't have to deal with small talk, and unnecessary conversations, both of which I dreaded.This was paradise! I had the best of both worlds-- work and home.

However, after a day, I found my newfound enthusiasm waning. I have always been an early riser, and I start work first thing in the morning, around 7.30 AM. Now with my commute practically zeroed out, I should have been able to get an even earlier start, but I found myself struggling to wake up. I'd start the day lazily, then get distracted several times along the way, and when I finally finished, it'd be even later than a normal office day. I was disappointed.Where was all my extra time vanishing, and taking with it my precious productivity? Another aspect I struggled with: home had always been a place for relaxing, and I found myself automatically mode switching even when I tried to work. I also felt cooped up, depressed and isolated, and I desperately looked forward to human interaction at the end of my work-from-home period.

Thankfully, I figured out how to avoid these pitfalls, and my next few attempts at working from home were better and more productive. I will share some of these with you today, but take it with a grain of salt, because we are different people, and what worked for me might not for you. I am curious to know what works for you though, so if you have an established MO, do share it with me. :)

Weirdly enough, I discovered that several things I hate about working from office are what make me productive!

A sense of urgency: I dread long commutes, and this is something that inspires me to get that early start everyday--my morning is an intense flurry of activity that ends with me running out of the house at 6.30. But when I'm working from home, I lose that, and with it quite some time. To combat this, I've created an artificial sense of urgency in my head, as if I were still leaving home at my usual time. I force myself to function the way I would on a normal day. Once I've done this, I've crossed my major hurdle for the day. Since I now have no commute, I get to utilize that time productively.

No jammies: I've also found that house clothes lead to relaxing, probably because the associations in my brain are quite strong for formal clothing and work, and house clothes and chilling. Again, I pretend I'm heading off to work, and wear something comfy but formal. This I presume sends signals to my brain that I'm going to transition into work mode soon, and it usually complies.

Zoning the house: Like I said before, my perception of my house is a 'relaxing' zone. How do I break this? By building new zones that are 'work only'. For instance, the couch overlooking your TV might be a bad idea for a work zone, because it is very strongly associated with entertainment for you. Pick a few work spots in your house, and consistently work there. This will help establish those as working zones in your brain, and you'll be able to mode switch efficiently.

Hold yourself accountable: There are certain things at office that do this automatically. for instance, you wouldn't feel comfortable browsing social media websites or shopping sites in your workplace because there are people around. However, at home, it's easy to get lost in distractions, and find that you've lost a few minutes or even a few hours aimlessly scrolling. How do you solve this? Accountability. When I've worked alone, I usually go sit in a different place when I feel distracted. This is a constant reminder that I'm somewhere else instead of my desk, and doing something else. As a result, I find it easier to get out of these rabbit holes in a few minutes. If you have company, you can establish a buddy system, and tell that person what your weakness is. When you feel distracted and do something else, your buddy can quickly pull you and get you back to work.

Treat yourself nicely: If you think of working from home as slaving away at your laptop from a dingy room, it's not going to help matters at all. You need to feel good about working from home, and being nice to yourself is one way of getting there.The idea behind this is to create positive affirmations and associations.Indulge in the occasional snack or chocolate, make yourself a hot cup of coffee. Take that power nap when you need it. Watch a few minutes of your favorite show on your lunch break. Feel good, and immerse yourself in that feeling. This will unconsciously color your perspective on working from home, and you'll start looking forward to it.

Create a routine: I've absolutely dreaded routines, and one of the first things I discovered when working from home is that a routine is what keeps me anchored. Plan your day at home beforehand, and form a mental image of what you're going to be doing and when. This helps set expectations, and beat procrastination.

Break the monotony: At work, this happens organically, when teammates ask you out for a coffee, or someone stops by to talk. But when you're alone, you need to establish these yourself. What's good about working from home is that you can use these breaks productively as well. I typically use mine to put in laundry, write up a pending draft for my blog(like I'm doing right now:P), finish a music assignment or attend to random household chores. These activities, by being varied, give me that much needed clarity and avoid mental fatigue.

Social distancing from your phone;) : If you're someone like me, then all your distractions will inevitably stem from your phone. That one notification can result in an avalanche of interruptions. Try putting your phone into a do-not-disturb mode, or if you need more extreme measures, keep it in the room farthest from you. Check on your phone during one of your breaks, but avoid responding to every notification. In this case, polling works much better than interrupts.

Physical well-being: Do not remain in that chair all day! This is the surest way to doom. At work, you get a minimum amount of exercise which is taken away when you work from home. You can soon morph to a creature whose only exercise is ambling from the kitchen to the bedroom to the bathroom.(This reminds me of Wodehouse's Empress of Blandings, a prize pig and a creature of sloth, that only moves from its sleeping place to its feeding trough. Whenever I find myself sitting too long in the same place, I imagine I'll turn into this creature, and that forces me to move :P.) Exercise is doubly important when working from home.

Mental well-being: Extended isolation leads to bad things for all of us, even those of us who are introverts. As social beings, we need a certain minimum of interaction to help us function healthily and not lapse into gloom. Find ways to keep up this interaction. I typically engage in a lot of phone and video calls to friends when I'm free, and sometimes it helps to open the door and take a quick walk even if it's just around your house. Nature counts as company too! If you have a pet, I'd suggest engaging with it when you feel blue. Whatever works, but make sure you're feeling reasonably cheerful and not 'cooped up'.

Beware of triggers(Applies specifically to the present condition of a pandemic): The news can sometimes be deeply depressing, and in this era of information, you can find yourself inundated by it, whether you like it or not. This happened in one of my Whatsapp groups: we got to discussing the news, and then lapsing into an existential crisis, discussing nihilism, and then optimistic nihilism(I never even knew that was a thing!) Ultimately, we all ended up feeling even more frustrated with ourselves and each other, and decided that silence was a better alternative. Needless to say, we lost quite some time and also peace of mind. If you're someone who gets affected by these things, even when you're a passive observer, then refrain from indulging in such conversations. You can even resort to more extreme measures of staying away from the news, and if you think it is warranted, you are justified in staying away. Remember, your mental health is of paramount importance!

In summary, I'd say infusing a little bit of order and structure while retaining flexibility helps avoid the chaos that the unbounded freedom of working from home can bring. Remember it's all in your head, and your perception about many of these things needs to change. Once you have that much accomplished, you can discard several of these notions(ex. zones) and continue to be effective and productive. If you're doing this for the first time though, these 'rules' will go a long way in setting a precedent for your mind to grasp and follow. (Now that I think about it, maybe that was the general idea of several rules. While the rule itself may not be important in the long run, it helps to start out with some organisation.)

Happy working from home, you! Stay healthy, happy and productive. :)