
Hi there
I know this is the third week of the new year and it feels like this January is competing with Usain Bolt in speed or is it just me? Well, no matter how you feel about the month of January, days are going by and the timeline for our goals are gradually ticking. I am also sure that you hope to be promoted or even get a new role this year, but the Covid-19 is still prevailing with a new wave and variant that appears to be deadlier than the first wave that has caused remote work to resume in a lot of organizations.
Growing up, we often wished that we would have our parents with us all day or at least do whatever it was they were going to do at the office done at home with us. Little did we know that a few years down the line, work from home will become a reality. Working from home has its merits and demerits, one of such demerits would be easy distraction or the temptation to always wanting to procrastinate while not necessarily doing anything productive as it relates to your job. Various methods have been devised to monitor the productivity of employees whilst working remotely but who says you must be monitored to get one’s acts together? For integrity purposes, you would spur yourself to get up and get your job done; also working these days in teams gives us the sense of responsibility that one slack from one end can cause a chain reaction of other actions.
As earlier mentioned, the temptation to rest even before you start working is amplified with working from the comfort of your home, which if you explored that option would be disastrous to your goal of getting promoted or the new job. The question you will be asking then is, how can I be productive when my bed is beckoning and my favourite TV program is about to commence and I don’t like to miss a scene? Well, here are a few steps to acing in your job whilst working remotely:
- Have an Early Start: Waking up early and jumping starting your day has a way of enhancing productivity such that before the day is spent into the afternoon, you have made significant progress on your tasks for the day. It is usually enticing to want to sleep a little more especially considering that you won’t be facing the stress of traffic on the road but just a little and before you realize it, it’s almost midday. Get up early, take a shower and settle in for the day.
- Create a Comfortable Workspace: Create a convenient space in your house with a table and a chair that is well aerated too. Posture affects your speed and productivity and sitting up has a way of signaling your mind that you mean business. I remember back in the day in high, during prep periods, the prep captain would ensure that we all sat up right to study. No slouching, lying down, placing one’s head on the desk. You were either sitting up right or standing and the truth is, once we assumed this active position, every sleepiness disappeared. The same applies with work, the discipline to assume a comfortable posture will amount to greater productivity.
- Have a Plan or to-do list: As it is often said, “if you fail to plan, you have planned to fail”. Having a to-do list especially in order of priority sets you up for productivity. Well, before I lay emphasis on planning, let me remind you that no plan works except you put the plan to work. Having a great plan sets you up for speed since your tasks have been outlined but slacking in execution can become the bane of the fantastic plan that you have outlined. Be deliberate about execution.
- Eliminate Distractions: Fela Durotoye defines distractions as, “any attraction that sidetracks you’’. As tempting as it may be to attend to that WhatsApp message or Instagram notification or Twitter bants, please by all means ignore them because before you realize it, you would have spent hours engaging that platform without realizing it and when you get on with your work, you would begin to rush leading to errors. Distractions could be persons, objects or events or social media as mentioned, avoid them. If you have the other steps all well done but have distractions, well, we might just as well say you have used inferior building materials to set up a structure on a solid foundation. The house might not necessarily collapse but cracked and faults will be inevitable. Having distractions around you will lead to shabby delivery on your tasks. Errors which should be noticeable might slide past because your attention was divided.
- Take Breaks: Yea yea, I know but who says you shouldn’t take some time off work just because you are working remotely. Take breaks in between, have some water with you so you could get up often to take a leak for your own health benefits. Spending a lot of time working without breaks is draining and not healthy. Have lunch breaks, take some time off to just unwind for a short while. These simple actions refresh you and infuse more energy for productivity.
If you live in Lagos Nigeria, working remotely is a blessing as you avoid the untold stress of traffic to and from work but don’t let this blessing lead you to premium tears of getting fired or an unpleasant action from your Human Resources Manager. Be deliberate about giving your best whether under watchful eyes or not, that makes you a person of integrity. As part of your plan on getting promoted or signing a new contract, I know you have also penned down a few courses that you would like to take to boost your chances.
At 21Search, we have an array of exciting courses with seasoned facilitators to make that plan a reality, kindly engage our website, and sign up. Until I come your way again, stay safe, work smart and not just hard.
Lizzy.