Working seems challenging when surrounded by lots of distractions from home. Not only difficulties when collaborating with other teams but many other challenges. The survey from Statista produces various types of challenges when employees work from home, such as:
- Much distraction
- Worst time management
- Hard for collaborating
- Loss of motivation
- Feeling lonely, and there's still much time
- Burnout
source: statista.com
Do you realize that all these challenges are poor time management? The relaxed feeling that collaborates with a supportive environment makes some of you waste time. Right?
When the time to work at home is not managed correctly, it will blur the boundaries between personal life and work. You will feel like a ‘weekend’ every day. Here are the consequences of poor time sharing when working remotely and how to overcome them. Let's find out!
Challenge #1 Overworking
The most common obstacle of being confused about managing remote working time is overworking. Yep. A study published by Buffer also stated that 18% of working remotely puts all boundaries between work and personal matters. As a result, you can work until dawn comes because there is no clear sign of when you have to leave the desk. No alarms.
One of the consequences of overworking is the declining quality of work. Motivation decreases until there is no intention to work. So, what’s the solution?
Solution 1: Support a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is a must. Some ways to support work-life balance are determining when to work and when for personal matters. Don't mix things up that make your work not optimal.
Make an agreement with yourself when you will start work and end it. Try to commit to doing it for 30 days, so your body will get used to it.
Pamper yourself by taking time off to just enjoy the sunset at the beach or shopping. While you can work from home, it's not a vacation. It takes time when you're not working and just chilling.
Solution 2: Set a Reminder to Take a Break
Too busy working? So forget to brew coffee and “just nothing to do?” You have to stop that habit. Set a reminder for your body and mind to take a break. A reminder can be an alarm on your phone, such as:
- 20 minutes of light exercise
- 20 minutes of making snacks
- 20 minutes of enjoying videos on YouTube
Challenge #2 Multitasking Causes Unproductive
Even though multitasking looks cool these days, it doesn't guarantee the work will be done well. Multitasking makes your concentration split so that you might miss something. The more work you do at one time, the results you do are not optimal.
So what should you do?
Solution 1: Make a Priority on the To-Do List
Just making a to-do list is expected. Now is the time for you to combine priorities and to-do lists, to be more effective. How do you create a priority scale in a to-do list?
- Write down what activities you will do all-day
- Divide it into four quadrants:
- Important and Urgent
- Important but Not Urgent
- Urgent but Not Important
- Not Urgent and Not Important
source: todoist.com
Solution 2: Build a Routine
The second solution to avoid multitasking is to build routines. Routines will make each activity according to its portion—for example, breakfast and lunch on the schedule. Avoid lunch while working. This will reduce the enjoyment of the food you eat. Building a routine at work will help develop healthy habits and time control.
Challenge #3 Feeling Lazy All Day Long
The atmosphere when working at home sometimes makes you lazy. You feel that today is a holiday, so you are not excited to work. The situation that does not require you to go to the office makes you free to wake up late. Unconsciously, getting up late makes you unmotivated, and you will lose time.
Try doing these things:
Solution 1: Create a Dedicated Workspace
Workspace at home is a primary need for those who work remotely. Workspace is the first weapon to fight the distraction of lying on your bed or couch. Create a comfortable space and increase your productivity. Keep the TV or living room separate from the workspace. Don't forget to equip it with comfortable tables and chairs.
Solution 2: Keep an Eye on Distraction
Working remotely with lots of distractions seems like a match. The factor of you being at home and surrounded by family 24/7 is the reason. There is no manager or supervisor to supervise while working. You can freely open a variety of social media while working.
The result? Work time becomes messy, and much work goes unfinished.
So, write down all possible distractions when you work from home. Then keep the distraction away or limit the time. Put your phone on silent mode while working.
Solution 3: Dress Like You’re Working
Working from home equals being able to work with pajamas. That statement is a big mistake. Working in a nightgown will make your body feel that it is bedtime. Prepare as if you were going to work. Starting from choosing clothes to using make-up. Then, you will find yourself ready to work.
Challenge #4 Burn Out
Burnout is when you feel like you have more time to work, but the results are not worth it. Finally, the brain feels full and can not be used to thinking again. If that's happening to you right now, try to do a few things:
Solution 1: Introduce Social Break
You need to breathe easy without a job in front of you. Give your body and mind a break by not touching work at all at one time. It doesn't take long. It can be 15 minutes to 1 hour.
What can you do then? Eating sweet foods, video calling with friends, looking at social media, having lunch, or taking a nap. The body and mind will be fresher after resting.
Solution 2: Determine When You're Most Productive
The positive side of working remotely is that you can manage when your time works according to your productive time. One way to avoid burnout is to work in your valuable time. Don't be afraid to communicate your productive time with the office so management understands too.
Solution 3: Play Your Spotify or YouTube Music
Playing music during break time never goes wrong, right?
Try playing music from your favorite Spotify or Youtube Music if you're burning out. Sing as if you have a voice like Adele. Feel the sensation of relief afterward.
Start Being Productive With VirtualSpace
Many distractions when working from home are annoying. Especially time management. Once you divide the time wrong, it could be that the work will not be completed, and you have to work overtime. You sure don't want to, do you?
That's why time management for any remote worker is mandatory. Start with the intention to implement a work-life balance. Continue by setting priorities, creating routines, and working on productive hours.
VirtualSpaces gives you access to manage and organize your duties. You can start implementing the above solutions using VirtualSpace. Start from simple things like creating a to-do list or just chatting with your teammates. Install now and feel the difference!
