Strategies to make WFH easy

There was a time when I was more productive and at peace when working from home. WFH helped me focus and I could clear days of backlog in a day or two. I used to love WFH because I did not have to commute to work, had no distractions, no/fewer meetings, and could spend more time with my family.

WFH was great before the pandemic changed the dynamics of remote work. In the beginning, I loved to work from home. Within a few months, I wanted to get out and go to work. But due to restrictions and the fear of the pandemic I could not go to work. Now it is mandatory to work from home for me.

Since I don’t have the option to go to the office I came up with the following ideas to keep myself sane and avoid burnout.

Take Breaks

With WFH in place, I tend to sit for long sessions of coding or discussions. Though it is obvious we often forget to take breaks in order to finish our work fast.

I came across the Pomodoro Technique that suggests for efficiency one should take a break of 5 minutes after a session of 25 minutes. This technique has worked wonders for me. I use it for my programming sessions as well as for discussions and calls.

I have realized that any call or discussion that goes on for long is drifting from its purpose. Most of the participants (including me) are not paying attention and doing some other work simultaneously.

If the objective is to be laser-focused on the topic of interest you need to time-bound all activities and take a break.

Stretch

As I learned the importance of breaks, slowly I started realizing the benefits of little sessions of stretching as well. Though on the superficial level stretching feels like physical activity but does not take long to see its mind relaxing benefits.

I like to stretch in every 5-minute break I take. Only in few days, I could feel the stiffness in my back and shoulders is gone.

Stretching increases the blood flow and supplies more oxygen to the brain and helps it function better.

Reduce meetings

From the beginning of my career, I used to hate unnecessary meetings. I avoided the meetings that don’t require my presence. I have seen many people in a meeting who are not really required in the meeting. This is a general trend.

Post pandemic, the number of meetings has gone off the charts. Status calls, discussions with teammates all day can make you crazy.

It is not easy to change the perspective of everyone but I have tried to reduce the number of meetings.

Sometimes I take a walk while on call. This helps me reduce stress and utilize time more efficiently.

Less Caffeine

Most programmers like me have only one solution to stress or to keep ourselves awake — Coffee.

We all know the bad effects of consuming too much coffee like increased heartbeat, acidity issues, dehydration, and many more. It was only a few months after my regular WFH routine I started to face a few of these issues.

Caffeine is addictive, it took me quite some time to reduce my coffee intake. This process was slow but worth it. I feel energetic even without coffee.

Green Tea came to the rescue. Though it has caffeine but significantly lesser than coffee. Now I love green tea and always have at least 4–5 varieties with me.

Standing Desk

Sitting all day can take a toll on your health. A standing desk can help you boost productivity, improves posture, and burn more calories.

I don’t have a proper standing desk. But I managed to make a temporary one on the crockery unit. I use it for a couple of hours every day. Though this is not a very nice setup, it has managed to improve my posture. I feel I am more productive as well.

Take a walk

WFH has reduced the number of steps you take every day. The benefits of walking are no secret. I grab every opportunity to go out and take a walk.

If a meeting does not require me to be present in front of a screen I attend it on the phone while taking a walk. I walk to the nearby stores to get groceries and other stuff.

Taking a walk at least once a day helps you keep your body in motion, burn calories and help you relax your mind as well.

Get some sun

We all know the benefits of going out to get some sun. Nowadays most of us are not getting enough Vitamin D3. Due to WFH, we step out less often and don’t get enough sun.

Deficiency of Vitamin D is very common in the cities, WFH has worsened the situation.

While on phone calls, I go out for a walk to keep the body in motion and to catch some sun. Remember, Vitamin D is not just good for your body but keeps you fresh and energetic.

Reduce Munching

This is another bad habit I developed sitting at home. I was munching something or the other throughout the day. I gained some weight and all the effort I had put to reduce my weight has been wasted.

Though I was not eating out, eating snacks has been a setback.

Along with stretching, walking, and going out, I consciously started keeping a record of what I eat and reduced munching the whole day. This is helping me get back into shape, but still have a long way to go.

Spend time with Family

We all think WFH has brought us closer to our families. We are always with our families, spending time with them, having our meals with them. Trust me, we are always working, constantly getting notifications related to work, checking emails, taking calls.

I started allocating a time slot as ‘family time’. We don’t use phones or any other electronic device during this time. We play a board game or do an outdoor activity.

Plan your day

Due to WFH, the number of calls and the time we spend communicating with the team has increased a lot. This makes us feel we have worked the whole day and gives us the feeling of being busy.

This is a vicious cycle, you do this every day and the feeling of being busy gives you a temporary high.

I decided to plan my day and to stick with the plan. I am not completely successful but much more efficient than before.

Conclusion

Though most of us were happy with WFH in the beginning, we have started to feel the ill effects of it.

I have started to change myself and my routine to manage WFH well with the small alterations. I can vouch for the results as I am already experiencing the change.

I hope some of the tips and advice will come in handy to make you more comfortable with WFH. Thank you very much for reading my article, I greatly appreciate it.