The world has been told to stay home. Socializing, shopping, and even going to work have been either discouraged or outright banned. It may take time to adjust to this new normal. Remote working has been touted as the up and coming trend for years. Its time may have finally arrived.
Setting up a home office, sticking to a schedule and ignoring the everyday distractions are tough parts of remote working. There are plenty of benefits though. Focusing on these can help when things get fraught or the situation seems unbearable.
The number one benefit of working from home is the reason we are doing it. There is a reduced risk that you will catch and spread coronavirus. Do not forget this. The world is on fire. Health systems are straining to cope with the hundreds of thousands, millions, of infected. People are dying in the tens of thousands. By staying at home, every person can do their bit to beat the virus.
There are more personal things you can enjoy about working from home. I have been able to get an extra hour or more in bed every morning. Instead of dragging myself out from beneath the warm covers, stumbling bleary eyed from another sleep cut too short to a hasty and unenjoyable breakfast, mere fuel for the day, there is time to wake up slowly. Sip a cup of coffee, sit down and take your time over breakfast. Commuting is one of the most painful things about working – now we don’t have to do it. Savour the time, enjoy another cup of coffee instead of being pressed up into someone’s armpit or crawling along clogged roads. This situation has given you some extra time – enjoy it.
Our work can benefit as well. The office is a din of phone calls and casual conversations. People wander all over, interrupting our focus. Meetings are called for things that could have easily been sorted out over email. Now all that is gone. You can set up a space dedicated to work. Whether that is the far end of the kitchen table or a spare room, if you’re lucky enough to have one. Space and time dedicated to work helps us to focus on the tasks at hand. Large projects, difficult pieces of work and stuff that just takes time can be conquered in this less distracting environment. Use this space to focus and get on top of things.
And just as you carve out time for focused work, you can carve out focused time for yourself. Take full advantage of your lunch break. The soggy sandwich or undercooked food truck fare are no longer your only options. You can sit and relax, free from the boss’s distrustful eyes, and take your time. Cook extra the night before or get in some more prepared food. Lunch is your time once again. This time to relax will help with your work. You’ll be able to tackle the afternoon with refreshed vigour. It helps you as a person too, allowing you to get away from the stress of the inbox and have more space for joy in your life.
Staying at home is difficult. We want to go out and experience the world. When it gets tough, remember the good parts, not the bad. With time and space on your side, there are plenty of benefits to enjoy.
Many people who had never considered this kind of working life have now had a taste of it, and they love it.