Aaliyah and I were watching a movie after wrapping our day’s work when I got a call from Donna. “Hey, Donna! How have you been?” I asked. “Not good! I feel so exhausted!” She expressed.  I paused the movie and Aaliyah went to get some brownies.

“What happened? Why are you sounding so low?” I asked. “It’s been months now that I have been working from home. My work, be it office or household, it seems endless. Things are getting overwhelming! I feel so burnt out!” She expressed.

Donna is not the only one going through this. Many of us are finding it quite challenging to carry out ‘work from home’ smoothly.

“Calm down, Donna! All of this is happening because you are overlapping both your personal and professional space. Let me share with you a few tips that will help you to combat the situation better!” I expressed.

I shared with her the following tips:  

• Have a workspace corner- Keep a separate corner for as work station. This makes the blurred line between personal and professional life more definite and helps to stay more focused. It induces a feeling of working in the office and prevents distractions.
• Keep your working hours properly defined- Staying at home often makes us carry on with the work beyond our working hours. Just because we have our work station at home, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we should carry on with it endlessly. We must not forget to enjoy our own time like before which we used to after returning from work.
• Take breaks while working- Our work is still the same only the place is different. Remember how we used to take our coffee breaks or simply go for a walk? Remotely working doesn’t mean that you forget to relax in between. Take breaks to refresh your mind. This will help you give better inputs and make you more productive. 
• Set your targets for the day- Make a list of the things that you will work on as that will help you in better time management. Stay in touch with your team and communicate to feel more connected.
• Don’t keep any other work during office hours- Have a proper routine. Draw a line between personal and professional work, otherwise, it will be more draining and unproductive both ways. Keep different time slots.

“I think all the tips are brilliant and will help me to work better. Thanks, Bob! I’ll follow all of these and share how I feel!” Expressed Donna. “Yes! Do it and see, you will be feeling better!” I replied.

The new normal is different from what we have practiced so far. However, adapting and embracing this change is the only way to keep going. Let’s make ‘work from home’ a better and happy experience till we overcome the pandemic.