Published on October 16th, 2020 | by Sunit Nandi

How to Stay Productive During COVID-19

Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has been overwhelming for most of us. There is so much to handle both physically and mentally. To begin with, everyone is at home due to social distancing measures. If you have kids, you have to keep them occupied with schoolwork and other activities in order to keep their minds from the negative things happening around them.

In addition, you have to deal with their hyper activeness and restlessness. Away from that, there are house chores and other errands all fighting for your attention. The worst part; you have to do your work and be productive amidst all this chaos, anxiety, and stress.

If you have reached your wits end on how to stay productive, here are a few tips that you can try out.

1. Create a schedule

There is no denying that a thin line lies between the work-life balance for most people. Ideally, working from home should provide some sort of flexibility and improve on your work-life balance. However, it can prove impossible with all the chaos going on, especially when you have no extra hands to help you out.

Instead of handling tasks blindly, give your day some structure by creating a daily schedule. Define clear hours for housework, playtime with kids, and work. This way, a pile of laundry won’t bother your mind when you are working because you know that there is a time allocated for that. In addition, don’t forget to prioritize the most important tasks. You will have peace of mind knowing that the most pressing tasks of the day are out of the way.

2. Break the monotony

Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery to refresh the mind and stay productive. The problem that comes with working from home is that it is the place that you work in and the same one that you spend your free time. It can be difficult to separate the two, you might find yourself working way beyond working hours or forgoing breaks since you have no alternative place to spend your time away from work.

Surprisingly, even a walk around your block or a few minutes in the backyard is enough to recharge your body and mind. Additionally, the stay-at-home regulations are slowly being relaxed, sections of businesses have started opening up. You can easily find an alternative place to work even just for a day.

What you have to remember is that using public Wi-Fi in such places can be risky for your data’s privacy. If you must connect to one, use a reliable VPN. NordVPN is a good choice when it comes to reliability and ease of use.

3. Eliminate distractions

Distractions come in many forms during this period of COVID-19. To start with, there are kids and house chores. Sometimes having a schedule doesn’t cut it when it comes to dealing with kids. They will insist on disturbing you even when you are busy working. Then there is your phone, social media, TV, and the like.

If you are to be productive, you need to eliminate, or at the very least minimize these distractions. First, have a dedicated workspace. Set some ground rules for when you can be distracted.

For other distractions such as email and social media, it helps to turn off notifications when you are working. You can also use website-blocking apps to block distracting websites for the duration of your work.

4. Get enough sleep

With all the work going around, it is important to give your body a rest at the end of a day’s work. Besides, you need it for the next day’s tasks- it can be hard to work when struggling to stay awake at the same time.

Have a regular time to sleep and wake up, and don’t forget to have enough sleep every night. The recommended hours of sleep for an average person are 7 to 8 hours.

5. Keep a healthy regime

Health and productivity go hand in hand. There is no way that you are going to neglect your health and expect to stay productive. It is true that it can be difficult to keep up with regular exercise or have time to prepare a healthy meal with all that is going on. However, all the neglect will come to haunt you now and in the long run.

Ensure that you are exercising regularly and taking in a balanced diet and enough water to keep your body healthy and energized.

Conclusion

We are living in unprecedented times due to Covid-19. And, when it can be overwhelming and everything negative, we just have to adjust to the new normal and device ways to remain productive. Before you throw in the towel, remember that you are not alone. At the very least, be grateful that you still have work to do.

Tags: Coronavirus, COVID-19, how to, post COVID, stay productive

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.