Over the past several years, one of the notable impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic is how it has changed our work lives. Pre-pandemic, only 7% of the workforce (with jobs that allowed for it) worked from home full-time1. A more recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals this number has jumped to 22.8% as of last August2.
If you’re among many people who, like me, enjoy the 5-second commute from your home to your… home, here are a few ways I’ve learned to make the home office a more productive and enjoyable place.
- It’s so helpful to have my office space in a different room than my bedroom. I know some people can’t afford this luxury, but it truly helps to compartmentalize my work life and home life. It’s not quite a “Severance” of work and home life. But it does help to leave some of the difficulties of work in the office (room).
- Unless you really need it, keep your phone out of the office space. If you leave it in your kitchen or living room, you’ll be continually less likely to go check it. It tends to take the form of a little devil on my shoulder if it stays on the desk, personally.
- Take frequent breaks. Go for a 5-minute walk, do some jumping jacks, or crank out some push-ups in your yard. For me, this is a challenge (it’s easy to get sucked into the code, like Neo from the Matrix). But when I do pause, I find I’m a tad bit less cranky at the end of the day (my wife thinks so too). Plus, you can take that time to call friends/family or even, dare I say, write a blog post. If you want more stories on the benefits of taking frequent breaks during work, NPR’s TED Radio Hour has a great Podcast called “Body Electric”.
Welp, time to get back to the black box that is Python. Do you have any ideas on what has worked best for you working from home?
References
azureadventure.com 