We need to talk about productivity and working remotely
Now, a little more than a year after the quarantine began, we can start to see clearly the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our daily lives and work, for they have both been turned upside down. Especially for those that had to embrace home-office life.
Children burst in in the middle of meetings, the bell rings, the internet freezes. It has been very hard to remain productive at home, especially because this environment was not designed or prepared for it. The experience of working remotely has revealed itself as a cross between chaos and comedy and, without question of a doubt, a huge challenge that we are all facing together.
We’ve lost the face-to-face social interaction, the coffee break, the lunch hour, the exchange of ideas with the person seating on the next table, the happy hour with colleagues, but we’ve gained flexibility of time and the economy of hours spent on transport. However, the feeling is much more of loss than gain and there is a reason for that. As a consequence, many of these so-called benefits have turned into a huge utopia. What’s the good of being at home and not being able to have lunch calmly or spending time with the people that live with us? What’s the purpose of living by the beach if all we see is a computer screen?
Many of us left a work relationship based on time spent for a logic based on results. And we ended up spending way much time in front of screens than we hoped. Away from each other, if seems that we need to deliver results before we can go out, be it at 6pm, 10pm or 2am. It has never been more urgent to be productive with our time and give our best to solve what needs to be done. There are several solutions to help with this task. We have listed some of these tips from the Mesa Method for you.
- Be free of distractions
- Have in hands only what you need to get the job done
- Create your own rituals
- Have clean goals in mind
- Allow work to be enjoyable
They are all very simple things, but hugely effective. And the best part is that when we work well, give our best and deliver what is expected, we not only acquire free time, but also lots of immediate pleasure. Which reminds us that work in itself can be one of the best things in the world!
