The start of the year 2020 wasn’t easy for all of us around the globe. With the spread of coronavirus, we are facing daily challenges not only affecting individuals but numerous multinational and local corporations.
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This article is written by Erik Liu – Branch Manager of Kingfisher Executive Search Hong Kong. Erik has over 5 years of experience in the recruitment industry and currently overseeing Healthcare, Consumer Goods, Legal & Compliance and Investment Banking practice in our Hong Kong office.
As a branch manager stationed in Hong Kong currently, I have witnessed many corporations react swiftly this time after our lessons from SARS in 2003 and announcing a Work-From-Home (WFH) policy since early February. While waves and waves of employees are coming back to the workplace, it is worthwhile for us to reflect on what are the takeaways the month-long WFH experience brought to us.
The key takeaway is on managing productivity while working from home. It is not easy as many of us might be overjoyed as WFH may mean a stress-free working environment without your boss being around you. However, WFH is also the best way to know how self-disciplined we are as well as being able to keep our productivity high. Here are some quick tips we summarized for maintaining your efficiency while WFH.
Stick to your normal working and resting plan
The body has its natural clock which memorizes our daily pattern of actions every day. If it is disrupted, for example by getting up late while WFH, it will probably delay your focus and mood to get back into work. If your work starts at 9 am, start your work at home at the same time too. The key is to mirror your workday as much as possible, so your body knows it’s time to work.
Create a distraction-free area at your home
Our home might be a nice and comfortable place, but it is always full of distractions. Try to clear out an area at home so that you can stay focus while you work from home. Keeping things that will distract you out from your sight will also help you to be more productive at work. For example, TV, a nice couch or bed, refrigerator, or even your pets!
Set up a specific daily target for yourself
Without your manager buzzing you around, you are your only supervisor. Drawing down a clear, achievable target should be your first thing to do every day before kicking off your work. Not only that, having a to-do-list helps as well, keeping you on track with what you need to do for the day. Even if we are not able to finish all of them, at least we have got a list to refer back to the next day.
Picking up a new skill during WFH
Some industries or job functions may not be suitable for work-from-home arrangements, therefore what else can you do during this period? It is actually a good time for us to reflect on our current skill sets and whether are we still relevant. What if after this crisis, many corporations realize that some job functions redundant? What if WFH will be the future trend of the market? After all, most of the jobs could be done remotely thanks to our technologies nowadays. Therefore, constantly keeping yourself relevant and updated is very important.
