Since high school, we have learned to distinguish clearly for ourselves between personal space, home (where we can do our business), and the place of study/work, with its requirements for appearance and rules of behavior. After so many years of learning, you have to change your habits, which leads to stress, dissatisfaction in work and personal life. Inevitable conflicts and quarrels arise, which only spurs dissatisfaction with oneself, closing the problematic circle. So, how to start working and learning from home and not go crazy?

Preparing for the working and learning

Remember Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Let’s discuss how to prepare for working and learning with such platforms as StuDocu that provide access to thousands of learning materials from the whole world.

1. Workspace. Try to find a place where your homemakers won’t periodically ask you to sit down. A dining table, where the whole family gathers, is an extremely unfortunate option. Will meetings or learning be held in a video conferencing format? Set up the camera in advance so that the interlocutors can only see you. Take a couple of screenshots from the camera and take a close look at the space behind you. Is there anything left that might discredit you in the eyes of your colleagues? Maybe, on the contrary, you want to brag about something? Think about whether someone at the most important moment will appear behind your back in an unsightly way? 

2. Put away everything that’s not about work or learning. Remember what you need in the office – pens, notebooks, headphones. At the most important moment, you won’t have to look, interrupting yourself. Prepare a headset with a microphone. You can’t think of a worse thing to do when the family hears all your conversations and comments on them.

3. Office hours. What was your schedule like in the office? Talk to your supervisor again about start and end times. This way, you’ll find out your supervisor’s expectations right away and avoid unpleasant surprises.

4. Talking to your family. This is a difficult but important step to go through. Explain that during your normal work hours, you will not be available for personal errands, requests, or trips to the store. Tell them that you will ignore requests not because you have become selfish, but because you are at work. Often, it will take more than one conversation for the family to accept the new rules.

5 tips for working and learning at home

1. Don’t break your habits! Get up at 6 o’clock on weekdays? Keep it up. The change in rhythms takes a toll on the body and causes stress. The illusion of extra time that comes from the proximity of the bed and the workplace, unfortunately, remains only an illusion. Stress will only increase the time you would normally spend on familiar work activities, causing frustration and dissatisfaction with yourself.

2. Inclusion in the work or learning process. On average, it takes about 20 minutes to fully switch to a new task. That’s a great time to take a walk! Don’t immediately rush to your workplace; spend this time wisely. The force of habit in us is so great that the body will look forward to a trip to work. Help it along! You have 20 minutes to take a walk and switch your thoughts from home chores to work chores. Try using a step counter.

3. Tell your family about the start of the work or learning. Yes, you have already told them that you work or learn from home. Yes, everyone agreed. Yes, everything is understood. It’s not unreasonable to remind them that you’re at work from now on.

4. Clothing. Even if you’re not supposed to participate in video conferences, save your home clothes for when you’re done working or learning. Trick your brain into not letting it feel like you are home and can relax.

5. Prepare a to-do list for the week/day. Discard the stale stereotype that people can only work in rush mode. Without planning, we would not have sent a man into space. Look around you. You will find people in your environment who are organized and purposeful. When to make a plan? It all depends on the nature of your work or learning and your personal preferences. Try it both in the morning and in the evening.

Conclusion

Life makes adjustments to the schedule we have worked out, to the desire to do things right or in a new way. You can’t make a plan or give advice for every moment of your life. Just try to ask yourself one question: “What would I do in the office, in full view of my colleagues?