There is a strong chance that your company may have mandated all its’ employees to work from home, in an effort to help stop the spread of COVID-19 has grown.

As governments have ordered businesses to close and citizens to self-quarantine, there’s also been growing concern that sales and revenue will drop off—with executives and managers alike placing together much-needed contingency plans.

While there is little that most employees can do about their company’s overall strategy with regards to revenue,

sales and such, it might be a good time to review optimal practices for working from home.

It’s worth noting that a growing number of companies are instituting remote-work policies, even for workers who commute every day to the office.

A dedicated space to work is so key to working from home. By setting aside an area that’s your “professional zone,” you’ll instinctively slip into “work mode” whenever you sit down. Make sure this area is clean and organized along with not an area to be used by others within your household.

If you’re used to a formal office, and you took a lot of time to assemble a workspace there to your liking then it is beneficial to duplicate that type of work setting in your house. For example, if you had a two-monitor setup in the office, see if you can do the same at home; if you’ve brought home files or other physical media that you need, make sure it goes in roughly the same position at your desk.

Also, since we are facing an epidemic make sure your workspace is clean and sanitized. This means cleaning your keyboard often and your mouse. Wipe down your desk before and after work with disinfectant. Like anything else we are doing, proper hygiene and sticking by that rule will go a long way in defeating this virus.

The COVID-19 crisis is freaking out a lot of project managers and other folks who believe that work can’t be done at peak efficiency unless everyone is physically in an office and able to participate in daily standups/scrum meetings. Whether or not that’s the case in your office, setting up a strict schedule that you can abide by will help your team immensely. These types of schedules can convince your employer that you’re still on target with your deliverables when you’re working from home—which, in turn, adds to job security and demonstrates responsibility and initiative.

It goes with the territory to be a little panicked as we go through this crisis, we are only human after. Nonetheless, it’s key that you stick to your deliverables and goals. Don’t be afraid to ask your manager for the resources, tools, and even hardware you might need at this strange moment in order to complete your tasks; chances are very, very good that they’ll do their best to fulfill your requests.

When in doubt, go with over-communication: update your boss frequently on everything you’re doing, and whether your schedule and deliverables are changing in any way. If your task are changing as a result of the sudden change, bring it up to your higher up and make the changes as needed.  At the same time, also make sure that you’re communicating with your teammates frequently. When everyone’s working remotely, it’s very easy to end up trapped in a “bubble’ of your own making, we advise using a communication tool such Slack, Teams, or the messaging platform of your choice. Def-Logix is a huge endorser of Microsoft Teams.

Now that more people are working remotely, there are a lot of jokes flying around such “working in your underwear” or “not even bothering to get dressed.” And yet, taking the time to get dressed and perform your usual self-care routine can prove a big psychological booster. That doesn’t mean you got to wear a suit in your home office but again, going as much into that work mode mindset helps with productivity.

During a crisis, it’s easy to fall into the trap of excessive short-term thinking. Schedule some time with yourself to plot out your next week, month, and quarter. Make note of projects or tasks coming up in the near and long-term future. While nobody knows just how long this COVID-19 situation will last, doing as much long-term planning as you can only benefit you and help ease the anxiety we are all facing through this situation.

Also like and follow us on social media (we are on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).