With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, most of us have found ourselves isolated in our homes with the default work-from-home (WFH) arrangement required by the Government. Initially, WFH seemed like a new and refreshing idea welcomed by many employees, but as time passed, WFH started to become dull and even draggy to a point where people began to dread it. In this article, we have compiled a list of ways to combat WFH fatigue and to breathe life back into your work life and career.
1 REDECORATING YOUR HOME OFFICE
It is important that the workspace that you have at home is inspiring to you and can ensure that you maintain a high level of productivity.
The colours of your room can greatly contribute to the feeling of boredom. For instance, Having too much grey in the room can lead to you feeling bored or uninspired in your home office. Although the colour can represent balance, its blandness can cause a negative mood if there is too much of the hue.
On the other hand, it is hard to go wrong with blue. Coined as the most productive colour, you may notice that you feel more stable, calm and focused when you have blue items and décor in your home office. Other than blue, yellow can induce a sense of optimism, green promotes a sense of efficiency and calmness while purple invokes your sense of creativity, imagination, and wisdom.
Now that you know how powerful colors can be, it’s time to take stock of the hues around your office, especially if you are keen on refurbishing, it will be a good idea to read up on colours too!Acquiring certain items needed for WFH, such as noise-cancelling headphones, might also help with combating boredom and boost productivity. An article published by our sister company, Swapie, on such essential gadgets can be accessed here!
2 CHANGE YOUR TUNE
While music tastes come down to personal preference, according to Huffington Post, there are certain types of music that you should tune into while working over others as they can increase efficiency and productivity.
What are they? Here is a list:
- Ambient soundtrack music: Ambient music does not require your full attention, but it does prevent that uncomfortable silence. It acts as nice background music and nothing distracting.
- Video game music: This may surprise you, but video game music is another good choice. Depending on the game themes you choose, sometimes the music is ambient and other times it might be intense. Since it is designed around getting things done, choosing the right tracks may motivate you to be productive, too.
- Epic music: Speaking of intense tunes, they are also otherwise known as epic music. Think orchestral and choir songs. This music makes you feel like you are in the middle of something huge. That ought to get you in the right mindset to slough off your boredom.
- Nature music: Just because you can’t be outside does not mean you have to shut yourself off to all the sounds of nature. Nature music, while not always necessarily music, per se, typically includes rustling leaves, rainfall, and the sounds of water moving. This study notes this music can boost your concentration and cognitive function. Give it a try!
- Classical music: Finally, classical music can be your best friend. Some studies prove that listening to classical music can improve the concentration and mood of the listeners. Why not see for yourself?
Maybe not so much in the mainstream music tastes but give one of these genres a go and test out which works better for you. Remember, the more focussed and productive you are on your work, the less likely you are to be bored working from home!
3 PLAN AHEAD OF TIME
As boring as it sounds, planning can be an essential way to successfully stop yourself from being bored working from home. Try solidifying your schedule the day before so that when you wake up in the morning you know exactly what tasks you have to do for the day. Not only will this create structure, it will also keep you motivated and productive.
Make sure you have a working day, the same as in the office. Get up and dress as if you were leaving the house, have a plan for lunch and make sure you have a finish time to look forward to. With a solid plan set in place, you are less likely to get distracted and it is a sure safe way to mitigate being bored working from home.
Also, making plans for the evening can help with combating WFH boredom. Practising your new hobby or going for a walk for some fresh air can give you something to look forward to during the working day. Giving your friends and family a call in the evening to check in on them can also be part of your plans to ensure that you do not feel isolated amidst this pandemic as well. We wrote an article on this as well and you can check it out here.
4 WORKOUT AT LUNCH
According to a Harvard business study, regular exercise is a key factor in our work performance and can have cognitive benefits such as improved concentration, a sharper memory, faster learning, prolonged mental stamina, enhanced creativity and lower stress.
Not to mention getting a good dose of exercise in your daily routine releases endorphins and increases your serotonin levels. There are so many great at-home workouts that you can do that require minimal equipment and only take 30 minutes to complete.
Getting a good workout at lunch will not only stop you from being lonely working from home but will leave you feeling refreshed, energised and ready to get back to work in the afternoon. So get them tunes ready, slip into some comfortable gym clothes and get active!
CONCLUSION: COPING WITH WORK-FROM-HOME BOREDOM
Hopefully, the numerous ways as listed above are able to help you with coping with the boredom or fatigue that the default work-from-home arrangements can bring. The most important thing would still have to be planning and choosing activities that can bring happiness, instead of constantly dreading for each day to end.