The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced social distancing measures to help “flatten the curve,” placing many companies in the strange new world of telework. While there are some technical hurdles to overcome, the bigger challenges are the human ones. The good news is that the two challenges discussed below are not unlike the ones we face in a normal workday, which means we can certainly overcome them.
While workplace interruptions are the big productivity killer at the office, for the teleworker, the biggest hurdle to being productive is managing distractions. We humans are easily distracted – I can go into “Magpie Mode” without too much effort on my part, becoming sidetracked by the Internet and other people. It’s really no different than when I’m in the office. People are, generally speaking, social creatures and so it is quite easy to fall down the time-sink rabbit hole with discussions about sports, current events, and the newest must-see show on Netflix.
The second hurdle is time management. Time management is a discipline, and I have found that it is much easier for me to be undisciplined when at home. While I do not have any personal experience from the Army, that old US Army TV commercial claiming, "In the Army, we do more before 9am than most people do all day” is probably incredibly accurate. I think they accomplish this through structure and routine. When my workday has the bookends of a long commute each way, it’s easier to have the mindset that I’m at work. This does not naturally happen if I am working from home, and so I have to counteract the tendency towards mixing work and home time.
So how do we clear these hurdles? First we need to recognize that jumping hurdles, whether actual or metaphorical, is a skill and requires some practice (and patience). I doubt there is a “right way” for everyone, but I do believe there are some common practices that will help.
For the challenge of distractions, it is critical that everyone in the house is on the same page. Context switching is hard, and if your kids or spouse view your telecommuting day as free time to interrupt you, then you are not going to be very focused. Similarly, you might need to turn off social media. I find that I simply cannot focus on work while I have people and things vying for my attention.
Create a “space” where you can be “at work” and do “work things” there. If that space is in the family room and others are playing games or watching TV then you’re likely to be distracted and not particularly productive. Setting up a “home office” is a good step in the right direction as it helps both you and those under the same roof clearly recognize “work time” and treat it as such. A room with a door that can be closed is great, but simply having a place where distractions can be minimized is bound to improve your focus and productivity.
Time management is a matter of discipline. Treat your day as if you were going to the job. There needs to be a normal work routine – mine involves showering, dressing, and going to my “home office” to start the day. I generally keep regular work hours and doing so while teleworking ensures that I don’t end up frittering away the day on non-work activities. Like the US Army commercial, I’m most productive in the 0600-1000 window. This also happens to be the quietest time of day at work and at home. I time box my day so that those distractions don’t creep in and derail me. I also think it’s valuable to build in some “get up and stretch” time – both for my back and my eyes. After twenty to forty minutes of being fully focused on a task I often take a few minutes to get up and move around. I don’t create a strict 25-minute/5-minute system – as done with the “Pomodoro Method” – as I find it a bit unnatural to force myself to take breaks because a timer went off. Instead, I let the context of the work I’m doing create more natural pausing points – context switching is hard enough and I’m certain it is better for me to break away along natural boundaries than because some tomato timer went off.
Certainly there are other challenges to teleworking, but distractions and time management are the top two on my list. I suspect I am not alone. What are your experiences with teleworking? I’d love to hear them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Cuba is a Senior Software Developer at Full Visibility. In his spare time, he enjoys kayaking, photography, beekeeping, and a good cup of tea.