There is no doubt that ‘work from home’ has its benefits, such as you can work in your pajamas, don’t need to commute to your office, or can watch the entire season of your favorite TV series while pumping out deliverables from your living room. However, it also has its set of challenges, including:
- distraction from family members or pets
- being sedentary
- facing technical issues
- lacking a productive workspace
The danger of becoming too comfortable at your home for your office work is too real. In this blog, we will discuss a few bad habits that you can pick while working from home and some tips to avoid them.
Bad Habits That Come With Work From Home
According to a new study, “Scrolling through social media, Netflix binging, online shopping, and taking non-essentials trips outside of the home are the most common bad habits that people have adopted during a full-time work-from-home routine as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Working from home has offered flexibility to employees but they also have picked up some common habits due to which they are lacking in their productivity. Let’s discuss them in detail!
1. Poor sleeping habit
Sleeping in late and waking up late might seem attractive at first, but it has its flaws. According to the NIH, “ Bad sleeping patterns can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol, anxiety, and many other health issues.” So, if you want to avoid these health issues and stay productive at your work, you must ensure to follow a proper sleep pattern. Also, make sure to take sleep of 7-8 hours for mental and physical health.
2. Poor personal hygiene
We know working in your comfy clothes is one of the biggest perks of working from home. But vegging out in your nightwear will help neither your morale nor productivity. So, if you’re one of those who prefer working in their pajamas rather than your suit, stop doing that immediately. Take bath and dress up well before starting your work as many studies show that what we wear can affect our mood, leading to improved productivity.
3. Too much screen time
The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted us to our homes due to which our screen time has also increased. Too much screen time can lead to various issues, including dry eyes, eye strain, and more. If you feel strain in your eyes or headache, take a break from your screen and stare outside from your window for some time. You can also follow the 20-20-20 rule i.e., look at something that is 20 feet away for 20 seconds in every 20 minutes.
4. Working during your lunch break
The whole pandemic situation has increased a ton of workload. And because of this, most of the employees are missing out on their lunch break. You should know that your pick-me-up break is necessary for your productivity as well as mental health. So, if you think that your supervisor will get mad at you for leaving your workstation to eat your lunch, find out some interesting ways to reclaim your lunch break.
5. Not maintaining your work-life balance
With no physical office to clock out from, there is a possibility to check your emails at odd hours and reply to them asap. Checking your emails after work hours can infect you with job thoughts and can affect your personal life. Make sure that you have a dedicated workspace at your home and dedicated stopping time so that you don’t transform your home into your office.
Wrapping it up
There is no harm in enjoying the perks of ‘Work From Home’ and leveraging the flexibility it entails, but you should avoid overdoing it. Take some time to identify the red flags of your work from home opportunity, and work on them.
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