Ep 58 – Qs to reflect on when work-from-home productivity dips

It’s been 18 months since COVID hit India’s shores. 18 months since we’ve all been forced to isolate, stay at home, and yes, work from home too. As a person who’s been working from home since 2019, I know this is no easy feat. The boundaries are thin, distractions aplenty, and motivation far and few – so how can we really feel productive with all these forces around us?

Hello and welcome back to the Deep Dive series of the Being Meraklis podcast and I’m your host and self-awareness coach Shwetha Sivaraman helping you ask the right questions.

If you’ve spend even a few hours online you’d have read reports, studies, and press rave about increased productivity of employees with the COVID induced work from home measures. But I have my doubts about those numbers. For starters, these studies don’t take into account the increased hours people are working since working from home. There’s no account for the psychological consequences of constantly getting distracted while trying to work and definitely none regarding the eventual impact on our mental health with thinning boundaries between work and life.

Most people I interact with in the Tribe and our coaching conversations are actually facing dips in productivity and motivation, which in turn impacts the feeling of accomplishment one derives from doing their work well. So if you’re one among them too, this one is for you.

Here are some questions to reflect on if you’ve had some dips in productivity while working from home:

1. What comes in the way when you sit down to work? Pin down the actual thoughts and emotions and see what’s the dominant feeling – is it overwhelm, lack of interest, fear of failure? What really is it? And can you find ways to deal with those thoughts and emotions before sitting down to work.

2. Do I have a reliable schedule in place? Our minds like patterns, so building a schedule for work and rest and practicing it continuously helps wire our minds to adjust to our new ways of working. The mind also eventually becomes prepared for work and rest automatically and gives lesser resistance to do the task at hand.

3.Where is the imbalance? Are you working too much or too less? If there’s one thing I’ve learned in working from home for 2+ years, it is that productivity comes not just from doing but also from being. To work efficiently one of the most crucial overlooked aspects is balance. Too much of work leads to burnout, whereas too much of leisure impacts our morale and self-perception which leads to lower self-esteem and confidence. So identify what you need more of and find your balance between doing and being.

Deep dive on these aspects the next time you feel unproductive or drained and find answers within! If you’d like more 1:1 support with me as your Coach, reach out to me for a 30 min discovery session and let’s explore if self-awareness coaching can help you be more productive and live the life of your dreams.