Productivity in times of a Pandemic

This week many global offices across Northern America closed down. Even as we, along with the rest of the world grapple with uncertainty in times of the ongoing corona virus pandemic,some of us may additionally be struggling with the prospect of working from home. Quite a few of us have worked from home before, while for others this is probably a first.

However, the key equalizer in current times is that we are all working from home during a pandemic for the very first time.

As we go through week one of working from home while socially distanced, and prepare for possibly another if not a few more, here are answers to 3 questions (and a bonus thought on what productivity looks like in current times) that may help you better strategize working-from-home.

I look forward to your thoughts, questions, critiques, and strategies as comments!

 1. "Where do I work from?"

 Designate a Dedicated Work Space- This is perhaps the oldest trick in the book on working from home. Designating a fixed work space allows us to program our brains to enter into "work-mode" in an environment which we traditionally may associate with rest and recreation. Many individuals who typically work remotely will tell you that they often escape to local cafes when they want to get work done. In current times of social distancing however, we have to be strategic within the four walls of home. However, since none of us really foresaw or planned for this pandemic, and possibly (as much as we would appreciate one right now), do not have a home office. This is where one gets to unleash their creativity. I, for example, have set up my "office" on one half of the kitchen island. I brought out my old (but trustworthy from times of my doctoral dissertation writing days) monitor, connected it to my laptop and voila! I had a full blown work station ready for use for this week. 

 Others have used this opportunity to get more creative, including ingenious use of laundry hampers and wine racks: 

The point is to ensure that you have a go-to spot for work, that allows your brain to channel your productivity towards your professional tasks rather than your personal chores, for eight hours in the work-week.

 2. "Eight to Five, AM or PM... When do I work?"

Typically my recommendation would be for everyone to follow traditional work times - 8 am to 5 pm, or 9 am to 6 pm with an hour or so for lunch in between. However, let us take a moment or two, to recognize that we aren't dealing with traditional setbacks or problems. It is literally a pandemic that we are facing (!!). So, recognize and account for life, as you factor in time for work. Many of us are home with our children and may be primary care-givers, so account for flexibility in your schedules as you plan for when to work.

My friend and his wife - both new parents have worked it out between themselves to schedule their work days such that their new infant has atleast one of them tending to her, as the other works. What this looks like is my friend works from 6 am to 2 pm, with time out for a family breakfast in the middle; and then takes over from his wife who starts her work day at 2 pm and goes on until 10 pm with a break to have dinner together. It is not easy, but planning for their schedules to be flexible for one another, factoring in life, recognizing priorities and responsibilities, as well as practicing disciplined routine allows for them to be productive professionals even during these trying tiring times. 

The key is to make the hours you work a routine, rather than irregular or adhoc.

Bringing back parts of your old routine may also helpful in conditioning your brain into channeling productivity for work. While at home it may be easy for thoughts to meander, and for your brain to start thinking of chores or recreation rather than work. So to herd in those cat-like gray cells you can begin by limiting your availability to distractions. There are several apps for your phone and browser that allow you to set a time-limit on websites like Twitter or Facebook or even the news, which you may find yourself obsessively refreshing in such times of global pandemic. Letting your roommate, family member, or partner know of your "office hours" also helps them help you by being mindful of approaching you during your work time, unless it is an emergency. Additionally, assigning a routine work schedule programs your brain to go into work-mode for those eight hours in the day.

Bringing in some parts of your old routine may also be helpful in helping 'switch on' work mode. For example, I like to make myself a large cup of tea to savor as I start the work-day, just like I would have at my desk in office. There are many of us who may miss certain aspects of our routine work-life- dressing up for work, grabbing to-go a venti almond milk latte with two shots of espresso, even commuting to work. Bringing in semblances from our old routines, into the current disrupted one may allow for us to continue being productive in current times. 

 3. "I miss my colleagues and team, who do I reach out to?"

A simple answer is to call them! In times of social distancing, the need for community building is the strongest. We are not meeting our colleagues face to face, nor running into them at the water cooler, so it is imperative to make additional efforts to reach out to them now. Create water-cooler moments by texting your colleague or teammate. Partake in conversations on your company's internal social platforms. Check in on co-workers, write out emails acknowledging their input and work. Chances are that many on your team may be struggling with motivation and isolation, and now is a great time to send notes reiterating how much you value someone's ideas and inputs.

Social cognitive psychologist Bandura in 1977 wrote,  "The strength of people's convictions in their own effectiveness determines whether they will even try to cope with difficult situations". Self efficacy is crucial in current times. Remind your colleagues that they are valued, that their contributions matter, that they are key to your team. Great thing specifically for managers to note, but also important for everyone on a team in general. Assurances, in these times, which allow highlighting individuals' successes helps strengthen their self-efficacy, ultimately helping individuals be self-confident and thus better equipped to take on challenges and adversities more effectively. 

The current times are better optimized by over-communicating as opposed to under-communicating.

Technology has a huge role to play in all of this. 

For example, to remain accountable and available to others in your team: Update your calendars to reflect your work hours. Set up virtual catch-up over coffee on Microsoft Teams or Google Hangout, schedule virtual lunch meetings, be available and helpful allies for one another. A great way to build accountability is to share your goals with a teammate or a colleague and have them check in on you within a given time frame to ask if you were able to complete said task. This is one way to combine building rapport and also build upon your productivity, especially for tasks that you are likely to procrastinate. Another way to bond as a team or as colleagues could be to take a course together or read a book on professional development, and then set aside some time to virtually discuss major take-aways from it. There are several courses for example on LinkedIn Learning (free for the first month) on Building Resilience or Increasing Productivity, and what better time than the present to avail these resources! 

Closed offices also mean that connecting with someone is now region and physical proximity agnostic. For example, now is probably a great time to reach out to that person you have been meaning to connect with and learn more about the kind of work they do. Chances are, that they will probably welcome a virtual coffee chat to talk about their work, and discuss yours. I know I am for anyone interested in learning more about People Analytics or Engineering Education.

 Bonus - Redefine what productivity means for you

 I shared the first three points to help share ideas for you to think about attaining peak productivity, and I bring up this last one to help you reassess what productivity means for you in these current times. Let us start with the basics and define it. As an engineer, I compute productivity by dividing the output by the total cost or resources incurred/input. In the workplace, this definition from industrial engineering translates to two key things - 1. productivity increases when we best avail existing resources, and 2. productivity is strongly linked to creation of value. So, as we think about being productive in current times, we need to understand and use existing resources and strive to continue bringing in value to our teams. 

To begin with, now is a great time to acknowledge that this is not normal. We are in the middle of a pandemic, and while we would all love to go back to 'business as usual' the fact remains that nothing about these times are usual. The current times are not typical, and it is new for everyone on our team. Recognizing this is key to overcoming this temporary obstacle and learning from these times. Redefine what peak productivity means for you in current times by reassessing what are your available resources and how you could use them to create value. For example, I wrote mine down in terms of goals for this week. Continually setting, revisiting and revising SMART goals for your work week, and taking it a day at a time is a great start to progressively building upon productivity. Now is also a great time to have conversations with your manager, your mentor, your Culture and Talent point person, or your favorite teammate. Your team is your most important resource in these times.

Once you have the resources identified, and begin using them, think about creation of value. How can you be useful to your team?  Being kind and compassionate is a great way to forge ahead in this environment. Be kind to your teammates, to your manager, to your client, and to yourself. Be kind to yourself and others as you recognize the privilege that working from home affords you, in a world where not many can avail the same.

"To be truly radical is to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing" - Raymond Williams

Kindness to one's own self is of utmost importance. Be kind as you fit into your new routine, your work space on your kitchen island or laundry basket. You are trying and some days peak productivity for you may equate to merely showing up. We all know that baby steps are necessary for big changes. Ensure that you are taking those tiny steps and proactively planning for and factoring in life as you work towards attaining peak productivity. Learn that you most certainly won't attain peak productivity on day one - but slowly you will get there, we all will. 

Remind yourself to hydrate, to breathe, to stretch, and to remember that this too shall be overcome...

Were you productive today?