It’s time to leave the sweatpants and animals at home and return back to work. For many, the pandemic was a hard transition to adapt to after leaving the office and navigating how to work from their home.
Now, almost two years later, people have already begun returning to the office and working in-person. Society became used to sitting on the couch and answering emails and working on their computers from the comfort of their home, but that was in the past.
If your job requires you to come back to working in the office, some worries and stresses may be popping up. Don’t worry, we all felt this way after just getting used to commuting from the bedroom to the at home office.
Here are a few ways to increase productivity after returning back in-person that anyone can use.
Get comfortable in your old settings
It may have been a while since you physically sat at your old desk or seen your coworkers face-to-face. Take some time to tidy up your workspace— throw away any old clutter you left behind after transitioning to working from home, and redecorate the space to make it more cozy and “home-like”.
Nervous about interacting with coworkers? Take precautions with face masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing.
Coworkers and your relationship with one another are key to having a productive team. Take the time to engage with your coworkers— get updated on how their life has been, plan some out-of-the-office events to build team bonding, and get used to talking and engaging with people in real life again.
Take short breaks when needed
One thing the pandemic has taught us is that we as humans need breaks. Before, there was only a lunch break provided to let employees relax and compose themselves to finishing the rest of the work day.
During the pandemic, workers had the freedom to get up, take a quick walk, grab a snack and come back to their work when they felt ready. Now that team members are returning back to the workplace, those excessive breaks are taken away.
Not necessarily.
If you feel you need a break after sitting at your desk for too long, or just need a quick refresh after eating a snack, by all means do it!
There is no better way to be productive than listening to what your mind and body needs. By taking a quick lap around the office, talking with a coworker about an assignment or even just grabbing a drink of water, it refreshes the body and mind to return back to the work and ready to continue the work day.
Don’t multitask—focus on the job at hand
When we were at home, it was easy to get distracted with the things around us. We had the freedom to get up from our work and grab a snack and answer some emails with our newest binge-worthy tv show playing in the background simultaneously.
Now that you’re back in the office, take the time to plan out what needs to be done that day. Not only are you physically in the workspace, but mentally you should be too.
Get a planner and write down what needs to be finished that day. Have a busy schedule? Work on creating a routine that is easy to jump back into that includes your commute, daily meetings and answering those pesky emails.
Focus on the tasks that need to be completed that day. Is there an important meeting after lunch you have to prepare for? Does one of your projects need to be submitted by the end of the day?
By staying focused and getting what needs to be done at the office, there will be no need to bring the work home.
By following these simple guidelines, your productivity will increase as you make the transition back to in-person working in no time!
Have any other tips for productivity? Comment them down below!
LinkedIn: KristenGesicki
