My Application Experience as a Writer for Wordsmith
January 2, 2020
Over the years, along with the advancement of technology and the revolution of working practices, the growth of online employment has skyrocketed over the years. A lot of people enjoy the comfort and benefits of working from home.
People now who have online jobs are no longer required to report to a physical office but can actually work anywhere and anytime!
Actually, if you live in the Philippines, here are the 5 Benefits of Having an Online Job in Manila.
However, despite these benefits, there are some challenges one may encounter working at home. This blog article explores them.
Not only that! We will also provide here the ways to overcome these difficulties!
First: You’re at home.
Yes, as much as there are a LOT of benefits working from home, sitting in your pajamas while you do your work while at home may be disadvantageous if you become too comfortable.
Our homes are our safe havens, for me being at home means being at rest. When I used to work a job which requires me to go to a physical office, I made sure I did not take work at home with me.
This was the adjustment I had to make when I started working online, my home also became my work space. Hence, I needed to integrate a working atmosphere even at home. It was hard for me at first especially with the temptation of a proximate bed (haha!) but I saw through the process.
How To Overcome: Create a daily routine and schedule.
Having a daily routine which starts the morning right gives you the upbeat and sense of responsibility that you need to finish your work for the day.
Working at home gives us space to create a working style that goes appropriately to our personality. It does not almost matter if you don’t wake up early, you may start the day anytime you want accordingly with when you can be most productive.
BUT it is important that you have a routine you religiously follow.
ALTHOUGH, your routine need not necessarily be strict though, some people work productively under spontaneous patterns. Hence, for as long as you have a consistent work pattern that you follow for the day, then you’ll be fine.
If possible, have a separate room apart from your bed room where you can do your work.
Second: the tendency of isolation.
Working at home means working by yourself, and being alone for 8 hours a day can make you susceptible to isolation, hence can cause a regress in your social life.
Social isolation may also have other negative effects such as loneliness, lower self-esteem, and also other health dangers such as weaker immune system.
How To Overcome: Spend time with your family and friends.
Since you have more time in your hands through saving time from commute and preparations for heading to work, use this time to meet your friends and family at least once during weekdays or during weekends.
You may also consider going out in the middle of the day to have coffee or workout, there you can invite your friends to join with you.
Make sure that working at home does not make you too lazy to go out, and be sure to still have some fun! Leave the comforts of home from time to time!
Third: the tendency of procrastination.
Since working at home normally involves little supervision from our bosses, we may be susceptible to procrastination.
Procrastinating may be counterproductive, thinking that we have more time in our hands and that our bosses are not micromanaging us, we may suffer the “I’ll do that later” syndrome.
According to Maureen James’ blog article entitled: Procrastination: “I’ll do it later” Syndrome, “I’ll do it later” is a type of passive procrastination through which people fail to accomplish their tasks on time.
Another example of procrastination is we always make plans but almost never act upon them.
The map above from the James’ blog illustrates the different reasons why we procrastinate and the paths we take doing it.
Although do note that procrastination is NOT always negative. You may want to listen to this podcast: The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers
How To Overcome: Below are the ways provided by Maureen James on how to overcome passive procrastination.
- Reward small accomplishments.
For example, once you are done with tasks 1 to 3 allow yourself to watch an episode of your favourite series.
- Realize the consequence of delay or non-accomplishment.
I have personally learned this the hard way. Many times, with the drastic combination of depression, procrastination and laziness, I have suffered consequences of my failure to attend to my responsibilities.
So you have to always remind yourself, “If I don’t do this, there will be consequences”.
What are those consequences? For instance, delay after delay certainly will result into an even higher pile of work that will fall upon your desk in every wasted unproductive time.
Worse, failure to meet deadlines either at work or school will reflect negatively your work ethic whether you are a working professional or a student.
- Plan: calendar your deadlines and create a list of tasks.
There are some people who are good at just remembering in their heads the things they have to do, or has the gift of accomplishing tasks through spontaneity.
BUT if you are NOT this kind of person, it is most helpful that you keep a calendar of your deadlines and a list of the tasks you need to do.
It is often fulfilling to check your tasks one by one up to the time you accomplish your tasks for the day.
Remember to reward yourself with little things as you check those tasks!
- Make your tasks achievable.
It is good to plan your days and weeks ahead but if you overestimate your capacity to finish tasks and plan unrealistic timeframe for your goals and tasks, planning in this way may be counterproductive and may cause anxieties especially if unaccomplished or accomplished late.
So make sure that your tasks are achievable within a realistic timeframe.
Fourth: the tendency of overworking.
If there’s a tendency to procrastinate, working at home also poses the tendency to overwork yourself.
This applies to people who are naturally workaholics, because you have all the time in your hands, you have all the time to work endlessly.
How To Avoid:
- Loosen your calendar schedule and tasks.
- Be more efficient, work smart. Learn to accomplish things that can be achieved within a shorter time frame than how you are currently doing.
- Set boundaries of what you can only handle within a productive capacity.
- Schedule a time where you can take short rests or breaks in between work.
- Learn to delegate if your job position allows you to.
Fifth: interruptions and distractions at home.
Being at home does not mean you are void of distractions and interruptions. Actually, we are more susceptible to these things especially with social media and other thing we can do and explore on the internet.
There are other distractions and interruptions also aside from social media, there are things like house chores, or visitors. Learn to set them aside until you have either finished with work or was able to accomplish a significant amount of work.
This is actually hard to overcome but is doable! Also requires a lot of will power to accomplish!
How to Overcome: Simple, put first things first.
This means prioritizing important things that requires immediate action and staying AWAY from distractions.
Sixth: lack of physical activities.
People who do not have hobbies or are not inclined to sports are susceptible to this. Being confined at home limits our physical activity. We need not walk long distances as much as we used to do when we used to report to our offices.
How To Overcome: Pick a physical activity that is good for your health.
For instance, a morning or afternoon jog, workout or swimming. Any physical activity that may interest you and is beneficial for your health.
Seventh: lack of social interaction.
People who are innately introvert are susceptible to have a regressed social life, this tendency increases especially for people who are working online jobs like us.
Being at home means you have few people or no one at all to talk to. Imagine yourself just facing your laptop for the whole day without a single co-worker to say hi too.
It is no secret that regressed social life or the absence of a healthy social life may have emotional, mental or even physical effects.
How To Overcome: Do not let your online job isolate you from your family and friends!
Make sure that you still spend time with them nevertheless at any time of the week or from time to time.
There you go! I hope you would be able to overcome these challenges in order to maximize the benefits of working at home!
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