Are You Sly or Fly In Your #wfh Routine?

Title: Are You Sly or Fly In Your #wfh Routine?
Artwork by:YMI X Citra Marina (@real_choochoo)
Description: Working from home, or wfh, is something most of us have probably started doing in an effort to minimize the spread of Covid-19 in our communities. 

This means our work and home lives are now intertwined. We’re working in an environment filled with creature comforts—a comfy couch to work on, Netflix at the tap of our fingers, or making endless trips to our fridge foraging for snacks. 

It’s tempting to slack and cut corners when no one is watching. However, Scripture says we’re to work with all our hearts, as if working for the Lord and not for human masters (Colossians 3:23). So then, how do we honor what Scripture says, while maintaining a healthy work-life-balance at home?  

So we’ve put together a list of practical tips that hopefully will help us all to have a wfh that’s both productive and beneficial.

It might be tempting to work in our pajamas. It’s soft and cosy, but it might trick our brains into thinking we’re still in sleep-mode. Why not swap our pajamas with comfy wfh gear, such as casual slacks or bermudas, with a tee shirt (throw on a nice cardigan if it’s cold in your part of the world)? The simple act of changing out of our bed wear to regular home wear creates a mental separation of bedtime and work, thus preparing our minds for a productive work day ahead!

Wfh could mean we’re now able to realize our dreams of working in bed. Bliss! However, lying in bed surrounded by our pillows and blankets might see us heading into dreamland faster than we can file that very important report for our managers. Instead, why not create a makeshift workstation that’ll allow for greater work productivity? A dining table could be converted into a workstation. Alternatively, buy or borrow a foldable table and chair and have these set up in a corner in your home.

We’re now spending a larger amount of time at home, so it’s also getting harder to ignore the numerous household chores that need attending to, as well as the endless distractions lurking in every corner. Unwittingly or not, we end up multi-tasking, whether it’s folding clothes in-between replying emails, unloading the dishwasher while waiting for a Zoom meeting to start, or even watching that last episode of “Love is Blind” on Netflix in the background as we work. 

Before we know it, we’ve spent a huge portion of our work time on chores and distractions, and we’ve yet to touch any work. But what if we set aside dedicated time slots each day to do our laundry as well as spend on leisure activities leaving us the rest of the day to focus on our work? Let’s do what we would normally do at work and not try not to give ourselves any excuses. 

Besides getting changed and setting up a dedicated workspace, adjusting to wfh may require us to intentionally change the way we talk to our colleagues, who are now similarly locked up in their respective homes;  all of us probably craving for that “human touch”. Why not swap email and Google Hangout chats with a five or 10-minute video call, to discuss work ideas or check in to see how their day or week is going? Dialling in to hear a human voice makes for a nice change in our otherwise long, solitary day.

Wfh may seem fun in the beginning, but it can start wearing thin after weeks of it. For some of us, our wfh situation may not be the most ideal. Some of us might be at a breaking point having to simultaneously care for our young children, or we might be getting cabin fever from working in our cramped living quarters. 

Soon, wfh is starting to look like a nightmare, and with no end in sight, things can get overwhelming. In times like these, why not spend a few minutes committing our anxiety to God and praying for His strength to see us through our wfh situation? God welcomes our prayers and promises to give us His peace (Philippians 4:6-7).