Work from Home – Addressing The Devil in the Room

Work from Home is definitely a part of the new “NORMAL” most of us are accustomizing ourselves to.

It can be tough to maintain sanity and be self-disciplined during such changing times. I could completely relate to a friend’s Whatsapp status that he put up a few days ago which went something like this – “Suddenly, roads are empty, but it is impossible to go on a long drive. Friends have time to sit together but cannot get together. The air is the purest, but wearing a mask is mandatory. People have clean hands, but we cannot shake hands.” 

For employers, the productivity of employees can be a concern as the risk is substantial. The lines between work and non-work are blurring in new and unusual ways, and many employees who are working remotely for the first time are likely to struggle to preserve healthy boundaries between their professional and personal lives. To signal their loyalty and productivity, they may feel they have to work all the time. Afternoons will blend with evenings; weekdays will blend with weekends, and little sense of time off will remain. It’s possible that some employees may be asked to continue working remotely for several months, like TCS, for instance. 

Drawing Boundaries in these situations is vital in the long run, especially for mental health, maintaining productivity, and avoiding burnout. As humans, we are accustomed to a schedule, and its therefore important to maintain a TIME STRUCTURE in place in these changing times. Revised time schedules or structures, help in giving a guideline and removing uncertainty and unnecessary panic, and it is a good time to rethink our understanding of “Office” Hours and “Out of Office” hours.

Procrastination has also never been easier than now. When the lockdown was announced, it took me two weeks to realize that I had to genuinely take steps to get myself in a better place or give in to anxiety. As I tried to dig deep into the cause of my procrastination, I realized I was afraid. Afraid, because now I was uncertain if I was going to survive to see my dreams come true. Afraid, because life as it is seemed uncertain. As days passed into months, Curfews changed to lockdowns, and lockdowns were extended. We had NEVER experienced a restriction on getting out of home, so the future was definitely uncertain and scary. Memes of skipping to 2021 began to show up on Instagram. Though I had so much time on one hand, I was ineffective in handling this extra time. I was aware that I was putting off a lot of things from my to-do list and could not get myself to actually do ANY work. It was a time when all actions seemed futile and there was no point in doing anything. That is when I began wondering, “why do we procrastinate?“

WHY DO WE PUT THINGS OFF:

The understanding of procrastination was simple – If we expect a task to be unpleasant, its no wonder we put it off. We all are wired and drawn towards doing acts that make us feel good. Procrastination is “rewarding,” because it generally gives us neither the satisfaction of finishing something nor a sense of ease while we put it off.

We are relieved when we are NOT tackling something unpleasant. Thus we feel good when we “delay” taking action on it. This is a form of negative reinforcement. For instance, NOT cleaning up the room when needed. The more we derive satisfaction from the delay, the less is the satisfaction from completing the task at hand. By tackling our tasks more immediately, we stop the negative reinforcement and also strengthen the probability of achieving satisfaction by completing tasks. This makes us more likely to complete tasks. 

Another perspective is to understand the concept of Time Inconsistency which explains why procrastination seems to pull us in despite our good intentions. Time inconsistency refers to the tendency of the human brain to value immediate rewards more highly than future rewards. Imagine that you have two selves-

1st is the Present Self and 2nd is the Future Self. 

When you set goals for yourself, you are actually making plans for your Future Self. As per Research, when you think about your Future Self, it is quite easy for your brain to see the value in taking actions with long-term benefits. The Future Self values long-term rewards and thus can set goals. 

When the time comes to make a decision though, you are in the present moment, and your brain is thinking about the Present Self.  The Present Self really likes instant gratification, not long-term payoff. So, the Present and Future Self are often at odds with one another. The Future Self wants to be trim and fit, but the Present Self wants a donut.

WHAT TO DO?

You cannot rely on long-term consequences and rewards to motivate the Present Self. Instead, you have to find a way to move future rewards and punishments into the present moment. You have to make the future consequences become present consequences.  If we want to stop procrastinating, then we need to make it as easy as possible for the Present Self to get started and trust that motivation and momentum will come after we begin. Some strategies to tackle this are listed below, so I would recommend going into each paragraph with an attitude of “Where can I use this?” and immediately after you have read each para, take time to reflect on items that you are procrastinating. Lets see if this can help.

1. The Five Minute Miracle involves asking yourself; “Hmm, what action can I take in less than five minutes TODAY that moves this forward even the tiniest bit?” Once you’ve identified a small action, set a timer for five minutes and spend five minutes working on the task. Starting a task means you’ll continue to process it and this makes you more likely to resume the work later on. This is due to a psychological phenomenon called the Zeigarnik effect, which says that unfinished tasks are more likely to get stuck in your memory. We remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than our finished projects. It’s like listening to a catchy song, only to have it unexpectedly cut off in the middle and then have it stuck in your head the rest of the day.  
2. Finding Productive Reasons for Engaging in Tasks- Be motivated for PRODUCTIVE REASONS. i.e Learning and Achievement of goals, which can generate positive, productive, satisfying feelings and actions. Working for the wrong reasons will eventually tire you out and bring out negative emotions. For instance: Doing something out of fear of failing, or not making your parents angry, or not looking stupid. After you complete your task, remember to reward yourself. That way you cannot feel guilty as your rewards are well deserved. If the reward comes before action, then you might feel guilty, ashamed for being unable to finish the task, and that makes you more likely to give up sooner.
3. A POWER HOUR – When you notice yourself using your device to procrastinate, disconnect. Disabling digital distractions ahead of time gives you no choice but to work on what’s really important. Put the phone in another room. Shut off the WiFi. Else, turn to an app like Freedom or Self Control, which blocks access to distracting sites.  Another common strategy is to use a service like Stickk to place a bet. If you don’t do what you say you’ll do, then the money goes to a charity you hate. The idea here is to put some skin in the game and create a new consequence that happens if you don’t do the behavior right now. 
4. Awareness – Set reminders or alarms on important dates/events which can alert you. Reflect on the reasons why you procrastinate, your habits, and thoughts that lead to procrastinating. What feelings lead to procrastinating, and how does it make you feel? Are these positive, productive feelings? Do you want to change them? 
5. Self Talk with the RIGHT Words – Recognize that the mind always does what it thinks you want. Telling your mind what you want can work in both ways. If you say:  ” I am bored and exhausted- your mind says, “Let’s watch more Netflix”. If you say, “I am excited and inspired”, your mind says, “I’ll help!” 
   From saying “It would kill me if I do this and this…” transition to “I have chosen to do this and I have chosen to feel great about it and I want this”. Be it regarding a Gym membership or completing a project you don’t fancy. I used to say this to myself, “I love working out, it feels great, and I have chosen to love it. I love using the machine, I love it and I want more of it” because that made me look great!  Your mind has no idea whether, what you are telling it, is right or wrong. The mind cannot tell the difference between fear and excitement.  Try saying: “I love putting myself out there”, “I am excited” instead of “I am so nervous”. “I love talking to my boss about ideas”, “I love talking to potential customers”. These are just common examples to get over your fear. If you can’t stop binging NETFLIX when you have other important things to finish, you can experiment with these words, ” I have chosen to switch this off. I choose to apply myself to work on ( that thing  that matters) and feel great about this.”  The key is – LIE to your mind, CHEAT fear, and procrastination, STEAL back your confidence.
6. Outlook – One sentence or phrase is enough to alter your perspective. Just ask yourself with an intention, “Where can I use this knowledge/ learning in my life?” and then approach the work that you have to do. Focus on what you want to do, not what you want to avoid. 
7. Surroundings – Think about the conditions you love working in , then aim to create those conditions. We all know we cannot study on our bed. Pick a song that really gets you energized, and play it whenever you want to tackle something you’ve been procrastinating. The brain likes to have a trigger to create a new habit, and your favorite song will easily put you in the mood to start your tough task. You’re more likely to follow through when you’re feeling good in your body.
8. Start with a Small Poison – If you feel stuck, start simply by committing to complete a small task, any task, and write it down. Finish it and reward yourself. Write down on your schedule or “to do” list only what you can completely commit to, and if you write it down, follow through no matter what.  This slowly rebuilds trust in yourself that you will really do what you say you will. Maybe you can tell at least one person about your plan to complete a specific task by a certain date and raise your odds of doing it if only to avoid the discomfort of being asked why you haven’t.
9. Temptation Bundling -If you can find a way to make the benefits of long-term choices more immediate, then it becomes easier to avoid procrastination. Temptation bundling is to bundle a behavior that is good for you in the long-run
   with a behavior that feels good in the short-run. Eg: Listen to your favourite audiobooks or podcasts or TV shows, ONLY while exercising or doing home chores. 
10. Other Changes! – The more you can forgive yourself for your past procrastination, the more likely you are to overcome your current procrastination and take action.      Having fewer priorities and avoiding multitasking gets work  done better. So let go!
11. SWISS CHEESE APPROACH – The book was about what Alan Lakein called the “Swiss Cheese Method of Time Management”. The theory was that many people put off complex tasks, hoping to have more time for them at some later date. Lakein claimed you could get started at jobs like that right away, chipping away at what needed to be done with small chunks of time. These small chunks of time were compared to the holes in Swiss cheese. With enough holes, the cheese either disappears altogether, because the job is done, or enough of it disappears to make the job seem manageable enough to work on in a more regular manner.
12. EAT THAT FROG Concept! –  Brian Tracy’s book -“Eat That Frog!” talks of multiple concepts- If You Have To Eat Two Frogs, Eat The Ugliest One First i.e. another way of saying that if you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest, and most important task first. Discipline yourself to begin immediately and then to persist until the task is complete before you go on to something else.  If You Have To Eat A Live Frog At All, It Doesn’t Pay To Sit And Look At It For Very Long- You must develop the routine of “eating your frog” before you do anything else and without taking too much time to think about it. Many people confuse activity with accomplishment. They talk continually, hold endless meetings, and make wonderful plans, but in the final analysis, no one does the job and gets the results required.

Meanwhile,I got to go back to that thing I was procrastinating about. So, see you guys soon! I would love to know how you guys are dealing with getting things done. If you think this article can be of use to someone, please SHARE this ahead!

View my previous post: Embracing the new normal