{"id":1456,"date":"2021-01-21T09:54:47","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T09:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/?p=1456"},"modified":"2022-10-10T16:10:37","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T15:10:37","slug":"it-pro-find-the-right-way-of-working-amidst-on-and-off-lockdowns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/?p=1456","title":{"rendered":"IT Pro? Find the right Way of Working Amidst On-And-Off Lockdowns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Working Amidst On-And-Off Lockdowns. If you live somewhere on planet Earth, chances are you are currently experiencing at least some level of confusion thanks to the constantly changing public guidelines and workplace arrangements. The evolving pandemic has us all struggling to keep up with daily news and company memos, our already-busy minds now having to shift from tracking soaring infection rates to figuring out when exactly this week\u2019s curfew kicks in.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Amidst this apparent chaos, it can be challenging to<br \/>\nfind balance in both your personal and professional lives \u2013 and also in between<br \/>\nthem. Days at a half-empty office merge with fully remote ones at a<br \/>\nway-too-small flat you share with other people.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>Establishing a stable and effective work routine is<br \/>\nnot easy in this context. And, since we know that working in IT is hard enough<br \/>\nfor you to be investing too much time into figuring this whole thing out, we\u2019ve<br \/>\noutlined for you all the key aspects you should cover to find the perfect daily<br \/>\nwork routine. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Working Amidst On-And-Off Lockdowns? The right remote work formula <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Each one of us beats at a different rhythm, and it\u00b4s<br \/>\nnot always an easily identifiable one. Unless you\u2019ve tried all possible work<br \/>\nschedule arrangements since the start of the pandemic, you\u2019ll probably need to<br \/>\ndo some more experimentation to find the right one for you. That is, of course,<br \/>\nif your current job allows for that level of flexibility. <\/p>\n<p>Some companies are operating fully remote until<br \/>\nfurther notice, while others combine on-premises and remote work or let their<br \/>\nemployees make the choice. If you are a freelance consultant or external<br \/>\ncontractor, you are probably used to working remotely, but maybe you do so at a<br \/>\nco-working space or are thinking of trying one after being stuck at home for<br \/>\ntoo long.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Just make sure you find the combination works best for you. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"has-text-color\" href=\"https:\/\/mindquest.io\/en\/blog\/news\/2386\/it-pros-how-to-work-on-remote-in-the-post-pandemic-world\" target=\"_blank\">IT Pros: How to Work On Remote in the Post-Pandemic World<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Claiming your bubble <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve got your weekly schedule figured out, it\u2019s<br \/>\ntime to focus on your home workspace. We all need our little bubble to be able<br \/>\nto concentrate on our to-do list and work more efficiently. Working at home<br \/>\ncomplicates that if you share it with other people.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Maybe you find yourself having to alternate replying<br \/>\nto work emails with watching over the kids. Or perhaps you only have one spare<br \/>\nbedroom in your apartment and there\u2019s two or more of you working from home. At<br \/>\nanother time, you\u2019d go to the corner cafe and find some focus in the soft<br \/>\nbackground chatter of random phone calls and clinking cookware. Now there\u2019s not<br \/>\nmuch escape.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Whatever your situation, it is vital that you claim<br \/>\nyour own space within the house or flat. Whether it is a corner of the living<br \/>\nroom or a make-up desktop you\u2019ve built out of spare pieces of furniture, you<br \/>\nneed to delimitate a space exclusively devoted to working. The couch, of<br \/>\ncourse, should be out of the question.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Proper use of white noise and music apps can also help<br \/>\nyou focus and create that bubble.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><strong>The proper toolset <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Having a good place to work won\u2019t make much of a difference if you don\u2019t have <a class=\"has-text-color\" href=\"https:\/\/mindquest.io\/en\/blog\/news\/1233\/it-pros-the-best-free-software-tools-to-organise-your-activity\" target=\"_blank\">the right tools<\/a>. In the back-and-forth context of on-and-off remote work, such tools are those that allow you to work seamlessly across locations and coordinate with your colleagues and clients. In other words: cloud-based collaboration solutions and organisational tools.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>These apply to both universal organisational tools<br \/>\nlike calendars and project tracking apps, to those targeted to IT professionals<br \/>\nlike yourself. From ERP cloud solutions to ticketing and integrated software<br \/>\ndevelopment cloud tools, these can have a great positive impact on<br \/>\nproductivity, especially when adopted by the whole team or company.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Catching a break <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>How and when you take breaks is one of the <a class=\"has-text-color\" href=\"https:\/\/mindquest.io\/en\/blog\/news\/738\/time-management-tips-in-remote-for-it-professionals\" target=\"_blank\">key factors impacting productivity<\/a>. Some people prefer working for long stretches of time and taking a couple of long breaks a day; others alternate shorter, high-intensity stretches of work with more frequent, shorter breaks \u2013 a strategy made popular by the Pomodoro method. Find the formula that works best for you and never neglect breaks no matter how busy you are. A rested mind is a more productive and focused one.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>And, since catching a real break can be a bit not<br \/>\nquite effective when you spend the whole day between the same four walls, try<br \/>\nbeing more flexible with what a break means to you. Exercise could make for a<br \/>\nvery good break, so could a quick video game match. Some experts have even<br \/>\nstarted recommended going out on a fake commute even if we are working from<br \/>\nhome. Going on a walk before starting your day and right after business closes<br \/>\ncan apparently be very beneficial.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Nurturing you relationships  when you are working Amidst On-And-Off Lockdowns <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>We are social animals, and the intermittent lockdowns<br \/>\nare making it harder for us to nurture our existing connections and developing<br \/>\nnew ones. When it comes to work, and beyond satisfying our need for<br \/>\nsocialising, developing solid relationships with colleagues and clients goes a<br \/>\nlong way to making work easier, better and faster.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Being negated the opportunity to chit-chat by the<br \/>\nwater cooler or go out for an after-work drink, you\u2019ll need to be more<br \/>\nproactive to ensure you are not neglecting the social aspects of your<br \/>\nprofessional activity. Schedule frequent video calls to get that much-needed<br \/>\nface-to-face time with peers and clients. Reach out more than you would<br \/>\nnormally do to cancel out the downsides of isolation. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/share.ebpages.com\/5851207270662144\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1744\" height=\"595\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1124\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.club-freelance.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/cta-JOIN-THE-QUEST-CANDIDATES.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Working Amidst On-And-Off Lockdowns. We\u2019ve outlined for you all the key aspects you should cover to find the perfect daily work routine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[763,752],"tags":[140,58,134,247,381,424],"class_list":["post-1456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-career-permanent-freelance","category-it-consultants","tag-career-tips","tag-it-careers","tag-remote-work","tag-time-management","tag-tips-and-tricks","tag-work-routine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1456"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6448,"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456\/revisions\/6448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-uk.mindquest.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}