With a psychology and education degree and a master in NLP Life Coaching, Adam Zargar, director of UAE Coaching, has been helping leaders around the world become more confident and resilient since 2008.
The UAE-based life coach offers five tops tips on ways to keep happy and stay motivated while working from home in the UAE.
1. Create a balanced schedule
Balance is the key to managing your energy levels. It’s the fuel that keeps you going towards your goals. Left to your own devices, some people working from home may end up putting in more hours than normal, whilst others can get distracted and do much less. If you schedule your day, you are putting in a clear structure and as well as boundaries for yourself that will help hold you accountable.
Have time slots for work and then separate slots for each for mind, body, soul and heart. For work, typically set a series of “60 minutes on” and “10 minutes off” slots of focused work. For your mind, set time to read or do online courses. For your body, set 30- to 60-minute time slots for daily exercise and try your best to do them at the same time each day. For your soul, set a period of time to meditate, relax in the bath and listen to music. And lastly, for your heart schedule time to help others – for example call a friend or a family member and check in on them, or offer to help someone online for free with your knowledge or skillset.
Before you go to bed decide what one measurable thing will populate each of these areas and then wake up and achieve them, ticking them off in the process.
2. Clear your workspace
Having a clear designated workspace at home can make a huge difference to your mental health – and your sofa, bed or noisy part of your home is not that place. Find a quiet place with a nice view where you can work from a table each day. When you choose one space for work it sets an expectation to your brain that right now is the time for that laser focus work mode. Make sure the space you choose is clutter-free and has everything you need to get the work done.
3. Keep a healthy diet
The food you eat will play a big role in keeping you happy. Now you’re working from home you have less opportunities to stop and have fast food or snack at strange hours. Plan your meals for the same time slots each day and have the food pre-prepared so it just needs to be heated or plated. If you are ordering in, try and make sure that at least during the working week you’re ordering from places that deliver healthy food. Collate a list of places that deliver healthy dishes or a set of healthy recipes for the week. Preparation is the keep to success.
4. Set colleague breaks
Working from home can be lonely. Part of the enjoyment of going to an office is getting to chat or a have coffee break with your colleagues, so make that a part of your home working week, too. Set daily slots where you and a colleague stop work and login to Zoom for virtual coffee break and a catch up. Make sure this call is done away from your working area and ideally somewhere with fresh air, for example on your balcony or in your garden.
5. Manage your phone
Your phone can play a huge part in how focused and happy you feel. Left unmanaged, your phone can be a hindrance to success with just a simple beep or flash with a message or the incessant ringing taking your focus from your work to the phone. Try and have space in your day where you turn it off and put it in another room. Explain to your remote team that you will be checking it between certain times every day and stick to your own clear expectations. Remove it from your bedroom when you sleep, simply replacing it with an alarm clock and set a rule that you won’t look at it in the morning until after you have done the most important task of that morning.
www.uaecoaching.com (055 138 7652).
