How to stay productive and positive while #workingfromhome

With the recent outbreak of COVID-19, employers around the globe are putting the fortune of their  companies in employees’s hands and hearts to carry their chores and commitment remotely but also empower everyone to keep #socialdistance. Travod is not an exception. 

Travod is truly lucky and blessed to operate on its proprietary cloud-based platform Traduno, and rely on the support of amazing employees and international experts to ensure business continuity 24/7.

For most of our Travodians, working from home is something completely new, which translates into figuring out how to stay on task, in a completely new environment that may not lend itself to productivity.  After 2 weeks of WFH, we asked our colleagues to share their feelings and recommendations on how to continue delivering results and staying positive during the quarantine period.

1. Allow no disruptions

I am trying to stick to my work routine in the office (coffee at a certain time, organizing tasks in a certain order). Motivate myself in the morning with some articles on how other companies/people are struggling, so I could develop a sense of belonging to the world work community. (Maria, Sales)

Everything is under control, I keep calm, I think positively and I only see the good part of this isolated period (Nina, Sales)

Every day in the morning, before starting my work I'm asking myself during these hardcore times, "How can I contribute much more than before? What value can I bring in this kind of situation as a designer?" (Dorin, Designer)

I let the dog sit on my lap and the disruption is isolated (Rita, Sales)

Loud music in my headphones and lots of food & cartoons for my kid :) (Sorina, PCDev)

My cat is an awesome assistant! She is there when I need to concentrate. (Kathy, Sales)

One of the benefits of working in night shifts, still applicable during quarantine, is that there are no disruptions since everyone is asleep. (Cristina, PM)

Reminding everyone in the house that starting from 5 PM I am at work. (Alina, PM)

2. Organize your workplace

I improvised my working space in the kitchen, with all the necessary electronic items, so that I keep efficiency levels. (Olga, Sales)

I work in the kitchen, flowers on my window remind me of the beauty of this crazy world. (Sorina, PCDev)

I cleaned enough space on my desk to have the same feeling of comfort as I do in the office. (Alina, PM)

I set my laptop and my notebook on my kitchen table. This spot is strictly a workplace for me. I do not work from my couch or my bed - setting boundaries is extremely important. (Anny, Sales)

My workplace consists of: kitchen table, chair, internet, a cat (Alina, Finance)

I already have a powerful PC at home, plus two monitors, a high quality microphone so I'm ready for anything that work throws at me. (Viorel, Sales)

Well, I am surrounded by flowers and my laptop and all the stuff is on the desk. Pretty much like at the office. (Carolina, Vendor)

3. Stay focused and productive

Get dressed for work, drink coffee and read.  (Kathy, Sales)

When there is work to do, you just do it. When there is no work to do, you make some, so it keeps you moving forward, not to stop. (Maria, Sales)

I simply stay focused, as we need to keep it going because the economy will be stricken by the quarantine if it lasts too long, so I am trying to do my best, even during officially non-working hours. (Olga, Sales)

Drink water, focus on what actually makes sense in the moment, don't think about other things. (Andrei, IT)

I drink 2 coffees, I put earphones on when my neighbours feel to party. (Emilia, Sales)

Well if you love your job you need nothing extra to keep focused. I would even say that at home I am more focused (at least this week, not sure about the upcoming ones). However, I make sure to have enough water, coffee, tea and healthy food.  (Oxana, Finance)

Breath meditation 5 minutes per day. And standing a minimum of 1 minute each hour. While I'm standing, I'm moving around the house a bit. Get some water. Stretch. It may sound like a small thing, but regular movement can help keep your energy up and lead to greater productivity. (Dorin, Designer)

Wake up at normal hours as usual; plan the entire day; try to achieve something everyday(from small tasks to larger ones); if tired or unable to concentrate - talk with my parrot for 10 minutes and interact with him to relax; drink coffee...lots of coffee :) (Mike, Sales)

1. The most important thing is to work at a desk, not in the coziness of our beloved beds. 

2. No coffee - no workee

3. Always have a bottle of water on the table. The quarantine hasn't cancelled our body's need to stay hydrated. Now more than ever. (Alina, PM)

I stay on my schedule - log in at 4, log out at 1 am (or later on several occasions, whenever I had more work to complete a certain day). I always try to respond as soon as possible so that clients feel they get the same service now as they would if I worked from the office. I do not get distracted with other activities during the working hours. I generally take my break at 8 or a bit later. I cook the food around that time and set aside 15 - 20 minutes to eat, and I do not look at the work emails during my dinner. After that I can go straight to work knowing I set aside a bit of time to relax (Anny, Sales)

It's important to start and then this workflow just goes. Also, music on the background helps and stretching. (Carolina, Vendor)

What are Travodians missing from the office?

From where do we get our motivation to keep going?

The LinkedIn community is very helpful these days. We are all in the same kettle, and it motivates you at least with acknowledging that you are not alone in all this. (Maria, Sales)

My family, flowers, nature, delicious tea and coffee, interesting movies, favorites books, pilates. (Nina, Sales)

What motivates me the most is: 1. we are very lucky that we still have jobs, 2. we are very lucky that we have all we need in order to work from home. Being grateful for this also activates my "motivation". (Olga, Sales)

Chatting with friends helps. (Nadia, PM)

There will be a bunch of new collections coming soon and I need money to buy them all so I need all the focus in the world :). (Emilia, Sales)

I work for my cat. I need to buy her food and myself (Alina, Finance)

I love my job and my team. As for now it is enough. You need to choose carefully the job and the partner for life because you risk to be stuck with both of them for quarantine. (Oxana, Finance)

I have to feed my kid and buy a new dress for the upcoming summer :) (Sorina, PCDev)

Everyday people are getting laid off as a result of these uncertain times and I want Travod to keep going stronger than usual so we can get through the pandemic without the need for anyone to lose their job. (Cristina, PM)

Life does not finish on the fact of staying at home. We have to adapt and overcome the difficulties. If we keep working and don't spread the virus, we will get to normal working days soon. (Mike, Sales)

Memes (Alina, PM)

My clients keep me busy. I have quite a few tasks so I can not allow myself to procrastinate. In these uncertain times, keeping discipline and control over whatever I can is the only thing that allows you to have structure. (Anny, Sales)

There are a lot of people who can't work because of the situation in this world right now and knowing that would be very selfish not to do your best. (Arina, Sales)

Let’s see what new discoveries the next period of WFH will bring us. Until then, we wish each of you to stay safe, enjoy the benefits of well-planned telework and practice social distancing. We are all in this together and remaining positive and united will help us overcome this period with peace, gratitude and a lot of giving.