The current pandemic and shelter-in-place situation has resulted in many of us to work from home. Most of us are accustomed to working from home at least a few days of a week. But here’s where this crisis has changed the scenario – it’s not just us alone in the home office working 9 to 5, now we are working with families at home, with school-aged kids (who have nowhere to go but hang around the house) or with toddlers or infants, in many households even older parents, all home – at the same time! And layer this with the stress, anxiety and sadness of the pandemic. Parents are multi tasking on work assignments and there are more demands on their time as they juggle between managing kids schedule, cooking, cleaning, or just keeping themselves motivated. The distractions are many, frustrations are rising, and you cannot expect the work from home to be the ‘usual’ or the ‘normal’ work from home. It’s not.

Even before the shelter-in-place, a poll of 1,076 U.S. professionals by Neuvana found that working from home is more stressful than working in the office. Although 60% of respondents worked remotely at least once a month, 51% reported that working from home elevates their stress levels and a third admitted putting in more work hours at home than in the office.

We do hope that employers are acknowledging the productivity issues many employees are experiencing at this time.

Now what can employees do when these distractions overshadow work productivity?

There are a lot of insightful articles around that we can learn from. Here is a compilation that will help you in finding some order and organization in this ‘not-normal’ work from home scenario.

But before you get to the list on how to manage time and be more productive while working from home, the first step is to take care of yourself, your mental health so you feel energized. Here’s one article that I’d recommend we begin with:

  • How to feel less overwhelmed in the midst of a global pandemic  – Fastcompany.com

And then let’s move on to these insightful tips on how to work better from home:

  • 4 ways to be productive and avoid distractions when working from home – CNBC.com
  • How to stay sane and productive when working from home – CNET.com
  • Four ideas for keeping productivity high (and stress low) while working remotely. Entrepreneur.com
  • 6 Tips For Working From Home During The Coronavirus Pandemic –Forbes.com
  • Tips From Experts—Our Co-Workers in Asia—About Working From Home  – Bloomberg.com
  • Ten work–life balance tips for researchers based at home during the pandemic – Nature.com
  • They were already working remotely before Corona, and have some advice for us! – Landing.jobs
  • A definitive guide on how to develop self-discipline while working remotely – Twine.fm