A CEO’s guide to staying productive while working from home 

The unmotivated employee. The micromanaging boss. The overworked overachiever. Which one are you and how do you best navigate the work challenges that come with working from home due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? 

With the COVID-19 taking its toll on the world at large, the Namibian government is taking major precautions to stop its spread and more and more organisations across the country are sending their staff to work from home to stop the spread of the virus.

TribeFire Studios, a Namibian media company has implemented a remote work-from-home policy for non-essential staff as one of its measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 by encouraging staff members to practice social distancing. 

TribeFire Studios CEO Stefan Hugo shares tips for staff to remain productive while working from home during this period:

1. Plan your day ahead and stick to completing all daily tasks you set out to complete 
2. Make use of online task management tools like Trello and Copper to keep yourself and your teammates in the loop with your tasks and progress of your work.
3. Have regular check-in meetings with managers
4. Collaborate, connect and stay in touch by using communication software tools like Google Hangouts.

Around the world, companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Spotify, and Twitter have all rolled out mandatory remote work-from-home policies in the wake of the spread of COVID-19.

However, working at home for an unspecified period has its challenges and one needs to ensure that this period does not affect your productivity, mental or physical wellbeing. 

In an interview extract from BBC.com, the following tips are outlined for ensuring your mental and physical wellbeing 

• Imagine you’re actually at the office

Just because you can lounge around in pajamas, you don’t necessarily have to. Wake up at your usual time, take a shower and get dressed as you usually would. Set up a workstation, sit upright and stay focussed while taking necessary breaks. 

• Avoid feeling isolated

Prolonged isolation can negatively impact morale and productivity so trying to keep team-building exercises going during this time is helpful. Have online staff parties, celebrate birthdays and keep the casual “kitchen chit-chat” going to balance the serious and casual interaction. 

• Keep up your spirits and those of teammates 

Have as much face to face interaction as possible. Video calls online with no agenda are helpful in keeping morale up. Have a coffee meeting with a staff member who lives alone and might suffer more from isolation.