Dubai has directed all private sector establishments to start a work from home scheme for 80 percent of its employees. If you’re new to working from home, these tips will help you stay productive and maintain balance.

The COVID-19 is keeping people at home and most of the world is on lockdown, Dubai Economy announced as a part of precautionary measures to protect the public from the spread of coronavirus that all private sector companies and commercial establishments, excluding pharmacies, co-operative societies and supermarkets must implement a remote work system for 80 percent of their employees.

If you’re new to the work from home lifestyle, you’ll need to change some of your habits and routines to make work from home a success and to manage different challenges you may face such as How do you keep from getting distracted with domestic duties? How do you handle your boss? How do your work while kids around? where to work? and how to maintain life and work balance?

Here are 10 tips for more productive work from home life, based on my experience and what I’ve learned from others.

1- Adhere to Regular Hours

Ensure that working hours are predefined between you and your employer during the work from home period, that is applied if your company based in Dubai or any other Emirates. Having clear guidelines for your working hours helps in maintaining work-life balance. That said, that situation may require extending working hours and your support will be appreciated by your management hence make sure if you will work for extra hours to manage your day to avoid any negative effect on your mental or physical health.

2- Maintain a Morning Routine

Being a work from home starter means a change in your routine. No more dressing up and going to the office at the exact time, meeting your co-workers, boss, clients, etc. that change may become a challenge when you start working from home. Hence define what do you do in the morning that triggers an indication that you are about to start work? It might be making a cup of coffee. It might be returning home after the gym. It might be getting dressed. Make sure that you keep that routine daily. Cheer out work from home will save you the wasted time in Dubai traffic and reduces the resulted stress our of that

3- Maintain rules with the People in your home

To work from home while your family will be a challenge especially if you have kids who are as well sitting at home now and practicing distance learning which is a challenge by itself. Also, many Dubai residents live in sharing or company accommodations which is a challenge as well. Don’t panic or burst anger feelings on them. Remember no one is used to the current COVID 19 situation instead open a dialogue with them, set ground rules of what that can and cannot do during your working hours.

4- Schedule Breaks

At workplace even if there is no defined break time especially that lunch break concept, not the common in Dubai and some sectors as banking, but we are used to taking breaks for lunch, pray, coffee, etc. however things may be different while you work from home especially if there is no defined lunch break in your organization and the rust issue being away from your boss. Hence take a small break between 10 to 15 minutes breaks during the working hours, inform your boss in advance and get an understanding that you will need a lunch break.

5- Get used to online

Despite all the negative a scary side of coronavirus outbreak, there is new learning for use when it comes to work from home. Online communication is the foundation of successful work from the home mechanism. I trust that many as me were not familiar with Zoom, Microsoft teams, Slak and many more video calling applications. Hence get yourself familiar with those tools. It is a shaft from one-to-one meetings to online meetings which needs a new learning style that focuses on visual and auditory skills. Currently, most of the video calling services are allowed in Dubai by the telecom operators

6- Maintain a daily KPIs

Define your daily deliverable, KPIs and targets. It is essential to ensure a productive and efficient daily outcome, building the trust between yourself and your boss is important in that shaft of how we do things. Hence maintaining daily KPIs and communicating outcomes with your boss shall empower the trust and efficiency of work from home concepts.

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7- Check-in with co-workers and the boss several times a day

Culture is not ready for this sudden change especially after the Dubai announcement of 80% of companies’ manpower to work from home. It is normal to perceive work from home as if the staff is on leave or watching TV, hence, to avoid this maintain a check-in mechanism via calls or emails with your co-workers and the boss a few times a day.

8- Maintain a Dedicated work Space

Let’s admitted, is working at the office for many years and suddenly you have been asked to work at home is not the easy thing and not expected to adapt quickly. Attending your work requirement while sitting on a sofa or between kids won’t be the best ideal work environment for you, hence choose a place in your home suits the mental environment for work from home. If you can afford to buy a chair, desk, external monitor that will be the perfect scenario. If not, still it is ok. Just avoid a too comfortable place that maybe makes you feel sleepy or lazy.

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9- Avoid distractions

Avoid personal calls, social media, watching TV, side talks with family. Work from home does not me a vacation or holiday. Hence set the accountability standards for your self to get the work done.

Our mind is busy thinking of the global coronavirus pandemic and that makes you want to follow the world news and Dubai, in particular, all day along however that will negatively affect your mental health and increase your stress and anxiety level. You should control yourself and limit your news update to limited times during the day and preferably after your working hours. You can check the World Health Organization and UAE COVID 19 updates

10- Leave Home

Due to coronavirus precautionary measures applied in Dubai, the public movement has restrictions. When it is allowed and safe get out of the house and maintain social distance Your body needs to move. Plus, the fresh air and natural light will do you good. Avoid crowded places, take a walk in your neighborhood in Dubai, buy a coffee from a drive-through, even if it is not possible just step out to your balcony.

Download the SMART goal questionaire (PDF)