Refactor Your Work Life — From Home 😉

TL;DR: It's time to spring clean your work-life, and make space for joy. Get rid of extraneous work, add a bit of mindfulness, and the WFH world is yours. You can do this regardless of who you are, but if you are the CEO or in a managerial position, the imperative is much higher.

This epidemic has forced us to come to terms with a slightly different way of living and working. I say slightly different because it's not completely alien: we just have to spend a lot more time at home, we eat more at home, and we work more at home. We have to spend more time around our loved ones, as well as face all our anxieties. This is not easy.

I want to suggest that you start refactoring.

Refactoring is something we know pretty well in the technology circles:

Code Refactoring is the process of clarifying and simplifying the design of existing code, without changing its behavior.

Translated to real life, it is the equivalent of getting rid of those 10 t-shirts you've been keeping but never wear.

In other words, take what's going on in your life, and simplify it without compromising on the end result.

So how would you do it? Here are some examples:

1. Call out the BS

If there's anything in your work that doesn't make sense, now you can simply ask a question or pose a counter-argument on that slack/teams/email thread. While face to face real time communication is the best, online communication is a great equalizer of playing fields. No more charismatic and extroverted colleagues dominating conversations. Take advantage of it!

2. Build relationships

Get to know your team properly. Do more virtual coffee hours and hangouts. Ask them what books they are reading, what TV series they're watching, and how they're feeling. Tell them how you're feeling. The bonds you build now will be as strong, if not stronger, then the ones over multitudes of drinks at company events. Be open and invite open-ness, because you can.

3. Trust more

Think of that team or colleague who wasn't being productive before, and has gotten worse since starting to work from home. Maybe the work they got doesn't fit them at all. Talk to them, and maybe just let them choose their work or experiment. They're just gonna do a terrible job otherwise and you won't be happy, so why not try a bit of "trust and joy" over "management stress"?

4. Rethink policies

Think about all the work policies you had that don't make sense now. Will they make sense when things go back to normal? Talk to your team about it now, so that you can clean them out if they've served their purpose. Just think about that "work from home, one day a week" policy you used to have: probably won't be needed ever again.

5. Rest more

Make those walks to the kitchen count: walk slowly, make your tea or coffee with love, close your eyes, and breathe fully. These little bits of rest will add up and help you stay present through the rest of the day.

5++ Take it easy a.k.a. Embrace Them Pyjamas

Do NOT try to replicate your work life at home. You won't have the same meetings, the same clothes, the same desk, or the same level of light at home. So take it easy, focus on what you need to get done, everything else will be forgiven or forgotten easily.

There you go. Take it easy and starting refactoring. Not only will this help you get through these times better, but set you up for a better work culture once normal service resumes. 

Got your own tips and tricks? Share in the comments: you might just help someone add more joy to their (work) lives!

🙏