Sunny is a Junior PHP developer at Business Drives. He’s adjusting to both working from home, and the challenges of social distancing while living alone. Check out his advice on creating a work atmosphere, adapting to being away from coworkers, and making the most of newfound free time:
“I am glad I can work from home in my profession but a trip to Montreal sounds like spring break now. (I never went to a spring break -_- ) Working from home has its usual challenges but the Covid pandemic took the challenges to new heights. I am glad I can get extra hours of sleep now but not being able to go outside has been tough for all of us. Social life is non-existent now and it's harder for me since I live by myself.
The first challenge I noticed is that it's very hard to concentrate on work when all my set ups are designed for relaxation and entertainment. I had to make major changes to how I use my desk. I find that having a clean desk helps a lot as I always have an insane amount of distractions (toys, action figures, books, food, drinks, chips, biscuits etc. ) laying around on my desk. I leave my gaming laptop somewhere out of sight every morning and take it out when I am done with work for the day. So that’s how I am creating a work atmosphere now.
The second challenge I faced is not being able to utilize the expert opinions and ideas from the seniors to its fullest like I used to get in the office. Screen sharing helps a lot but it's always better if the person is next to you. I thought it would be harder to keep track of work but daily update meetings are a great way for scheduling your work and also it helps to keep a proper communication within the whole office.
The third challenge is, I find, somewhat unique to me. My neighbour decided to work on his patio now that he has off time. So I just put instrumental music just loud enough to not hear the power tools and it also helps me concentrate.
I take consecutive 5 min breaks every hour and it works out since I don’t need to go out for lunch anymore. Saving money and time like a boss ! I did the calculation and if things go like this for the next two months, I’d save enough money for a trip backpacking through the western Europe, just outside Barcelona, hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo, to the secluded lake… (FRIENDS fans know what I am talking about :P)
So, how do I fill the remaining personal time? For the past few days I have been calling everyone I know and fell out of touch (thank you Facebook for reminding me most of my friends are married and have kids ). I am learning how to cook different countries' traditional foods (today is Danish Frikadeller day. yeyyy ! ). I started practising flute again but stopped since it reminded me how bad I was at flute (also the upstairs neighbour complained). Also, I am developing a list of things to do at home. The list is giving me a 404 error now, so any suggestion is appreciated.”
