Your WFH Survival Guide
Written by : Livia Kriwangko
These truly are unprecedented times. With the world going through a pandemic, we’ve been subjected to work from home. Many face challenges while working from home. People are overworked because there are no clear office hours, people are distracted because their home life is seeping into their work life, and people are exhausted because they can’t seem to catch a break.
The most difficult challenge of all is creating a separation between work and home. Do you relate to these problems? Well, look no further, because your ultimate WFH survival guide is here!
Create a Designated Workspace 
First things first, you have got to create a space in your house that is exclusively for work. You can find an empty room where you can minimise distractions, or set up a desk in the living room, or even create physical barriers with plants and folders to separate off a space for you to work. The point of this is to set up a little office at home where you can solely focus on work.
Without going too deep into the human cognition, your brain associates your environments with the activities you do in those environments. If you binge watch Netflix shows at your desk, your brain will think that it’s a space for relaxing. That’s why it’s more difficult for you to focus on work when you’re sitting at the same desk.
So, in order to combat this issue, you create a space just for work. Remember that the workspace is for working and not doing anything else, because doing other things will defeat the purpose of having a designated workspace.
Have a Productive Morning Routine 
Even when you’re working from home, your business days shouldn’t be any different from working at the office. Set your working hours and stick to it. This will keep you from losing motivation to work.
Another way to start the day right is by doing simple stretches and having a good breakfast. If you’re not a morning person, in particular, or you just find it difficult to get up in the morning due to constantly being at home, some light stretches in the morning is the best way to shed that sluggish feeling. It doesn’t have to take long at all. You can start by sitting up and stretching your arms to the ceiling.
You can follow that up with an insta-worthy smoothie bowl topped with multi-coloured granola or even just some oats and Greek yoghurt. Light bites with lots of fibre are the way to go. You don’t want to load up on carbs in the morning and feel sleepy by noon.
Do Your Hair and Makeup
If you’re used to going to work with a full face and styled hair, then you can do that at home too. And if you normally go to work with no-makeup makeup and a simple ponytail, then do the same thing when you’re working from home. The more you can make your WFH day similar to your WFO day, the easier it will be to transition into working from home.
When we do our hair and makeup, we do it for us, not for others. So don’t let anyone shame you for looking good on WFH days!
Plan Your Outfits
Piggybacking on the previous point, it’s best if you can get out of your BAREKURVE pieces or pyjamas and put on your favourite KURVE pieces instead. The same thing with workspaces, when you are wearing home clothes, your brain associates it with home activities, hence the low motivation. So, when you wear your work outfits, your brain associates it with your activities at work.
If you normally plan your outfits the night before, stick to that habit. Keep planning, and when the morning comes, you wear the outfits that you have planned. Clothed in your much-loved KURVE pieces, you are ready to take on the day!
Enthusiasm is the Cherry on Top
The best way to get yourself off the bed is when you know there’s something better somewhere else. Like when you go to sleep at night knowing that you’re jetting off to a resort Bali for the weekend, you’re bound to leap off the bed when you wake up. You can apply the same principles to your WFH days.
Have something to look forward to that day. It doesn’t have to be something big. It could be simple things like lunch from your favourite sushi place, or a movie night with your besties, or payday. We all love payday, am I right? The point is, when there’s something to be excited about, the easier it is to embrace the day.
We’re all going through a global pandemic and it’s not going away any time soon. We can’t make the virus disappear, but what we can do is make our days a little easier and more enjoyable as we try to navigate this tricky time. Let’s do our best not only to survive, but also to thrive!
So, get some plants and lay out some outfits and let’s slay these WFH days!