Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1243341
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MAY 2020 11 COMMERCIAL – balance! This allows for those employees who had never worked from home for more than a day or two, to set-up a comfy home office; while not needing to spend a pretty penny to do so. Waking Up Early One thing I have learnt throughout last year was that while the baby is still asleep, then that is when time becomes more precious than gold. This is the right time to prioritise the work. Wak- ing up before the sun is up helps me to hit the ground running on tasks which require some peace and quiet. With a couple of hours under my belt and a chunk of tasks completed, I feel less guilty when the baby wakes for feed- ing or even demand some attention. My husband is also working from home, which allows us to carry out home chores in turn, depending on our work schedules and deadlines. One thing I do not miss is that dreadful time wasted commuting to and from the office. That time has now shifted to us spend- ing it being more productive and being able to shift my attention between work and home responsibilities in a seamless manner. Take frequent breaks We can easily fall into the trap of working longer hours without realising, simply because we are indeed working in our homes. However, even as quot- ed by many healthcare organisations, it is important to get off your seat and stretch for a couple of minutes, or sim- ply change the environment for a short snatch of time. I certainly made it a point to do as much. The reality is that kids are con- stantly finding ways to eat away from your time to keep them entertained. Do- ing this has mainly two benefits from my experience. The first is that I don't tire myself for long hours at one go; keeping a fresh mind and the second is that with frequent breaks it is less likely that my kid will get bored and fall into attention tantrums. Another valuable point to mention is the need to elevate the art of planning into a fully-fledged habit. With a full time-job and a very hands-on parent, planning my day is very important. Needless to say, perfectly-planned days are not always possible to execute. But then, the art of improvisation is also another skill that I had to acquire very quickly. Communication is second to none Suddenly, communication has become an even more important skill to mas- ter, and very quickly. Working remotely means that everyone is now relying on technology to communicate; which in itself is a barrier. Not everyone is comfortable to switch on the camera, not all expressions can be read, and body language could be close to impossible to decipher. The silver lin- ing of COVID-19 is perhaps that every- one is in it together; putting everyone in the same boat. Therefore, difficulty in communication is across all conversations and everyone can start to learn how to adapt as we go along. The important thing at this point is not to take the knack of conversation for granted, and to avoid making as- sumptions on how clear things are being cognised. Another important skill to ace here is to learn how to ask questions; never mind how smart they are but to ask re- gardless. The speaker will thank you for some feedback – rest assured. It is also important to keep in touch with colleagues and my manager, not just for work briefings but also socially like when we are at work and "share" a coffee and a few jokes and, why not also a "happy hour" after work! A last point that I wish to convey is the important notion of remaining curious and well-read; especially during these times. It is easy to fall into a dangerous routine, day in day out, missing what day it is; simply because calendar does not matter anymore. Keeping positive and attuned to what inspires us and intrigues us, is a healthy way of moving forward and getting through this current hurdle while en- suring that what matters to us is being counted for.