IEA’s 10-Point Emergency Plan: WFH First

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As oil prices increase, the IEA has outlined 10 emergency measures that might help curb the supply disruption in the global oil market. At the forefront is working from home, wherever possible.

The aim is the decreased fuel consumption by cars and the lower demand for gas for commuting. This is an immediate relief measure- both for the workers’ financial woes and each country’s dwindling supply of gas and oil.

This is a major crisis that does not have a clear strategy of exit or when it will stop. Needless to say, we just have to wait and see how this unfolds. Thus, an immediate action that can be taken by each household and each citizen is crucial. Though not yet mandated in most regions, it is up to each one of us to contribute in easing things a bit.

​Now that we have established that remote work is one of the priorities for these recommendations, let’s see how you can create your own remote work emergency plan.

Planning is the key to making these changes work. More than just purchasing a suitable standing desk and ergonomic chair, you have to devise a system that can make remote work, well, work for you.

If you have adapted a system during the pandemic and it worked for you, by all means, you can adapt the same technique with just some tweaking to ensure more efficient energy use.  We recommend these.​

WFH can be an easy trap to procrastinate, since you are in the comforts of your home. It’s easy to say you just need to take more breaks and do  some tasks the next day. Especially if you are on a flexible schedule, it’s easy to just lax away. Thus, you might just end each day waiting for calls and not really accomplishing anything.

Here’s how to break that pattern.

Assign two to three tasks that you must finish each day. By hook or by crook, don’t let your resolve waver. If your entire day did not go as planned, at least you were able to finish these two to three tasks.

Be strict about it, or you might find yourself lazing the day away.

And when you are working from home, that can easily happen. The bed is just right at the corner, the TV is just in front of you, and there are so many temptations.​

One of the peaks of working from home is that you can squeeze in a bit of home cheese while you are maybe waiting for a call or finishing up on something. And if you are a mother and have kids to tend to, you can use the sack hours  to do  a bit of laundry or cook. While this can help maximize the time, again, it is easy to fall into a trap, and you might find your focus slowly shifting away.

If you cannot avoid squeezing in some home chores, it’s high time to designate a power hour. This is when you will  sit in front of your desk for an hour or two of uninterrupted work. No doing laundry, no snacking, no checking the TV, just pure work.

This will help you get things done and prevent  your focus from swerving elsewhere.

One of the things that can make you give up on remote work is the fear of being trapped in just the four corners of your home office. So, once you feel the energy is shifting somewhere heavier and working seems like a burden all of a sudden, try moving your work desk to another room or location.

Perhaps you might just need a different perspective, and you don’t always have to go out to be able to achieve that.

Sometimes, simply changing the area where you work can do wonders for your brain.  The abrupt change can clear mental fog and give you a new perspective.

If you are still able to stick to your workout, then good for you.  Otherwise, you need physical stimulation and activity to prevent mental stagnation.

If you are struggling with this, there is a simple solution. Why not try chair stretching or a simple seated yoga exercise?

During your free time, use the 10-15 minutes to stretch. This will help clear  your mind, and the rush of fresh blood circulating through your body can boost your mood and productivity.​

Since we are already in the midst  of an oil crisis, blackouts are a reality. And if you are working at home, you need electricity and plans in case of technical disruption right? So, better have a backup tech plan in case it happens.

What if the Wifi dies? Or say your desktop crashes and refuses to run, these are the things that you have to keep in mind. Make the necessary preparation so that you will still be able to make it through amidst any new crisis that will arise.

It’s very cheerful to work from home until you realize that you are not able to shift from work mode to home mode. Even if your shift has  ended, you still have that tendency to attend to calls, check your email, and do stuff on your laptop even in the wee hours of the night. This can blur the lines between work and home, making it unbalanced. When this happens, it  will feel like you are working the entire day.

That’s why it’s crucial to draw a clear line between  work and home life, do not mix it up.

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Once your shift ends, remind yourself that any activity related to work must be done the next work day, not after dinner or before going to sleep. Ignore the urge to check your emails while you are already in your pajamas; this and you are on your way to getting burned out.​

The goal of IEA’s emergency plan is not to make a perfect backup plan. There are 10 points, so should one fail,  you still have ample areas where you can make the necessary corrections.

The same goes for your 6-point work-from-home plan. Every day does not need to be perfect. Instead, each is designed to safeguard the entire day  in case your day did not turn out as expected. Whatever happens, you still have a task that you were able to accomplish. These plans are designed to help you keep your focus.

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View work from home as managing  your private headquarters, where your focus is on your finite resources.

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