Working from Home during Covid 19

To fight the current wide spread Covid 19 pandemic, many countries are forced to implement lockdown order or human movement control order (MCO) such as the one used by the Government of Malaysia. It is indeed one of the best ways to use in order to reduce the spread as well as to flatten the infections curve.

In response to the Covid 19 pandemic, companies are now allowing their employees to work from home (WFH) while keeping the businesses going. Students and children are required to continue their studies through e-learning or Internet based. While, there are many who are comfortable with home-based work or study, there are some who are not used to such practices.

Here, we will share some useful tips to those who are currently working from home. We hope that some of the tips are beneficial and able to help you effectively.

1. Set Up a Proper Workplace

Many of us are comfortable at home, that's for sure. However, we may find that there is no proper place in the house for us to work on long hour. So, it is useful to identify a place such as a portion of a dining table with a chair or a small foldable side table with sofa where we can place our laptop. It is important to have a proper sitting position hence the chair or sofa has to be comfortable for long hour sitting. We find this is different from our normal lazy day sitting or lying on sofas because a proper set up workplace will reduce laziness or sleepiness throughout the day.

2. Be Comfortable

While WFH, we will make sure we enjoy these practices such as prepare some snacks or drinks like coffee, we wear whatever most comfortable for us but of course not without any cloths. This is to prepare ourselves just in case some of our clients or business associates contact us through video calls. One thing about WFH is that we have freedom to do all other things while we still keep to our responsibility of our work. For us, we have some of our stress releasing toys like rubber squeezing balls, pen and paper for free drawing just in case, bluetooth speaker to play some meditation songs, etc. Just stay comfortable but not neglecting your tasks.

3. Have a Tasks List

This is one very important practice for WFH. We always set our tasks list to be completed for each day. With the list of tasks, we will not be distracted by other things we have in the house while working to complete them. This will also help those who do not know where or what to do during the WFH. Trust us, you will find a small satisfaction after completing each task. It is recommended to take a short break after each task. For us, we walk around, make some drinks, get some fresh air and sometimes, we play a round of mobile game.

4. Stay Healthy

Working from home can be time consuming. Once you get used to WFH, you'll find that time pass by without knowing it. This will affect our health in a way if we are sitting for too long without movement or we forget to drink water to keep ourselves hydrated. Always have a glass of water at our work station. For us, we will move away from our station and take a walk around our house while have some drinks like coffee or tea. It is also important to reduce or avoid sugary drinks such as carbonated bottled drinks. Treat yourself with a little exercise such as stretching, push up or some squats. They really help. Remember, this is for your own good, body and mind. 

5. Stay Connected

For those who are used to working in office environment, we know that interactions with others are a norm. However, with WFH in place, we may be lack of interactions with other persons. Fret not, we can still have our communications through online using all sorts of mobile apps or software available. Video calls, messages, or even in-games communications are available for us. We can utilize all these to communicate with other while in the comfort of staying at home. For us, we tried Zoom with our friends in the evening to catch up and talk 'nonsense'. It is a good way to release stress.

6. Differentiate Work and Home

One thing of WFH is that we may mix up things in the house together with the work we have. Sometimes, we may be distracted by our family members while working. We may be asked to do house chores, or care for our baby, or maybe to fix some of the broken things in the house. We know this is a little bit distracting. However, like we mentioned above, set up a tasks list. From the tasks list, we know which are important and which are not. While working on important tasks, we can put aside the house work until the tasks are completed. While working on less important tasks, we can slip in some of the house works while we take breaks.

7. Get Some Good Rest

We know that WFH will take up long hours especially when you are into it. It is quite satisfying as well as addictive when successfully completing tasks while in your pyjamas. Please remember to get proper rests. Have a good 7 - 8 hours sleep is a must, have a nap in between day, and relax whenever you can. Of course, not the whole 24 hours neglecting works. This rest is not only for us but also good for our gadgets such as laptop, mobile phones, etc.

8. Be Careful with Online Threats

Scams, Internet viruses, and other threats are increasing during this tough times. The bad guys are taking advantages to con, steal and launch cyber attacks on many who WFH. We hope that everyone will stay vigilant and more alert of what needs to be done and what not. There are SMS sent by these bad guys requesting for bank's account details and online login password. There are those who try to sell drugs, medicine, liquid, etc. claiming to be able to cure the Covid-19. There are those who send out emails asking to claim certain amount of money but need to provide bank details. There are many other ways used to scam, con, steal and suck resources from others. So, please be alert and avoid being trap in these threats. Always check with the right parties such as Government agencies, PDRM, banks or other relevant authorities for clarification whenever we come across any suspicious requests.

9. Stop Sharing Fake News

WFH increases our online communications especially using WhatsApp or WeChat. Many of us receive lots of messages daily especially during the lockdown or MCO, which for us, they may be just for entertainment purposes. However, we encourage everyone to understand what are genuine and what are fake. For our case, we only follow the genuine news or messages issued by our Government or authorized authorities such as Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia or PDRM. We are strongly against the fake news spread by the irresponsible parties. So, please do the same, only share the genuine news from the right authorities and stop spreading the fake ones.


We hope that this will help you enjoy working from home. We really pray that this war with the invisible enemy will end soon as it is affecting a lot of us in many ways. Let us together, fight this Covid-19 pandemic by staying at home for as long as possible, to reduce the spread. Stay Strong and Stay Healthy to everyone!