In this scary Coronavirus time, we can benefit from working more in isolation

For the past two weeks, everyone in my company has been working remotely.

We had several cases of the Coronavirus in the office, and as a precaution, everyone has been working from home.

And it has been working remarkably well. We have been collaborating using Slack, Zoom, Google, Phone and email. And business is continuing with minimal disruption.

Yet I know for some of you, this will be the first time you are working remotely, and it can feel weird.

But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

In fact, this could really help you think more creatively, and maybe even come up with an innovative solution to a problem you’ve been stuck on previously.

Working in the office can be really bad, not only for your productivity but especially for your creativity as well. Especially if you are more introverted.

And research shows that when you’re distracted, it is almost impossible get into a flow state where ideas come forth naturally.

Since you are no longer in the office, it might be an opportunity to take a step back and ask yourself which problems you have been too busy or distracted to find solutions to. Now, with a bit of distance, might be the perfect time to think of an innovative solution.

So we can use the fact that we are away from the office to allow our minds to be in a more relaxed state, which is also when you’re most likely to be creative. It is why you have your most creative ideas in the shower. Mind-wandering can be achieved more easily when you’re not staring at your screens the whole day. My recommendation is to take the time you would otherwise have used for a commute and try to use it to get inside your own head with 15 minutes of No Focus Time each day, which can do wonders for your creativity.

You can even get all of your work done as previously in less time than before. Many companies are seeing the benefits of remote work, and some can even get all of their work done in a four day work week.

I have put together a little image carousel in Linkedin and embedded it here.

This is the first time I’m trying out this type of media, so let me know what you think of it with a comment, and you can share it directly from here if you find it useful.

Either way, whereever you are and whatever is happening right now, I hope you are safe. Keep a distance from people, it is what we need to do.

And keep being creative.

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Nick Skillicorn

Chief Editor, Founder & CEO at Improvides Innovation Consulting

Creativity & Innovation expert: I help individuals and companies build their creativity and innovation capabilities, so you can develop the next breakthrough idea which customers love. Chief Editor of Ideatovalue.com and Founder / CEO of Improvides Innovation Consulting. Coach / Speaker / Author / TEDx Speaker / Voted as one of the most influential innovation bloggers.