Snow looks absolutely gorgeous when it is slowly falling and thinly covering everything in sight like a soft blanket.
However, when it is pouring down and forming huge, formidable drifts, it can wreak havoc on personal and professional productivity. Heavy snowfall can cause schools, businesses, and roads to close making it nearly impossible for people to get where they need to go.
But nobody can afford to just put their lives on hold every time it snows badly. Here are some tips to help you to be prepared for the next time extreme snowfall strikes.
- If You Have Kids, Have a Contingency Plan for Them
Kids love snow days. No school? Oh yeah!
However, parents are usually a little less thrilled because now they must find a way to keep their kids entertained while still attempting to get all their work done. Instead of floundering around when you find out schools are closed, desperately trying to figure out what to do with your kids, have a couple of options in mind ahead of time.
Sometimes local YMCA’s offer snow day activities and services that can really help parents in a pinch. If that is not available, then try to coordinate with the parents of other kids at the school or in the neighborhood and take turns hosting the kids.
- Create a Productive Home Office Environment
Try to create a space in your home that is as close to your work environment as possible. It is much easier to get distracted at home because it is familiar and comfortable. If you make your home feel like your office, then you will be much more likely to get things done even if you can’t physically make it to work.
- Prioritize
When you can’t get to work, there are some things that will just be impossible to do at home. Therefore, you should make sure that you spend your time at home doing the most important things that you can accomplish away from your workplace.
It is also smart to plan for when you go back to work. Spend some of your time at home rescheduling and planning to get the things done that you missed out on because of the snow day.
- Make a Schedule and Stick to It
In order to make your time at home as productive as possible, schedule the time frame for which you intend to work on each project. It is also a good idea to schedule your lunch and snack breaks. Otherwise, you will be tempted to get up and make a trip to the kitchen whenever you feel like it, which can greatly hamper productivity.
- Communicate
Being away from work will require more attention to communication. You will need to make sure that your kids are taken care of (if you have them) and you will also need to give your boss updates so that they know what you are accomplishing.
Your boss will not be annoyed by these updates. Instead, they will be impressed by your self-motivation and dedication. Take this opportunity to stand out from your peers. Your boss may even remember it when they are looking for candidates for the new promotion. You never know.
Hopefully, these tips will help you to make the most of the next time you are stuck at home and can’t make it to the office because of a nasty snowstorm.
However, unfortunately, nothing compares to the environment at work. The most important way for your company to keep up its productivity is to open its doors again as quickly as possible. For this, they may want to consider hiring a snow removal company to expedite the process. Commercial snow removal is a growing field that’s main purpose is to make sure that businesses can get back to work as quickly as possible, benefiting employees, employers, and stockholders.
