In this blog, I’m writing about a lady, whom I call my Angel friend. She was in her eighties, and her skin had wrinkles despite that, her blushing eyes know the way to make people in love. In her old age, she is still exquisite and attractive. I know her for few years. We used to meet occasionally in a shopping mall near to my residence. We became good friends. I still remember the day when we met the first time. She was in the same shopping mall searching for something. I liked her at first sight, tried to talk to her that day. ’ I think you are searching for something. May I help you?’ She turned to me with a smile on her face and since then we became friends. We shared coffee; we had a good chat that day.
She was living on a different side of a shopping mall. That day, we waved goodbye and went our ways. During our conversation, one thing shocked my soul and mind. On my asking what she did whole life like a profession, firstly she was lost in her thoughts, closed eyes and then with all pain in her voice, she said, ’I was escort’. It stunned me to hear her words. I said nothing. On my way home, I was thinking of her only. How such a beautiful and calm lady can say this. Is she really had such a past? My mind did not believe her words.
My Angel
After that day, we met many times, but I never dared to ask again. I always liked her beautiful eyes and graceful smile.
A few days back, when I went to church, I saw her sitting in one corner praying with closed eyes. I saw her from quite a distance. She was looking like some angel. On the back wall of the church, I also saw a picture of Mother Mary. Felt so much resemblance.
I wanted to ask her that why she said she was an escort but I was having neither the courage nor words to ask. I was sitting and praying and suddenly someone asked me,’ where you are lost, my child’. It was the father of the church. I shared my doubt with him. He knew her well and what he told me really stunned me. He told me she is a fantastic lady. She was not an escort. What she told me was not true.
She loved someone
In fact, in her youth, she was in love with someone. She loved a man in his hard times, gave him a better lifestyle, supported him and done all she could to love him, but that man had different intentions in his mind. He was with her not for love or care, but his reason was selfishness. She was a beautiful and innocent girl. She couldn’t understand the materialistic selfish reasons of his man to be with her. Time passed and by one day he left her all alone in the world with debt on her shoulders and tears in her eyes and sickness and pain in her heart. She cried alone for so many days.
She started inhaling drugs and alcohol but nothing was helping her she was still in his memories and was in the hope of him coming back.
I saw her standing and waiting at the door for him. One day she heard him saying, ’I befooled you’. She started crying louder and then when the next morning she woke up she said to herself it was not you who befooled me; it was me who got befooled; I knew at every step that u don’t love me; you have reasons to be with me but I thought u will change because I love you so much.
Having frustration and thinking that she slept with a man who was using her as an escort for the tenure of time for his selfish motives, she engraved deep a thought in her mind that she is an escort. With this thought, she lived her whole life.
Hearing all this, my eyes were full of tears, completely voiceless. I turned back, but nobody was there. I came back home with a heavy heart. Never met her again.
History is not only a subject full of kings, queens, fights, conspiracies, and power-capturing strategies. It also has many other things than dry tales and discussions. Love, emotions, and sacrifices also remained an important part of pages of the past. All kings are not behind power politics; few set their priorities in their own way. They left the crown for their love, their passion as well other values. The love tale of Prince Edward and Mrs. Wallis Simpson is a perfect example to say that love and passions can really drive the lives of a few, and those few make life really beautiful and more liveable and meaningful.
Mrs. Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward
When Prince Edward fell in love with Wallis, she was not only already married but also divorced. Prince himself was also involved with other women. Mrs Simpson entered his life, but being American was a big hurdle in their love story, as Americans were not highly regarded in British. Their relation grew up into a deep friendship, and then it crossed all limits to be a ‘perfect love story. Nobody in the Royal family liked this relation. The passion in relation was so intense that it sparked a constitutional crisis. Despite all this, King was happy to give up the British throne, and ultimately, Edward VIII renounced his throne in December 1936 with his brother Albert crowned King George VI.
Following his abdication, the pair married a year on, and remained in union for 35 years until Edward’s death in May 1972.
Mrs. Wallis Simpson was having a sense of style and pose in her personality.
The first meeting of Edward & Mrs. Simpson
King Edward was a good-looking person with blonde hair and blue eyes, a boyish look on his face. He maintained this look throughout his life. Yet Prince Edward preferred married women. Because of his appealing personality, many women got attracted. Before meeting Mrs Wallis Simpson, he was having relations with different ladies. One of those was lady Furness, who hosted a party on 10 January 1931, where she invited both Prince Edward and Mrs Simpson and her husband, Ernest Simpson. It was the first meeting between Prince and Mrs Simpson. No doubt it did not leave any powerful impression on Prince. Thereafter, they met on different occasions during the next few months. Very truly, it was not love at first sight for either of them. Edward continued his affair with Lady Furness, although he and Wallis met at various house parties.
Prince Edward’s style
Prince Edward’s other relations:
In 1918, Prince Edward met Mrs. Winifred (“Freda”), Dudley Ward. Although they were about the same age (23), Freda had been married for five years when they met. For 16 years, Freda was Prince Edward’s mistress.
Mrs. Simpson also remained a frequent guest to Prince Edward for the next two years. They came close to each other when Lady Furness was on a trip to the USA in January 1934. Thereafter other ladies, including Lady Furness, were cut out of Prince’s life. Freda Dudley Ward was also one who remained close to Prince until 1934 and the beginning of Prince’s relationship with Wallis Simpson. In January 1934, Thelma Furness made a trip to the United States, entrusting Prince Edward to the care of Wallis in her absence. Upon Thelma’s return, she found she was no longer welcome in Prince Edward’s life—even her phone calls were refused.
Mrs. Simpson & her earlier life
Simpson was born on June 19, 1896, in Pennsylvania but grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. She was a socialite who had been married twice when she met Edward at a party. Mrs Simpson was not only exquisite, but she also had a sense of style and posed in her personality. She was 35 when she met Edward at a house party hosted by Lady Thelma Furness.
When she grew into a young woman, she married Lieutenant Earl Winfield, a pilot for US Navy, in 1916. This marriage lasted until their divorce in December 1927. After a few months of divorce, she got married to Ernest Simpson in July 1928.
Duke of Windsor and Duchess of Windsor Wallis Simpson stand at Villa De La Croe in Cap Antibes, Cannes.
As said earlier, it was in the year 1934 that Prince and Wallis became closer. There was a reference to when Prince invited both Mrs. Wallis Simpson and her husband to cruise, but Ernest Simpson could not accompany his wife because of his business involvement. On this cruise, they crossed the limits of friendship and fell completely in love with each other.
The testing phase of their relationship
The relationship between Prince and Mrs. Simpson entered a testing phase when King George V, father of the prince, died in January 1936, and thereafter Prince became King Edward VIII. New King was occupied with big state affairs responsibilities, but no one in King’s circles welcomed his infatuation with Mrs. Simpson. Then-Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin believed people would not accept divorced women with two living ex-husbands as queen. In fact, this relation rocked Britain’s most prominent institutions – Parliament, the monarchy, and the Church of England – to their cores. But Edward was excited and wanted to make her Queen, but he couldn’t.
The Duke & Duchess of Windsor, Style Setters: at resorts in Miami, 1941.
King left his throne to be with the women he loved
The Church of England did not allow divorced people to remarry if their former spouses were still alive, and as King Edward was the head of the Church, so it was believed that he could not remain king and marry Wallis Simpson. Ultimately, he was left with simple options, either leave Simpson or abdicate Thorn. As he was very much committed to being with his love, King Edward finally left the thorn in December 1936.
In his famous abdication speech, he said, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility, and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love.” His brother, Prince Albert, who became George VI, acceded to the throne. Edward went off to marry Wallis in France and was rarely seen in Britain again.
It was certainly a significant decision where he proved that love is more important than anything in life. More interestingly, Edward abdicated the throne for her, even though she was still married to her second husband. Later on, she sued for divorce, and it was granted. Edward and Wallis got married on June 3, 1937, in a minimal ceremony.
Voluntary exile in Paris
After the abdication and marriage of Edward to Wallis, the Royal family shunned the couple. Their ‘wedding day was also the first day of the rest of their lives in permanent exile. Once Edward abdicated, he lost his title as King and was referred to immediately after Prince Edward. Given the titles of Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the couple lived in voluntary exile in Paris, where they were known for their elegant dinner parties. They continue to attend the galas, fashion shows, and dinner parties that had always been her natural environment. Publically, they were always looking elegant and well-dressed. Edward loved the 12,000-acre secluded estate near Tallahassee, where he was preoccupied with outdoor pursuits including hunting, picnics, and horse riding, which he enjoyed immensely. They were also sent to the Bahamas as Governor for a short period.
Edward & Mrs. Simpson in 1942
Edward passed away in May 1972, as his health fell down because of heavy smoking, Mrs. Wallis lived fourteen more years till her death in April 1986, at 89, when she was buried beside her Duke of Windsor. The couple had no child. They could never return to Britain unless Edward came to attend the funeral of King George VI in 1952 and again for his mother, Queen Mary, in 1953. Wallis didn’t accompany him to either funeral, but she could return for Edward’s funeral in 1972. With many difficulties, their love tale is really touching.
The Duchess and Duke of Windsor, 1946
Royal Family relation in later life
Although their marriage forced Edward into exile (which explained the move across the English Channel to Paris), Wallis was granted some acceptance from the royal family as the years went on. When Edward died, his funeral was held in England, and she stayed at Buckingham Palace for the event, according to Anne Sebba, the author of the book, That Women: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor
Eyes for each other: Wallis and Edward in more tender moments in Florida, 1956
Love ultimately proved
Love certainly is more than just going on dates holding hands and kissing. It’s about accepting each other’s weirdness and flaws. Sometimes people also say ‘Love is being stupid together. This love tale ended years ago it has many aspects to remember for ages to come. Their tale remained a hot topic for the entire world for the last more than a half-century. Few say it is the greatest love story, while others see it as the ultimate royal scandal. Still, their romance is certainly mired in controversy because, to be with the woman he loved, Britain’s king paid a truly extraordinary price – he gave up the British throne for his love.
A king left his throne to be with the woman he loved. Duke of Windsor has become a romanticized figure over his devotion to American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Few believe that this was the love story of the century, but for others, it was a scandal that threatened to weaken the monarchy.
While reading some notes from a book, it diverted my curiosity towards someone in 60s Bollywood names. I searched for further information, but there was nothing much available. Whatever I got is really a tragic tale of a beautiful lady who was certainly a wonderful personality in her time. She was Bollywood actress Vimmi. Born in Jalandhar, Punjab in 1943, she was the shining star of Bollywood in her time.
Vimmi: Amazing Beauty
How she became a star?
Vimmi dared to marry the son of an industrialist against the wishes of her parents. She was not an actress when she got married. She got stuck in the eyes of music director Ravi at some party in Calcutta because of her fascinating personality. With the initiative of Ravi, she, along with her husband Shiv Agrawal, was invited to Bombay, where Ravi introduced her to filmmaker B.R. Chopra, who launched her in the lead role in the film ‘Humraj’. The movie proved a success, and she became a star. Her parents, who regarded acting in films as a disreputable profession, cut off all ties with her and disowned her. They were not happy about joining her film industry. Same way Agarwal’s family too disapproved of Vimmi working in films, they also cut off all ties with them.
Kisi pathar ki murat se
Her enchanting beauty was so amazing and magical that famous lyrist Sahir was impressed to write the famous song ‘Kisi Patthar ki Murat se, Mohabbat ka irrada hai, praschit ki tamana hai, ibadat ka irrada hai..’ She did few more successful movies after Humraj. Patanga(1970), Vachpan(1974), Aabroo (1968), Kahin aar kahi paar (1971) are other movies of Vimmi. Although she became a star with her first movie, she has been more concerned with how she looked and what she wore than her acting.
With actor Raj Kumar
Family life of Vimmi
It was not all good in her life. When she moved to Bombay to become an actress, this decision was not acceptable to her in-law’s family, and they disowned her for this step. Good and bad things were moving along in the life of this dream lady. Her relationship with her husband was not running smoothly. He uses to interfere in her career, which producers did not like. Financial problems are further added to make relations tougher. Ultimately, they got separated, and her husband returned to his family.
Soon after the success of Humraaj, her next big project, Aabroo, was released in 1968. This film, however, was unsuccessful at the box office. Even veteran actors like Ashok Kumar and Nirupa Roy, who were also part of the film, couldn’t do much to save it. Patanga, her 1971 film with Shashi Kapoor, also failed to strike a chord with the audience. Thus, after successive flop films, she went into oblivion. B R Chopra never repeated her in his upcoming films. The one silver lining for Vimi was the Punjabi devotional film, Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai (1969). The film was very successful and celebrated a silver jubilee. But it did not set again her career.
She was left alone, and fate was not on her side. Vimmi started living with Jolly, a dubious filmmaker. She did not have any work. In such a miserable situation, she found solace in alcohol. She did not have any money. Alcohol, particularly cheap alcohol, killed her ultimately in the year 1977.
Vimmi with Sunil Dutt
Tears of the mystic rose
Here I want to share the book’s relevancy that I was reading, which attracted me to the life of this exceptional lady. The Book titled ‘Tears of the Mystic Rose’ written by Swami Rajneesh is a sort of life sketch of the writer. Rajneesh is a disciple of ‘Osho Rajneesh’ and the son of the same Bollywood actress Vimmi and her industrialist husband, Shiv Agrawal. There are few references in his book where he is narrating his childhood memories. In the book, he has admitted his disliking towards his father because of his arrogant nature. In contrast, he described his mother as beautiful, kind, humble, sensitive, radiant, and full of compassion toward all those who met her. He further writes that she was from an elementary and honest family. Her parents were simple school teachers.
He also narrates the days when the matter of separation was in process. As he was always supporting his mother, his father did not like him. When he was on winter vacation from his boarding school in Darjiling, he saw his father having alcohol and making sexual advances with film actresses every night. One such night there was a fight between them, and the son left the house and never returned.
One morning in November 1977
As the book described, ‘One morning in November 1977, I woke up to see the newspapers announced the untimely death of my mother and under mysterious circumstances. No one was with her at the hospital at the time of her death, and it prevented my father and that side of the family from seeing her due to a court order. Unfortunately, her body was taken for cremation with none of us present such a tragic story… that a famous movie star was cremated with very few people present for the last rites.’
Nothing much is available on this lady who was gifted with ultimate beauty and worst fate. Her end was harrowing. She died broken-hearted and penniless, unloved, uncared. A few friends and well-wishers arranged her cremation. No family member was present at her cremation. They reported the cause of her death to be heavy drinking. She was still in her mid-thirties when she bid adieu to the world. Source References: Wikipedia, Tears of the Mystic Rose
The Company of Womenis entertaining, has a grip on readers, and has erotic, emotional, and social angles. Need mature readers who can see other things beyond a simple narration of a few sex descriptions. If we go with the title and a few other erotic details, it seems a tale revolving around the life of a rich businessperson who had an unsuccessful married life. Recently separated from his ill-tempered wife of thirteen years. And now trying to have the adventure of companions to share his bed.
Convinced that ‘lust is the true foundation of love, he is focused on his physical needs. He keeps on searching for companionship to spend his leisure time. When his marriage breaks down, he places an advertisement for a concubine. What he needs is a short-stay, live-in relationship. No strings attached. All this keeps on rolling throughout the storyline.
Ladies, those who came into the life of Mohan
Few ladies come into his life, one after another, and share intimacy and sexual relationship. A few remarkable women that can be named are Ph.D. Professor Sarojini Bharadwai from small-town Rewari, sweet-natured and talkative Molly Gomes from Goa, classy charmer, and seductress Susanthika from Sri Lanka. We can’t ignore his association in the US, where he was a student, his first love, the American black lady, assertive Jessica Browne, to whom he lost his virginity, and the wife of Azad Kashmir minister, Pakistani Yasmeen Wanchoo, who brought him the passion of an older woman. After each affair ends and before the next begins, Mohan finds solace in the practiced charms of his obliging maid, Danno.
‘The Company of Women‘ also talks about social aspects
I have mixed impressions about this book. No doubt it has a lot of erotic and endlessly entertaining content, but it has much more. It also discussed the concept of arranged marriages in India. Based upon the social and economic status of families, ignoring the basic nature of individuals. And how such relations keep on crawling without love bonding. Urban life cultures of social clubs, like the Gymkhana Club and the India International Center, where Mohan spends his evenings, also reflect the behavior of people and the hollowness of relations. People keep on back-biting each other.
The main character of the story, Mohan Kumar, also has a strong bond with his father. He went to study in the US. After completing it, I preferred to return and settle in India despite getting an offer of a green card. On the other side, Mohan’s wife’s behavior toward Mohan’s father also shows bitterness in such relations. Besides being focused on fantasy, it is also a comment on the hypocrisy of Indian society.
Overall, the book is worth reading if you are looking for cheap thrills and erotica. But it may shock others who like scholarly and meaningful prose quality. Those who have read other scholarly works of Khushwant Singh, especially History of Sikhs, Train to Pakistan & his novel Delhi will find this book below. The author wrote such an erotic fantasy at eighty-three, and he has a grip on its subject.
Today in the morning, one text by one of my friends, Nikhil, motivated me to rethink that life is never so dark that you can’t see any ray of light. Darkness and light are two sides of the coin in life and it is up to you whom you pick to affect your thoughts and finally what manifests in your life. Most of us are afraid of darkness as it may frighten us, but it is not always bad, so many times you get the greatest opportunities only in the dark phase of life. Preparing yourself for any situation is the only way to stand for the challenges of life.
When you face the darkness in life, you must try your potential to its maximum. Your entire existence gets more activated and you get wonderful results that you never thought would be possible. Quoting from somewhere, I can say, ‘ I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light. Things that have saved my life repeatedly, so that there is really only one logical conclusion, I need as much darkness a much as I need Light.
Facing global pandemic COVID 19
Today, most countries are struggling with a global pandemic, COVID-19. It has affected almost every part of the world. This virus affected worst even the developed parts of the world. Cases are rising daily everywhere. We Indians are also affected by this spreading disease. Everybody seems worried and governments are continuously trying every step to control the worsening situations. Complete lockdowns are announced and people are sitting in complete isolation in their homes. Life has come to a standstill. All activities of life are stopped and uncertainty of the future has chained our thoughts.
We can say we are facing the biggest health crisis and challenge of time after world war second. This crisis has the potential of creating devastating concern over our social and economic facets of life. Authorities in every country have ordered social distancing, quarantining citizens, limiting travels and cancelling large gatherings, closing of schools, offices, and more activities of life.
Start working on your future plans
There is no doubt left that situation is really tough, we are getting bad news every moment; we are losing our business, losing breadwinning jobs, getting tight with money. Mentally we are getting down and depressed with every news. In such an unpleasant atmosphere, the only way is to get ready more confidently. And try to work out some resolutions to face the real problem. Self-meditation and the right focus of mind can change the perspective of the situation and we would be able to see life with more positivity.
No doubt we all are worried, and it’s very tough to estimate when and where all this will end, but there is another way to see life. Life has faced such disasters so many times and every time it came out with more flying colours. At this moment, it is more important to keep our self positive and inspire our surroundings so that we all can be winners in situations.
As in the very start I mentioned, my motivation to write up this article came from the small text of my friend. The theme of the text was to keep you busy with positive things and keep preparing for bigger challenges of life to come. Quoting the same text, I say, ‘when fishermen cannot go to the sea they mend their nets, so when you see no work you can prepare yourself for better things. There can be so many activities that you can plan. There can be so many dreams and hobbies in life; you never got time to fulfil them because of the busy schedule of life. Now, in this free time, you can choose a few of them and work on them.
so many things we can plan
Reading some excellent books, writing few blogs, if you have such passion, planning your future concerns can be few activities that you can work out. I agree all have different choices in life and everybody can plan what he likes more. Working from home is a new concept of today’s age and those professionals who are in the learning and education sector can design their activities accordingly.
As I am from the education sector, I know, few of my friends have worked from home. Universities, colleges, and other institutes have started their lessons, training programs on different online forums. Keeping yourself engaged in such activities will help you spend your time in home isolation. And it will create better results in your business or profession. Many institutes run many online programs, you can also choose any of your choices and upgrade your career skills. We have options of internet-based apps like Zoom, Skype, Webinar that can be helpful to interact with your staff and your clients.
I agree we are in a time of fear and uncertainty. With a slight change in attitude, we can make it more productive.
Taking care of yourself, physically, emotionally and even spiritually, can be your plan. You may work on improving your family relationship by spending a good time with them. Learning some new things can be an opportunity to add better aspects to your personality. Watching good movies that you always missed due to your working pattern can be the best thing to use your free time at home. These days we have many options like Prime Video, Netflix and so many Internet-based choices.
Isolation can be utilized for great things as well
Isolation is not always bad; it has positive qualities as well. You get more time to introspect and review your own thoughts and feelings. Many of you must know the writing of outstanding books from prisons. Conversations With Myself is a collection of Nelson Mandela’s writings, many of which he composed while he was in prison. King James threw Walter Raleigh, in prison where he wrote a History of the World while locked in the Tower of London for 13 years. Marco Polo is famous for travelling in the 13th century. But not as many people know he was arrested in Genoa on his way back. While he was captive, he narrated his journey to his fellow prisoner, who turned the stories into a book, named The Travels of Marco Polo.
In the Indian context, Mahatma Gandhi spent a lot of time in prison for civil disobedience. And he did a lot of writing while he was in prison. My Experiments with Truth is one such example. Similarly, Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary wrote a book titled The Jail Note Book. The Indian Struggle is the work of Subash Chandra Bose. The Discovery of India, (1944) was written by Jawahar Lal Nehru in Ahmednagar fort prison between April to September 1944.
There is a long list of such books written from behind bars. Giving reference to such books here is just to say that isolation can be used for great things as well. Writers, Poets, Spiritual people have always done great things when they were alone.
Keep faith and right attitude
I believe if you keep your faith and trust and you have the right attitude, life will certainly open new doors for you. Difficult moments are as much part of life as good ones, so we’re not supposed to quit believing and growing. Sitting at home, on one side you can spend quality time with your family. And on another side, you can use these moments of struggle and frustrations to motivate you rather than annoy you.
Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you. History is full of examples where great things happened in the worst situations. Tough situations make outstanding personalities.
This darkness (COVID) will not continue for very long, as it’s not the rule of life. Good days will be there soon. Stay positive & keep yourself safe.
We all are passing through a worldwide pandemic, named COVID-19 and the situation has compelled us for working from home. Almost and every part of the world is severely affected by this health crisis. The numbers of causalities are rising day by day, although few nationalities seem to have controlled the spread of disease to some extent. Governments have ordered the complete or partial closures of life activities; businesses and offices are shut down. And still, there is no certainty when life will come to its normal routine.
In this scenario, when we all are sitting at home, few new ideas are also developing. Life never stops for anyone in any situation. It always creates new tracks and better opportunities. No matter how many setbacks you get but the basic principle of life remains the same. In today’s situation, we are learning new things. Technology is playing an important role these days.
Working from home is not a new idea to us, but it has become more focused nowadays. I have felt and learned from the present situation that working from home doesn’t mean that you lose your job or professionalism; rather, it creates a better work environment. The idea of working from home is awesome. You are sitting with your family surrounding you. Your cat or dog is staring at you, and you are involved in your official work. Such an environment is never boring; rather, it increases your productivity.
During my travels and meeting different people, I always heard the concept of working from home. I was thinking about the concept and believed it is not for everybody. Sometimes professionals from the call centre sector, some other consultancies, and a few more used to work from home and at different hours due to time variation between nationalities. Being in the sector of International Education consultancy, I tried this concept with few staff members. Reasons for trying this concept were different, including changed family circumstances of staff members and not losing my performing staff. I experienced that idea really work, and those staff members are still working for my office and really performing.
Successful people are always focused on their work, so staying at home cannot stop you from being more productive. So many different modes of communication are being used to operate work activities while sitting at your home.
In the present scenario, it is a new way of working. I have seen in my circles that everybody is discovering new methods of working remotely. Today we have so many options like Zoom, Skype, Facebook LIVE, Webinars, and other such options to interact with clients and staff. Many professionals like doctors, consultants, IT people are already using these tools, but the present situation has given a big boost to shift on these modes of communications. Many Colleges, Schools & Universities have started online lessons and video conferencing classes. There is nothing wrong if I say work is changed forever. The concept of working from home can boost productivity if we learn the right ways on how to set up our working style at home.
Fixing schedule for the day
While working from home, you get more flexibility to manage your time. In the early morning, when you wake up, you can easily switch on your computer and check few things like emails received and plan to reply to them as per your priority. As you will not get ready, dress up for the office, so you get plenty of time to schedule your tasks. You get the option to put on a pot of tea or coffee and start working. Same you can add a few tasks before going to bed at night.
Here I would like to suggest few tips. Start doing some things, what you normally do, when you are working from the office. Setting alarm in the morning, having breakfast and coffee, wearing a nice dress up, and fixing the schedule of things. Feeling like you are in the office is really important; otherwise, homely things will start distracting you.
Fixing a schedule for each day is significant to make your work and effort really productive. I agree we can’t generalize challenges that everybody faces while working at home. For some, it may be straightforward, and few may feel it challenging to stay focused. If we fix a fixed schedule, it will certainly help to maintain a working environment. Fixing things like coffee breaks, lunch timing will be supporting things for better coordination between team members.
Make list of task and update your status
When you are at your home office, no one is watching you. There is no boss, so you don’t feel any pressure to get stuff done immediately. But you have to keep in mind the necessity of completing that work done on time.
When you are sitting in your home, a lot of distractions and temptations may affect your work. Being transparent to your manager or other team members is essential; otherwise, the team’s productivity will get affected. In case, because of some reason, you are not on your computer, your team must know it. Making a list of tasks and sharing it with team members can be helpful. Updating your status regularly through any mode of communication will develop more confidence with team members.
Few brakes are necessary for better performance. Having tea or coffee breaks will improve your productivity, but you must manage your connectivity with your team during such breaks.
Choose right place and tools to work
Here I am going to share an essential aspect of working from home. Working from home doesn’t mean that you are not as planned and scheduled as others sitting in the office. It would help if you had proper space and working area that supports your effective working. This purpose needs a particular room or space. All this will help you get into the right frame of a working mind.
The working environment certainly affects your performance, so you must choose the right place to work from home. I agree everybody is not having a home office. We need to set up some right place to sit and work. The room should be with minimum distractions and with unnecessary noises. An easy sitting place will be helpful.
Other tools like computers, cameras, and headphones are also important. Headphones can add more quality to all conversations and staff meetings. The selection of communication software should be easy to use for everybody. In short, we can say that working need support of working tools and we should select best one.
While concluding my article, I would like to add that working from home is the future of working. Even after the fading of the COVID crises, people will not stop working from home. Rather, few will adopt it as a new way to work. I feel I will not stop going office, but I will still fix some days in a week to work from home. It is easier, more productive, and relaxing as well. If you give the same privilege to your staff, they will feel more attached to your company, and there will be very few chances of their leaving your team.
