At this point, most of us have been to the back-to-office rodeo. And we know how hard it can be to get anything meaningful done for the first few weeks.

As one friend said: “there’s just so much talking.” In time, the socialising dies down and it becomes more normal to sit with colleagues and work. Until then, a few ideas that might help. 

Adjust your pace

Chalk this up as one of the more tedious things about going to an office. At home, if you ploughed through your work for the day quickly, the reward might be a more relaxing afternoon. Perhaps a slightly longer dog walk or an early mark for the gym. In other words, you were able to reward productivity instantly and privately. Ah, but welcome to the office, where you’re going to be sitting at your desk until (insert home time here) regardless. Avoid end-of-day exhaustion by giving yourself a little more time to get shit done.

Send a message

Nothing stops someone mid-conversation like a pair of AirPods. Or headphones. They don’t have have to have sound coming out of them to keep people away. They’ll approach you talking, see the pods, and then freeze. All you need to do is smile cluelessly at them as they back away and then continue on with you work. It’s nicer than screaming “LEAVE ME ALONE.”

Tune out

For procrastinators (or anyone on deadline or doing something challenging), the office environment is ripe for hours spent putting off the hard things. This is where the focus tools helps, like white noise. By tuning out the office chatter, your brain won’t wander as much and you’ll be less tempted to join in what’s happening around you. Plus, if you’re finding it super noisy (which of course it will be compared to home), white noise can also help. 

Book in bonding

So you want to catch up with your workmates. Instead of losing the morning to it, just accept that for the first hour, you’ll let yourself connect with colleagues. Even grab a coffee. Enjoy it. But then agree on a time with yourself to knuckle down. 

Ease in

For those who have been at home for better part of two years, the static nature of a work desk is a shock after being able to change locations throughout the day to suit your mood. Some experts are suggesting we mimic those patterns, by moving into empty conference rooms or working from breakout spaces when you feel like a change of scene. 

Consider moving

One silver-lining of the past few years is that you may find your ability to create boundaries has improved, well, because they were all stripped away for a time and we’ve come to value them more. That means, if your location at work just doesn’t work (no natural light, noisy colleague sitting too close, kitchen smells), see if you can move desks to allow for a reset and a situation that suits you better.