First, we should definitely have gratitude that we are still able to work while other jobs are up in the air. While many of our friends and family are faced with uncertainty when it comes to job and income, we’re blessed to have some stability during this time. While things can get hard, and frustrating, take a breath and remember we’re lucky.
TIP #1 - KEEP A STRICT SCHEDULE & TAKE BREAKS
Keeping a schedule during the week seems like it can be basic and easy to keep to, but it isn’t. Yes, work from 9 to 5 and take a lunch break, but what about everything else? When you have to stay in one location throughout the day, it can be easy to bypass structure and not notice. Keep your schedule tight. Wake up at a certain time, exercise at a certain time, eat at a certain time, take breaks throughout the day, and make sure that you end your workday at a designated time and leave it ended. Don’t do the project you could have done at 3 pm at 8 pm. Don’t continue checking your e-mail and answering work slacks at 10 pm. Create a specific schedule and stick to it.
Why is this important? It can be very easy to have work and normal life blend into one another now, and turning work off/on at designated times is key to keep your sanity. Without the ability to move freely and do freely, we will begin to feel powerless. Keeping a schedule brings stability back into this confusing situation and keeps you accountable to your responsibilities, yes, but also to yourself and your loved ones.
TIP #2 - DESIGNATED SPACES
I’ll keep this simple: set up a work office or designated work area. Yes, you can also work on the couch. However, do not bring work into your bed/bedroom/most relaxing areas. By blending the two energies, you are risking being unable to relax when work is over. Beds are for sleeping, sex, and relaxation. Bedrooms are for intimacy, privacy, and preparing for or ending the day. Keep it that way. What happens if you live in a studio apartment? Try your darndest to keep one side of the room (the one with your bed) solely for relaxation.
TIP #3 - MENTAL HEALTH
An often overlooked part of working at home is your mental health. Mental health in the workplace is a necessity for being productive and efficient, but how you manage your mental health is different when working from home. We’re designed to be around other people, so isolation can lead to mild symptoms of depression and anxiety. When untreated, these symptoms can get worse, so it’s best to address it before it becomes a problem. Some ways to maintain your mental health is to develop healthy habits for your day. Having a set schedule for tasks can help reduce feelings of being overwhelmed, and regularly touching base with your coworkers can help reduce feeling so alone. Most importantly, don’t ignore how you’re feeling. Before and after work, you should do a mental health check, and you can even do simple things like breathing exercises or some yoga stretches during breaks.
If you had a mental health “plan” in place prior to the quarantine (i.e. yoga and meditation daily), make sure you’re stick with it and not letting it slip through the cracks. If you did not have a plan in place prior, now is the time to find what works for you. Whether you look into an app or want to find a mental health professional to work with, there are tons of possibilities and support for you. If you’re in recovery, make sure you stay tuned in to your feelings and utilize digital rooms if needed.
TIP #4 - LET’S GET PHYSICAL!
During this quarantine, it will be extremely easy to lose sight of our physical goals. If we’re not allowed to go outside or go to gyms, what do we do? For now, we are able to go outside, so if you can go for a jog or do cardio/exercises at a park or in your yard then keep to it. Otherwise, there are tons of gyms & trainers that are putting free workouts online. Don’t forget about this! Exercising gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, and happy people just cope with quarantining in a more healthy way (and they don’t murder their husbands). If you were never an exercise person, now is a great time to start with the basics. We’re all inside eating and snacking constantly, and before we know it will catch up with this which will impact not only our physical health but our mental health.
TIP #5 - STAY CONNECTED
Whether you’re in quarantine alone or you’ve got a roommate or family member with you, not being able to see, touch, and interact with other humans during this time is going to get rough. We are communal creatures, and this virus won’t change that. Make sure you get outside when you can (safely staying away from others with some good ol’ social distancing), and communicate with your friends and loved ones as often as possible. Reading someone’s twitter posts do not count. Do video calls, talk to your neighbors, and even text/slack/voice call often. Now is the time to check in with the people you’ve been thinking about calling but just never had that time! If you’re lucky enough to be with a significant other or family member, human touch is important for our mental health, so make sure that you hug, cuddle, or even shake hands daily.
There are a ton more tips that can be touched upon, but these 5 are key. In general, make sure that you’re aware of how you’re feeling (physically, mentally, and emotionally) and making daily changes in order to stay healthy and happy. We don’t have to have everything figured out immediately, but we do want to make sure that we adapt based on what works. Have a safe and healthy quarantine period, and stay tuned for more Bell + Ivy blogs on working, marketing, and optimizing in this digital world.
