In present times, countless numbers of us went from our daily commute into an office setting to changing our coffee tables into offices and our living rooms into classrooms. We weren’t given time to make ready for such an intense change, so here are some top tips to help you adjust to this new way of working.
1. Make exercise and physical activity a priority
Working from home means we will be decreasing our usual kinds of activity, for example walking to the bus, ascending the stairs of the London Underground and leaving our desks mid-day to grab a spot of lunch. It also means we will be trapped indoors for lengthier periods of time, perhaps neglecting the fresh air and sunshine we inadvertently acquired, and this is vital to keep our immune systems in good shape. Lots of people will also find their routine form of exercise interrupted since gyms and workout studios are shut.
If you don’t have a regular plan for training, the easiest thing is to walk outside even for just 10 minutes or around the block a few times, either before or after your usual working hours or at lunchtime. If you don’t generally have time to exercise before or after work, there is no time like the present to have a word with your boss about adjusting your work hours to fit something in. It needs to suit your schedule and be enjoyable, otherwise you will simply not like it and are far less likely to stick with it.
Link up with a friend or colleague via What’s App, Facetime or Skype to support your commitment and intermingle socially.
Many different online classes and activities are all freely available all over the internet and YouTube. If you choose to try something new, start gradually and steadily increase your activity level. Trying an assortment of exercise activities is very important.
Adapting to life at present has made us all appreciate the vital role that exercise plays in maintaining our mental health as well as keeping us physically fit. Exercise releases endorphins, the happy hormones that are a welcome addition at this time of turbulence and unease. It also helps us take a break from glaring at our laptops and TV screens and thinking about the latest newsflash, government statements or work pressures.
When we exercise, it can truly make a significant difference to be present and in the moment; to focus on where we are and what we are achieving as opposed to being lost in the various story’s in our minds. There a numerous apps out there and the Headspace app in particular has some great mindfulness exercises to be done in combination with walking and other physical activity. It is important to recognise we can achieve the very same goals by being aware of our surroundings, the sounds we hear, our breathing, our heartbeat and just by simply noticing our feet as they hit the ground with each step we take.
2. Establish a routine for getting up and going to bed
The novelty of not having to go into the office of late may be wearing off and the temptation to stay up late into the night binge-watching television shows or having regular lie-ins only to find yourself working later into the evening may be morphing you into a less beneficial routine. While it was OK to do this for a few days to help get your head around all the madness, scientific studies show us that effective sleep is shaped by having a regular time of getting up and going to bed.
This doesn’t mean you have to be an early bird when your usual preference is to be a night owl. Nonetheless society has an inclination to see waking up early as being righteously superior and more reflective of conscientious workers, nevertheless there is no body of proof to support this. This means that this period of prescribed home working could help you create a more productive workday because it is okay to attend to your own body’s natural habits.
Pick a time to rise that you can naturally stick-to every day, including weekends. You’ll understandably need to agree this with your firm, but truthfully there are very few roles that can’t have an element of flexibility in the current climate.
3. Create a designated working environment
If you are not careful, work quickly blends into home life and you find yourself unable to really relax. A chosen working environment isn’t just about having a place where your laptop and paperwork is set up, it’s also about keeping to your regular morning work routine – get up, get showered and get dressed.
Your regular routine will get you into “work mode”, which will help you switch on to work effectively, and allow you to switch off once your computer shuts down. A designated workspace that you can leave at the end of the working day is also important. If you work in the kitchen or on the dining room table, you should pack things up at the end of the day, so these spaces now form part of your “home”.
Split your work hours from times for self-care and leisure. Begin your working day at a specific time, break for lunch and finish at the end of the day as you would ordinarily. Avoid ducking work in the middle of the day for leisurely distractions (unless it’s part of your lunch break) and save time to read a book or watch TV for after work, or you may find yourself feeling guilt-ridden and continuing to work into the evening when you should have closed the laptop and email down.
Avoid the temptation to do more because you are not spending significant periods commuting. Not having a long commute can be golden time for you!
We don’t know how long we will be enduring this lock-down and burning out before we are done will not serve anybody. Lots of people (myself included) have thought this would be a perfect time to get all of those jobs on the “To Do” list ticked off and tried to make a speedy start. The truth is that we are all dealing with enormous changes to our lives at present and this takes massive amounts of mental and emotional energy.
Be kind to yourself for a little while as we go in to the extended few weeks of the “new normal”. If they haven’t done so already, things will settle into a routine and you are then likely to have some space to take a look at your jobs and get your creative juices flowing.
4. Eat Sensibly
Many of us turn to food as a source of comfort when we are stressed and anxious, chocolate eggs providing a welcome distraction! And the temptation to reward we with treats when working from home is likely.
Trying to keep the discipline of regular mealtimes where you can prepare a good meal and concentrate on the food you are eating. Avoid too many carbohydrates like biscuits, crisp and cereal bars and ensure you are getting plenty of protein in your diet. Boiled eggs, cooked chicken and oily fishes like salmon are great sources of protein and foods like peanut butter and hummus combined with chopped crudités of carrot, cucumber and peppers make good snacks if needed. Once the Easter Eggs are gone Dark chocolate, nuts, berries and Greek yogurt are good sweet treats.
Be watchful of what you are eating to keep your immune system in peak condition – loads of fruit and vegetables including heaps of leafy greens like spinach, broccoli and kale. A decent tip is to try and have a variety of coloured foods in your diet – red tomatoes, blueberries, orange salmon, green beans, yellow peppers etc.
4. What about how I'm sitting?
The most essential things in setting up your home/workspace are comfort and adaptability.
You don’t need an expensive or specific chair or a desk at a certain height. Find a chair that you feel comfortable sitting in and don’t worry about having to sit upright all the time or sitting on the edge of the chair to maintain the arch in your back. It’s completely OK to slouch in the seat for a period as long as you are comfortable. Equally, if you feel more comfortable sitting back in the seat with your back supported, that is fine as well (but it’s not essential!) Comfort is the most important thing to remember.
Have your laptop or computer in a position where your shoulders feel relaxed and comfortable and you can see the screen and make sure that your paperwork and other equipment is within easy reach. The worst thing you can do is think that you need to maintain a certain position or only move within the restrains of certain space.
Monitor too low? Prop it on some reams of paper or a stack of books.
Only have a laptop? A wireless keyboard and mouse could be the most useful essential purchase you make online to help make your home work space, work for you. Your laptop can then be planted on that stack of books or paper I mentioned before.
For some more guidance on setting up your work place our guide here will give you some pointers – As I say, take it with a ‘pinch of salt’ we don’t expect everyone to spend 9 hours sitting like they’ve come just come out of Swiss Finishing School!
5. Most importantly — get moving!
Avoid sustained positions and move around often. This is the most important thing we can do to lessen and avoid work related aches and pains. When we are working from home, we often have less motivation to get up from where we are sitting and can find that we’ve sat for a couple of hours without changing our position. Sustained positions mean we are putting stresses and strains on joints and muscles for lengthy periods, which decreases the blood flow to these structures and causes increased mechanical pressure. Imagine walking around with your fist scrunched or your jaw clenched for a prolonged period. Find reasons to get up and move – make a hot drink, reach for a pen, stand up to make a phone call — or just set an alarm to stand up, bend sideways, roll your shoulders around and twist to either side before sitting down again and why not try one of our work place workouts which are ideal or working from home too. I am a fan of recommending exercises like these to get you moving throughout your working day at home or in the office.
6. Set News limits
At present, the relentless conversation about Covid-19 is devastating. It’s on TV, social media, newspapers and magazines and it’s also the chief topic of conversation amongst friends and family. While there is a benefit to staying up to date with current advances, too much information (much of it hypothetical) can take a levy on our mental wellbeing. To cope with this, there are some things you can do:
Make sure you get your news from reliable and truthful sources. Think about where you are getting your info from. The most up to date and truthful advice can be found on the Government’s website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Set time limits. The news is 24⁄7 and it is easy to be continuously tuned to the TV or radio. Limit your news watching to certain times of the day and limit the amount of time you spend on social media.
Dodge the quick glance at the news before you go to bed
Be up front and honest with people if you’d rather not talk about Coronavirus. It’s reasonable that chats revolve around current events, but it is totally acceptable not to want to talk about it all the time.
Ensure you are not bottling up your feelings or concerns and seek support when you need it.
Read good news stories too. There is still a lot of positive happenings going on around us. Positive news doesn’t belittle the crisis, but it does give a sense of steadiness and supports our mental health.
7. Talk to friends and colleagues
Being at a computer much of the day often means our default mode of communication becomes email, text, add to that the WhatsApp messages and memes and it can be downright overwhelming.
Working from home means we clearly miss out on face to face contact and casual conversations with our work colleagues. While many components of our lives have been curtailed, most of us are still filling time with other things we can discuss with family, friends and colleagues – the trials and tribulations of DIY, books we are reading and how on earth do you do long division?!
Why not form a healthy habit of picking up the phone or making a video call to a friend, family member or colleague at least a couple of times a day. Talking gives us a chance to discuss our worries and anxieties, to acknowledge we are not dealing with this crisis alone and to offer much coveted support for one another.
Quick Tips
Prioritise exercise
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Exercise is vital to keeping positive mental and physical health and wellbeing.
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Create a routine
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Helps establish a more productive workday, lets your body to follow its natural habit & encourages better sleep.
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Establish a designated working environment
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This helps you toggle on and off from ‘work mode’. Pack things up at the end of the day or leave the room – to switch back into ‘home mode’.
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Eat Sensibly
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Try to keep to regular mealtimes and be thoughtful of what you are eating to keep your immune system in an optimum condition.
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Think comfort and variability at the desk
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Don’t feel confined to one way of sitting at the desk, ensure you are relaxed and comfortable.
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Move more
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Avoid long periods of sitting or sustained positions and move around often.
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Set news limits
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Limit your consumption of news and social media to certain times of the day and avoid it before bed.
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Keep communicating
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Call friends, family or colleagues a couple of times a day to keep connected and support each other.
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