Prior to the pandemic, many of us fantasized about working in the comfort of our own home, and what it would be like to not sit in rush hour traffic. Although those extra 10-20 minutes of sleep seemed pretty ideal, the reality of turning your room into your work office isn’t something we expected to happen, but did. As some businesses go on to what seems to be way more than four or five months of the stay at home orders, we scramble to find ways to keep ourselves sane while working from home.
Whether it’s dealing with rowdy (but loving) children everyday or simply having to stick to a schedule without getting antsy, it’s important to use self-care, and to stick to a routine. Here’s a roundup of tips for maintaining productivity and a healthy mental state while working from home:
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Invest in virtual connection. Maybe it’s a video huddle every morning to replace the typical break room chatter or a weekly happy hour to collectively wind down; however you accomplish your virtual “connections” with your team, know that these routines are important during times where your team lacks a daily physical workspace to gather. Work-from-home orders can’t erase the comfort that comes with seeing the people who show up every day to make your company run.
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“It definitely helps if you have a dedicated space for working from home,” says remote worker Matt Haughey, creator of the long-running community weblog MetaFilter, and writer for Slack. “I started doing this kind of work sitting at a desk in the middle of my living room of a small San Francisco apartment 20 years ago, and it was a pain to stay on task and not get interrupted.”
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Shift your mind-set. More than ever you will be measured on output, not how many hours you sat at your desk. “It’s a different way to approach work” and translates to more freedom to design your day, said Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, the chief executive of Herrmann, a multinational company that creates tools to help employees communicate better.
7 therapist-approved tips for making the most of a mental health day while your home is also your office
“Therapist Nicole O-Pries said that everyone can benefit from unplugging from social media during a day off. During a mental health day, it’s important to step away from your normal routine, which, for many of us, means routinely checking social media.”
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How do I stick to a schedule or maintain structure? I think this is the biggest struggle for many. From mental exhaustion and distractions, it isn’t always easy to work from home. Try your best to create some sort of a structured schedule that works for you. For some, this means getting up, showering, putting on work clothes and having structured coffee or meal breaks. For others, this might mean taking a few hours off in the afternoon and putting hours in later in the evening (if permitted by your employer) in order to get a break.
Working from home tips?
What did you think of these work from home tips? If you care to share any other tips on working from home and keeping healthy, drop it in the comments below.
