Working from home without going crazy
We are in a very unique and unprecedented position. With efforts to combat the COVID-19 disease, many companies in the US and all over the world are implementing policies to allow their employees to work from home to promote social distancing. I have been working from home for almost three years. I thought I'd share some of my tips and tricks to stay sane while working from home.
Get some sunlight
Vitamin D is important to the happiness and health of human beings. It’s been well-documented how a lack of Vitamin D can have a big impact on the human body. It’s also thought that sunlight triggers a hormone called Serotonin. Serotonin is a key component in battling depression. Depression may become an issue for even those without any prior history of depression, as the duration of quarantine continues to be uncertain in many countries, and social distancing can make you feel isolated.
Here are a few suggestions for upping your exposure (but don’t forget your sunscreen!):
Take a 15-minute break and go for a walk
Take your computer outside and work in the sunshine
Take your conference calls outside
Work in a room with lots of windows and keep them open!
Human interaction
This is kind of a tough one at the moment. Prior to the virus outbreak, I put some effort into ensuring that I got human interaction outside of the house. Obliviously, right now, it’s all about keeping distance. So I’ve come up with a couple of “remote” human interactions instead:
Try a live video exercise class
FaceTime with your friends and family
Have meals with friends or coworkers over video conferencing
Keep up using other forms of media (chat more with Slack, use group messaging, etc)
Admittedly, some of these feel a bit weird, even to me. But I’ve found that social interactions are pretty key to my sanity. If I spend too much time without talking to someone, it starts to affect my mental well-being. So be creative and get those social points in. Share your suggestions for "social" interaction in the comments below!
Find a comfortable place to work
Quarantine and social distancing may not last long enough for some people to invest in creating a home office. But definitely try to do the little things to make your space friendly and comfortable. While I’ve spent some time (and money) to spruce up my desk, monitor, keyboard, chair and more, many of you probably won’t work from home long enough for this to be essential. Instead focus on what you CAN control.
Find a quiet space to work (if you can -- many of us have littles at home during this time as well! If you'd like to share how you're keeping your kids occupied while you work, contact us!)
Ensure your setup is comfortable, with your monitor(s) at the right height, a mouse and keyboard are optimally placed and so on.
Try different spaces until you find the right one
Other tips
Get dressed, every day. I don’t mean get fancied up, but at least put some non-pajama pants and a shirt on. Brush your hair and teeth, and wash your face. You can start to feel sub-human pretty fast when you don’t take a couple of minutes each morning to simply making yourself presentable.
Plan out your meals. At the very least have a plan for lunch and snacks. If you really feel up to it, then meal prep! It’s way too easy to eat *all* the snacks when they are convenient and low-effort. Some forethought can help curve the urge to munch for 8 hours. Additionally, this could provide a sense of structure that is usually imposed by being in the office.
Get up and move! It's easy to forget that we tend to move around more at work: walking to a co-workers desk to ask a question, taking a stroll to the restroom, going into the break room to get coffee. Set a notification or alarm reminder (I use my Apple Watch Stand reminder) to push away from your desk and stretch your legs a bit. It can be literal stretching, doing some squats or lunges, walking up and down the stairs - anything to get the blood flowing and to feel less sedentary.
This is a tough time for us all. But as long as we can do a few small things to help us focus on what we can control and keep our heads on straight we will all make it through!
Here are a few additional resources to help your stay a little more sane:
