Greetings from my apartment!

Due to COVID-19 I am practicing remotely to keep people from being out and about as much as possible. More than likely, you are in a similar work from home situation. Between working from home, self-quarantining, and social distancing, we are all experiencing quite a lot of at-home time. Today I want to chat with you about tips for working from home and ways to prioritize your self-care, as we all cope with the current COVID-19 pandemic. 

Working From Home
Working from home for a day here or there versus working from home for several weeks can look and feel very different. Whereas working from home for a day or two may feel like a (hopefully!) productive stay-cation, working from home for weeks becomes a matter of your daily life. 

Here are a few tips to help you transition to working from home for the next few weeks--

• Set a schedule for yourself.​

  • This sounds pretty basic and simple but it is important! Consider your work day when you would go to the office. I’d wager you had some sort of routine- even if it was just a morning schedule to get up, dressed, out the door, and to the office by a certain time. Find ways to create a new schedule for yourself. Not only will this help your productivity and focus, but also create a sense of control and calm. 

  • Schedule breaks! Your brain is a muscle that requires recovery, like any other muscle. Schedule breaks into your day, including time to eat meals. This can have a huge impact on your mood and ability to focus. 

  • Schedule when you are off-work. Working from home makes it easy to never really stop working. The different physical locations of home and the office can help in creating concrete boundaries between “work-mode” and “home-mode”, but this is no longer the case when working from home.  Be intentional with when you are in “work-mode” and when you are in “home-mode” by establishing working hours for yourself. 

• ​The Rule of Pants 

  • Yes, you read that correctly. The Rule of Pants means put on a pair of REAL pants to start your work day (not sweatpants or leggings). Or put on a work-appropriate shirt. The logic behind The Rule of Pants is that our external stimuli can help our brains recognize that it is time to focus and work-- just like when we put on comfy clothes or pajamas our minds and bodies begin to relax. Figure out what your Rule of Pants is. Do you need to put on work clothes? Or settle into your at-home work setup with a cup of coffee or tea? Or turn the TV off? What external stimuli helps (or doesn’t help!) you shift into “work-mode” 

  • On the flip side of this, be mindful of when it is quittin’ time. When you have finished your work for the day, be intentional about transitioning from “work-mode” to “home-mode”. You can do this by changing into comfortable clothes (bring back those leggings or sweats!) or logging off your work computer and putting it, and other work documents, away. 

• ​Natural Light

  • ​​If you have access to a window, try to work near it. Natural light and seeing the outside world can have a soothing effect and overall positive impact on your mood. 

Self-Care, Self-Care, Self-Care!
It is of the utmost importance to prioritize your self-care, especially as we self-quarantine and adhere to social distancing. Your self-care will look differently today than it may have last month. Below I have offered tips and ideas on how to prioritize your physical, social, and personal self-care while social distancing and self-quarantining. 

Physical Self-Care
There is a significant link between our physical wellness and emotional wellness. Taking care of our physical bodies is hugely important! 

• Moving your body by either stretching or simply doing laps around your home while listening to music or a podcast can positively impact your mood. Check out YouTube for free at-home workouts or yoga classes you can stream from home. 

• If you can, go for a walk or run outside. Get that fresh air! Be mindful of social distancing and go move outside and get some Vitamin D.

Be mindful of how you are nourishing your body. Studies show that gut health (the balance of microorganisms in the digestive tract) impacts mental health. With this in mind, make sure you are fueling your body and fuelling it well!

Social Self-Care
Social distancing and self-quarantining may change how we socialize during this time, but it does not need to stop us from socializing altogether!

• Texting is always an option to socialize, but (and stay with me here) what about calling a friend? I know phones are used for most everything EXCEPT making phone calls, but let’s have a throwback moment and bring phone calls back! FaceTime and other video chat platforms are also great options for connecting with friends and family to have virtual hang outs. 

• Social media can be a great tool to stay connected, but be mindful of how much time you are on IG, Facebook, etc. 30 minutes of scrolling can very easily turn into an hour or more. Check in with yourself about how connected you truly feel to others after 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and 60+ minutes of social media. Are you feeling connected after a few minutes, but the longer you remain online you start to feel more isolated and disconnected? Check in with yourself about what you need and what makes you feel good and connected. 

• Be mindful of where you are getting your news from and how long you are exposed to the news. Stay informed and updated, absolutely, but I implore you to be mindful of your news sources to ensure they are trustworthy. Also be mindful of what your tolerance and limits are around media and news. I, too, have been guilty of watching the news around the clock, but this endless exposure can be overwhelming. Stay informed while also staying present with your tolerance levels and needs. Perhaps turn off the news after 8:00 pm. Check if your smartphone has a timer or limit on news apps or social media. Again, stay informed and stay mindful of your needs. 

Personal Self-Care
Creating time to yourself, for yourself is always important, but maybe more so during these difficult times. Especially if you are in your home with other folks like roommates, a partner, or children, create moments for yourself when you can. This time is crucial to help you recharge and reconnect with how you are truly doing.

Here are a few things you can do to carve out time for yourself--

• Journaling 

  • ​You can do this in your Notes app, but I personally prefer the old fashioned pen and paper journaling. You can write about your day, your thoughts, feelings, opinions. You can write in sentences, bullet points, or as a mind-map (Google this if you’re not familiar- it is a more visual way to journal). 

  • If you don’t know where to start you can do a stream-of-consciousness entry where you just write whatever comes to your mind, keeping the pen to paper. You can also start by writing the highs and lows of the moment/day/week.

• Meditation/Mindfulness

  • I am a big fan of mindfulness. If you are on the fence about it or want to know why I (and many others!) encourage folks to practice it, too, click here to ​check out my Mindfulness 101 blog post. 

  • Consider creating a meditation or mindfulness practice. This does not have to be a MASSIVE endeavor. Perhaps you try to sit in silence for 2 minutes everyday for a week and see what it is like. There are lots of free guided meditations and guided visualizations on YouTube if you want something more structured. You can also check out meditation apps like HeadSpace and Insight Timer. I like Insight Timer because it is free, you can search meditations based on length of time and topic, you can do a timed meditation (the app will start and end the time you set with the sound you choose), and the app tracks how often you use it. I like this because it gives a sense of accountability and accomplishment after you finish using the app. 

• Reading

  • Any other bookworms with me?! Whether it's with a tablet, Kindle, or an actual book, read something you enjoy. Read something that makes you feel something (preferably something other than boredom). Do you have any magazines piling up? Read those. Do you have books you haven’t read in a while that you used to love or be interested in? Re-read them. You say “self-quarantine”, I hear “re-read all of Harry Potter”. 

• Solo Activity​

  • It is important we take time to ourselves by ourselves when we can, especially if we are sharing space with others. This can be watching a movie or TV show, cooking, baking, drawing, listening to a podcast or favorite music, dancing, coloring (remember all those Mindfulness Coloring Books? Now is the time to bust them out). If it brings you joy (and, you know, is legal and doesn’t harm yourself or others), do it. It is OK to say to your roommate, your partner, your family, “Hey, I love you and I love me, too.” 

Be mindful of your needs. Create and take time to yourself, for yourself. I you want to talk more about self-care or coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact me by clicking here and submitting a contact form.