The lockdown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many executives to work from home. Protecting your mental health is of paramount importance in these troubled times. As if the rising death toll wasn’t enough to get us worked up, research conducted back in 2017 suggests that people who work remotely put in more hours and are more stressed than those who have an office setup.
Here are our top tips for staying sane at home and being positive as you work from home during the lockdown.
1. Follow a normal routine to work from home
Just because you are cooped up at home doesn’t mean you can skip the shower. A bath will elevate your mood and infuse energy. Having a routine similar to your pre-lockdown office days will keep you sane. This means not hitting the snooze button to sleep for “a few more minutes” and waking up around the same time you used to. Oversleeping is just as bad for the brain as being sleep deprived, according to a study at Western University (Canada).
Yes, you save on time spent on the daily commute (by train or road) to the office. However, that doesn’t imply breaking your normal routine. Unless you’re living in a house the size of a shoebox, don’t place your workstation on the bed. Find a comfortable and well-lit table for your laptop/ PC, phone and paperwork. Tackle the most important tasks when you feel the freshest. If you like to start slow, then begin with the mundane tasks and build up to the important things as your attention span improves.
2. Dress formally
Get dressed like you’re going to work. Doing conference calls in your pyjamas may sound cool, but dressing in your work attire will put your mind in work mode. Science has a term for this: enclothed cognition. It refers to the way clothes they wear affect people’s behaviour in different situations. Researchers found that study participants in a lab coat performed better in cognition tests. The standard rule is, be comfortable in what you wear.
3. Have a (weekly or daily) to-do list
Now that the lockdown is extended for a couple of more weeks (maybe more), you can make a list of priorities on a weekly basis. For executives who feel lost without an agenda, a daily list is more appropriate. The bottomline is: daily or weekly, create a to-do list for yourself that includes professional and personal tasks and goals.
You are your own manager while working remotely. Allow time for enough short breaks to avoid getting burnt out. The bonus is, striking off each item gives a sense of accomplishment and optimism. The day doesn’t feel wasted. You will have a smile on your face while crossing out the tasks, we bet.
4. Don’t resist distractions
Isolate yourself physically from your phone, spouse and children when you’re working. Separate your workspace from your living and cooking spaces if you don’t want your productivity to nose dive. A Michigan State University study found that an interruption as short as three seconds can shorten your attention span so much that you make double the number of mistakes.
However, there is a time to step away from the computer as well. Write things down on paper. Rather than trying to resist distractions (telephone, noisy kids, chatty partner, television in the background) and getting irritable, observe them. Accept the fact that you can’t avoid certain distractions if you work from home. Explain gently to your children what you’re trying to do, but if they still interrupt a video call, remember that kids will be kids!
5. Take up a workout challenge
The extended lockdown has given rise to a host of online fitness challenges – 14-day challenge, the 7-day challenge, the 21-day fat-to-fit challenge, you name it, YouTube has it! There’s nothing to lose with exercising in the lockdown. Low intensity exercise can boost your energy levels. High intensity workouts will burn fat. Yoga will control your breathing and relaxation. Weight training will strengthen your muscles. As little as 10 minutes of exercise will give your brain a burst of endorphins and serotonin.
6. Learn stuff
Pessimists are getting bored to death in the lockdown yet for those looking at the glass half-full, it’s an opportunity to learn something they never had the time to. This is your chance to pick up that acoustic guitar gathering dust in the corner, dabble in juggling, get back to sketching with charcoal, practise hip hop dancing or sign up for that online course which will improve your job prospects in future.
Learning new stuff will not only keep your brain active and improve left-right brain co-ordination and creativity, it will also improve your mental health and well-being as you work from home.
7. Switch off when you’re done!
All’s well that ends well. Rather than burning the midnight oil, switch off the computer at your usual work hours and enjoy the rest of the evening. Decompressing is as important as starting on time for a productive work day. Facetime your friends and relatives. Stream a movie with your family or roomies. Man is a social animal and it’s important to touch base with people you care about.
You don’t need minute-by-minute updates on coronavirus either. Your sanity requires a positive outlook as you work from home without letting the body count wear you down!
