The current coronavirus pandemic situation all around the globe has been very scary and has been impacting everyone.
To each and everyone: wherever you are, please take care of your health and stay home!
I was in South Africa for the past months and when most of the cities in Europe are locking down their borders, I made a decision to come back home to Germany. As a precaution, I am in self isolation for 14 days, just to be on the safe side.
As a result of the current situation, companies everywhere are imposing work from home as an option to people who can do their work remotely, and even rotating shorter shifts to an otherwise full-time work.
Getting work done when you are at home is very challenging to some, especially to parents who have kids with nothing to do at home! I love seeing all those moms / families coming together sharing tips to occupy your kids and so on - I am sure this is immensely helpful to so many!
For those who aren’t productive working from home, I will share some best tips you can follow to get some work done!
But before that, I want to share my own routine in isolation. Of course staying at home heavily impacted how I structure my days. Normally I am only at home during the night and the first 1-2 hours in the morning. Now I am at home all the time. I still want to make sure to get things done, be productive and feel good about myself.
My Routine:
Get up after 8 hours of sleep
Work out in the morning
Yoga, pilates and my ballet exercises or stretching.
Important: Do work out. Moving your body isn’t only good for keeping your mind occupied but also to strengthen your immune system and we all know we can use that.
Meditate
I use the insighttimer app and love the guided meditations they have on there. It’s fully free.
Journaling
Next to my normal journaling I currently heavily focus on gratitude. I fully immerse myself into gratitude even when the world around you is in panic.
Get ready
Fully getting dressed (proper clothing, no pjs) and putting make up on.
Determine the three items of my day and get to work
I’ll work while listening to some music, avoiding the news (especially in the morning).
Lunch by noon, read a bit
I do stick to my eating routine and less snacking (it’s easy to go to the fridge 100x a day now - or is that just me?).
Work a couple more hours then go for a walk
I think getting fresh air, some sun if the sun is shining is SO important. Of course I do make sure to not get in touch with anyone and keep a distance.
Catching up with friends
I do schedule calls with them! Make sure you connect with them. If your social life was important to you before, it’s even more important now!
End of day
Evenings are for reading some books, puzzles, netflix, relaxing baths.
Above and all, I do make sure that I get things done but I focus on a positive mindset first. If I feel anxious, if I feel super emotional I try to be gentle and get into a better state first, not wanting to force myself to work if it doesn’t feel right. Now that i went through my whole currently new isolation routine, let me share some tips when it comes to working from home - I’ve been self employed for a while so I’ve a bit of practice with that.
Top tips for remote work
1. Keep a Dedicated Office Space
Make sure you have a space where you can keep your stuff and that is clean and tidy so that you can get things done productively.
2. Pretend like you are going into the office.
Make sure that you get dressed (& if you don't want to wear anything super nice, at least change into a different pair of yoga pants, comb your hair etc). For some people it’s also helpful to go for a quick walk and with that imitating what a commute would be like.
3. Stick to working hours or at least define work versus off time
That means if you decide to work for the next several hours, no scrolling on social media, no cooking, picking up the phone to call a friend but really differentiating between the two.
4. Take scheduled breaks
I thought it would be easy to take breaks whenever you want, but i actually found it harder because I just kept working. Set your break times and stick to it.
5. Get up and get fresh air
Don’t sit on your desk all day long. Get up and try to get some fresh air.
6. Prepare your meals the night before
You generally will eat much more than you normally would just because you have a fridge close by. Save yourself some time and prepare the food in advance.
That’s it. Stay safe, stay sane. Work out, support each other where you can.
I also wanted to link some episodes of my podcast that focus on productivity, they are all short and sweet so do check them out:
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