The Rona & WFH
Strange times we're living in right now, huh? I think everyone can agree, can't they?
As most of us around the world get used to the whole "WFH" vibe, I've been sat back watching everyone come to terms with their new working experience. For the last 2 years I've been working remotely full-time and I have to say, I feel like I've not been hit as hard as others.
Life for me, for the most part, has carried on as normal. My usual working day goes a little something like this:
- Get up
- Have a coffee and (sometimes) read out on the balcony
- Start work
- Have dinner and maybe game for half an hour
- Back to work for the afternoon
- Finish for the day
All of this happens indoors, some days I might not even step foot outside the apartment until the evening comes around. This, through necessity, had to become the norm for a lot of people. Some will've taken to it easily and some will've found it a lot harder than others.
The struggle for me came AFTER work. This was the time I could get out, see the world, interact with people, walk aimlessly across the beach. With the current state of affairs, all this was put on hold and the only outing I could get was for groceries or a pharmacy run.
I am however extremely grateful for where I am in the world. Restrictions seem to be lifting gradually and I see a glimmer of my old life returning.
Before all the...you know, I made it my aim (especially within the last year) to stick to a stricter routine and it helped immensely. I wanted to share just a few things that really helped me over the last couple of years of remote working and which I know will help me (and anyone else that happens to be reading this) going forward.
- Get out! Seriously. Too many days I spent indoors and only went outdoors at night. I began to miss being out in the daytime. So, I made it my mission to go out at least once during my work day, be that to the shops, for a coffee or even just for a wander.
- Co-working space. If this is possible (maybe not for all), try working 1 or 2 days a week at a co-working space. It breaks up your week and provides a difference in scenery.
- Be strict with yourself. Start at a certain time, finish at a certain time, have your dinner within a certain timeframe and make sure you leave some time in your day to do bullet point number one.
- Eat healthily. It's too easy to binge when you're working from home (I know!). Try and eat at set times and if you know you can't control yourself, don't have goodies in the house. I've eaten more healthily working from home than I ever did in the office. Mainly because there are so many options for lunch to choose from when you work in a city.
- Little to zero distraction. I know this one is hard, given the current circumstances, but try and work somewhere where you know you won't be interrupted. Trust me, the sofa is not a good place to work from.
The only other thing I'd say is, if you're more of a morning person then try and double up on your outings for the day by going for a walk in the morning, too. I've always been more of a night owl, so I tend to go to bed late and wake up later than others, this means I'm good for one walk in the day and then a trip out at night.
I hope that if you've made it this far, you've taken away at least one thing from this post. If not, then you're probably a know-it-all and we wouldn't get on with each other. Either way, I hope we all return to normality soon!