Working From Home and Dealing with “Lifestyle Experts”

Before anything, for all of the below the most important thing is this: Don’t judge yourself! What we are experiencing with COVID-19 is anything but normal.

All kinds of experts (me included) are going to offer all kinds of advice for what to do with hours at home. Take what is helpful, throw out what is not. Adjust as you go.

This is an unprecedented time. It’s okay to be a little off right now. Most are. So long as you are doing everything you can to social distance you are doing it right.

With that said, here are a few tips on working from home:

• Keep your normal morning routine to the extent you can. If you usually go to gym, train in the morning, either at your home our outdoors in an open space.
• Shower and get dressed.
• Create structure; think of your day in blocks of time and match certain tasks to those blocks.
• Take breaks! Rest your eyes, get up and walk around, get outside if you can.
• If possible, work in room without a fridge.
• Close your internet browser when you don’t need it.
• Remember that mood follows action; just get started. 
• When you are on the phone or video, shut all else off.
• Have a rigid boundary for when you are done working for the day; turn your computer and phone off, put them in a drawer; close that drawer.

In addition to social distancing, one of the best things we can all do right now for our own health and the health of our communities is to carry on with some sense of normalcy. Throwing yourself into a big project is almost always going to be more beneficial than checking the news for the 100th time. It will keep you sane, keep the economy moving, and keep you and those you work with focused on something you can control. 

Do the best you can.

— Brad