100-ish tips for working from home – Part 2
Part 2. Daily routine
To help prepare you for lockdown, here are our next few tips for working from home. Create routines to help manage the stress of isolation and looking at the same four walls!!!
- Create a working day routine with scheduled tea / meal / look-at-the-horizon breaks for maximum efficiency.
- Use work breaks effectively: try a 20-minute workout or meditation using the multitude of online resources
- Commuting creates the clean break between work day and home time. Recreate the break by going for a commute-length walk, bike ride or workout to punctuate your day.
- If the weather permits, do some outdoor exercise every day. Even a short walk will improve your circadian cycle and assist with quality sleep
- Exercise fridge discipline – don’t fill it with junk food; when you’re bored, you’ll succumb to temptation.
- Have crunchy veg sticks for snacks (helping to condition your jaw muscles if you’ve been tensing them!) with yogurt dips or hummus for flavour
- Drink plenty of non-alcoholic and low sugar drinks (ideally water!) to help reduce the temptation to snack
- Dress like you’re at work – at least from the waist up!
- Wear fairly loose fitting trousers or skirts — tight seams will restrict blood flow and make you uncomfortable
- Start the day with your usual office routine: shower, cup of tea, breakfast then go to your home desk!
- Take a proper lunch break of at least 30 minutes and eat a nutritious lunch (focusing on vegetables not carbs) – your concentration will be better afterwards
- Go outside during your lunch break
- When you’ve finished your work for the day, put your computer away and switch your work emails off your phone
- Replace alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic versions in the evenings to help manage your weekly units
- Get some beautiful real houseplants – these are great for mental health
