WFH - 10 Ways to keep your Sanity and Productivity Intact

Working from home, or WFH as we now call it, has been a blessing for many of us. We’ve been able - with some adjustments - to continue providing our services to our employers and customers therefore keeping our jobs.

The less ideal side of WFH is that our personal life and our working life have now merged into one. To add another layer of complexity, the ones among us who also have children in reception, primary and high school, have had to add homeschooling to their everyday tasks.

Once we have gotten over the excitement of getting 20 minutes extra sleep in the morning because we no longer have to commute, or the sense of freedom brought us by wearing pyjamas or joggers for work, other less than welcome consequences of the new normal have become apparent.

We are “always on", we no longer book days off, or sick days, and we find it incredibly difficult to transition from work to home time because we do it all from the same location. The result is that our mental health is suffering. Now - more than ever - we need to look after ourselves, we need to nurture our inner self to find happiness and increase our resilience.

If we take the time to really look after ourselves, develop new habits to remain productive and stay motivated, we will feel better our self-confidence will grow and we will be able to care for others too.

Looking after ourselves when WFH means taking a few steps to ensure clear boundaries are set between work and personal/family life and that we make the most of the new normal.

We have found 10 things that help us and we share them with you here:

1. Use your extra time, the commute time, in the morning to meditate, do yoga, go for a run, or a walk. Keeping your sleeping patterns regular is important for your body’s internal clock and can help you fall asleep and wake up more easily. Meditating, on the other hand, will help you clear your mind before work. Definitely, a habit that you want to develop and keep for when you go back to the office.
2. Keep working hours that are the same as your office hours. This is crucial, it’s far too easy to lose track of time and find yourself still working at 8pm. I still do it and keep trying not to!
3. Have a dedicated, organised space in your home that you use as your office. You don’t want to be looking for stationery or whatever you may need all day. Create your working space and keep everything at hand, your favourite mug, stationery, everything you need.
4. Send your children to remote school to their rooms and meet them for a snack and a chat during their break times. My son, 13yo, has started telling me ‘see you after school’ after we meet in the kitchen at lunchtime. It’s funny, since he’s just going a couple of floors up in our town house, but indicative that he takes his school time seriously and had adapted to remote learning (eventually!). That part wasn’t easy for him or us.
5. Keep doing your and your children lunches for school/work just like you did before. It’s easy to think we can now cook proper meals and spend more time in the kitchen. But while I’m an enthusiast home cook, I realise that keeping my lunches to simple salads, soups and sandwiches as I used to do in the office helps me stick with pre-pandemic routines, and it works for me. I can always play queen of the kitchen in the evening and at weekends.
6. Take your lunch break and if you need to go out to stretch your legs during your lunch break, do so, you’ll come back refreshed. A walk, no matter how short, is always beneficial and you may even see other “humans’ as you go out. I think this makes us feel less isolated and helps getting through the rest of the day.
7. After work habits, make sure you take some time to just wind down after work before you start your evening. The transition from work time to your own time may be tricky. For example, we work from our living room, which also happens to be the place we would land after work. So, not easy to have a change of scenery. We do move away from our workstations, light a few candles, share an aperitif and consciously 'leave' the office.
8. Keep your pre-pandemic habits going. If you used to go for a drink after work with friends or colleagues before heading home, there is no reason to stop. Just do it over zoom, or WhatsApp. Take the time to talk with your friends, seeing them even if over computer or mobile phone camera reconnects you with your world.
9. Treat yourself to a nice home cooked meal in the evening. With the commute out the way, you should have more time on your hands to prepare a nice meal, just take the plunge and try that intriguing curry recipe you always want to make.
10. Make the most of the rest of your evening. Just like when you used to go to work, if you prepared your lunch for the day after, do so. And your evening meal and ‘job’ are out the way. Do something for yourself, a manicure or a bath, read a book, listen to your favourite tunes. Go to another room if you need to, if you live with a partner and children, it’s easy to feel trapped now that you’re all at home. enjoy some quiet time to reconnect with yourself, consciously manage your internal dialogue towards positive thoughts.

A little note about number 4. We understand this may be difficult with younger children, but you can keep them in the same room with you and encourage them to pursue independent tasks that you assign them. My mother, a headteacher, never sent me to nursery or reception, she homeschooled me until I was ready to start primary. She did just that with me. It did work, and taught me how to respect that fact that adults have commitments to meet. Looking back, I think it was a great teaching as I never felt bored or lonely, and I just learned to entertain myself with toys, books and various crafts since a very early age.

We don’t know how long we will have to live with COVID-19, of course vaccination brings hope for a return to normality, but we somehow doubt life will ever go back to pre-pandemic and this is not a bad thing.

We have learned new habits, employers have probably realised that most of their staff are very reliable and productive regardless of location.

Thinking of employers, we hope that most of them are helping their staff to stay happy and motivated with group activities over zoom and even more importantly, that they are rewarding those employees with thoughtful surprise gift that can enhance their wellbeing.

If you are an employer and reading this, take a look at our aromatherapy fragrances range and order a small token of your appreciation for your best performers or for the ones who need some cheering up and extra motivation. 

Hopefully, you’ve found this article interesting and useful, let us know what you think and what your coping strategies are by emailing us at hello@schoneorganics.com