STEPS ON STAYING SANE

Many of us may never return to a traditional office setting and we need to be prepared. All across America companies are allowing or requiring all of their employees to work from home. Some companies are giving employees a choice to stay home. For those struggling with this hardship here are some guidelines to keep sane and productive.

How to stay sane working from home

• Use a blocker to avoid social media
  Block apps like news, FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram
• Keep a separate office space (if possible)
• Don’t watch more than an hour of news (this is important to keep stress levels down)
• Set a schedule (to the best of your ability)
• Include mental and stretch breaks
• Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated but also to force bathroom breaks which force you to walk around
• Use an hour of cleaning the house time to problem solve work issues. It will be surprising how solutions will come.
• Do not overschedule just to make yourself seem busy
• Tackle larger projects you have been putting off by breaking them up into smaller segments that you can accomplish within a day
• Turn The TV off and use the radio or a music app to provide soft background noise if you must
• Allocate time to get organized for the future
• Take regular physical and mental breaks. Break contact with your computer for at least 60 seconds every hour. Look off into space or day dream for 60 seconds it only takes a minute.
• Try and find a comfortable space, working from the kitchen table is often the only option but if you can put a small table and chair in a corner somewhere you might fare better.
• Set semi-hard deadlines and learn to forgive yourself if you miss one or don’t have enough to keep you busy to the end of the day.

Working from home

Perhaps most important, LUNCH. Do not skip this, working from home already means working longer and later so the line between work time and home gets blurred. Take a lunch break everyday even if it’s 30 mins and a snack. Taking a lunch break is important for you to reset for the rest of the day.

Try to avoid feeling guilty, that feeling of just having to constantly check email, respond right away and not taking time to formulate a response. Working from home does not mean working 24/7 and being available all the time.

The bosses are often in the same boat, stuck at home with husbands or wives they are not used to spending 24 hours a day with and children that once were in school 8 hours a day. No one is alone in this.