We continue to be in a bit of a holding pattern, waiting on mass distribution of the vaccine. Depending where you live, you may be experiencing a full lockdown, or at a minimum, a modified version of normal. Children have shuffled between online and in-person schooling, in many cases. Many are working remotely, although not everyone. It has been chaotic to say the least.
Working from home offers benefits – more family time, no commute, savings on transportation costs, some flexibility in schedule, in many cases more comfort – we know you wear the dress shirt on top and pajamas on the bottom! It also comes with its challenges.
Here are some tips to help those that are struggling to find their groove at home.
Create A Schedule
Creating a schedule and sticking to it helps with productivity and it makes it easier when it comes to scheduling all those Zoom calls. Alternatively, you could create a schedule and not follow it all. That works for some!
Plan Snacks and Meals
To ensure you don’t overeat, or get crumbs all over your keyboard, it helps to plan your snacks and meals and step away from the computer while you eat. Of course, you could also just eat whenever you are hungry and order one of those little keyboard vacuums for those pesky crumbs.
Dry Zone Zoom
It’s best not to have beverages while on Zoom calls – that includes water, tea, coffee or smoothies. However, it’s important to be comfortable and hydrated, so you should feel comfortable having a beverage on calls.
Zoom Calls
Try to limit Zoom calls, to avoid Zoom fatigue and burnout. But also, contact is good so go ahead and schedule lots of calls.
What we are saying, with some humor in an attempt to bring some levity to the situation, is that we are all doing our best to cope with an ever-changing new normal that comes with stress, logistical issues and an impact on our health, mental health and work.
All of the above suggestions and the hundreds of others floating around out there are potentially viable. Truly though, the best advice is to read and learn what you can and then create some guidelines that work for your situation, life and work. We are all different and have different needs.
The things we know for sure are movement and fresh air are good for everyone. Human connection is important. You shouldn’t bottle up any of the feelings you are experiencing.
Please take care of your physical and mental health, do your job to the best of your ability and be patient with yourself and others.
In a time when businesses are facing unprecedented challenges and people are scared for their jobs – we hope that employees and employers alike find ways to communicate, support each other and get through this pandemic.
If you are struggling, you aren’t alone. There are resources to help. Find someone you can talk to. Don’t carry it all on your own.
We wish you all productivity, health, safety, and most importantly comfort and strength.
