A few or so weeks ago, everyone’s lives got pretty much turned upside down. A lot of us went from working in an office 5 days a week to working and staying at home. Basically over night. And most of us hadn’t ever worked from home before. So it’s been a huge adjustment for us. It took a few days for me to fall into a routine, but I’ve gotten one. And it’s been really good for me. So I figured I would share my tips that I’ve picked up in the past 2 weeks of being home 24/7 to staying motivated while social distancing.
The first few days of working from home weren’t difficult, per say. But they were definitely different. It was odd being in my room, trying to separate work from home life, and making Annie realize I’m not home to play all the time. Although, she is getting hella more snuggles because of this, so I think she’s winning in this situation. But I quickly learned what type of routine I needed. Some people thrive on no routine, some thrive on strict routine. I am the latter. I need the same routine or my brain goes a little crazy.
First things first, you have to continue to go to bed and wake up at the same time you were before working from home. I think adding a little time here and there is fine, but try to stay consistent. I’ve still been going to bed between 10-11pm and waking up between 7-7:30am. It’ll really help when it comes time to go back to working in an office. It also helps you keep a routine overall.
The first thing I do when I wake up? I make my bed. Being on a Zoom call every morning and having my bed be the background helps motivate me to do this, but it’s also nice to have a tidy room/office since being in here all.the.time. Here’s how my day usually goes after I wake up:
- I take Annie for a walk or I workout. Being active first thing in the morning isn’t something I’m used to but it has been SO nice being able to do something every morning.
- I shower. Listen, I know we’re all locked up in our houses. We’re not seeing other people. And we would like to stay in our pajamas all day. Every so often, I think it’s fine to do that. But taking a shower, putting on fresh clothes for the day, and sometimes even doing your hair and makeup will help you feel like you are ready to take on the day!
- I work for a few hours. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of work when you’re at home. But you cannot forget to get up and move around. After a few hours of work I get up to clean something in the house or make breakfast. Then it’s back to work for awhile until lunch time.
- At lunch I make SURE to step away from my desk. I will eat breakfast at my desk while doing work but lunch is my time to step away for a minute. I’ll watch some TV and eat my lunch for 30 minutes. Again, sticking to a routine is important and when I was at work I would take a 30 minute lunch break so while I’m at home I do the same.
- Then it’s back to work until 5 pm. Once the end of work rolls around, I get off my computer. I know it’s easy to want to just sit on your computer all night doing things, but it’s bad for your mental health and your eyeballs. So step away. I power down my computer and don’t touch it again until the next day. Unless an emergency at work pops up, of course.
- Then it’s time for another walk with Annie. Since that’s the only thing we can do to get out of the house, it’s what we’ve been doing a lot of.
- After the walk, it’s time for dinner. I’ve been getting Hello Fresh for a long time now and they have been a saving grace since all of this has happened.
- After dinner it’s time to watch a little TV or play with Annie or just kind of chill. Then it’s time for bed. And I do it all over again.
One thing that has really helped? Getting a desk. You need to have a separate area for work and home, even when work is at home. You can grab a cheap desk and chair from Walmart or Target. Please don’t be sitting in your bed doing your work every day. It’s bad for your back and your mental health.
I know it’s only been two weeks but I feel more motivated with work/my blog/my IG/my TikTok and being active. The sun is finally shining and that is helping SO SO much. I just wish all of this motivation didn’t come at the expense of the world pretty much falling apart. I go to bed praying every single night that this will all go away.
I also want to give a huge shoutout and thanks to everyone out there fighting this immense battle. The health care workers, the grocery store workers, our first responders, the people who are out there delivering all of the packages everyone is getting since we can’t go places to get them, just everyone who is out there risking their health for the health of others. Please do them all a favor and STAY THE F HOME if you can. PLEASE.
