So how are we all doing in this strange (brave?!) new world we find ourselves in??
A large proportion of you will now find yourself working from home, some of you may already have been doing this but for the vast majority this is a whole new experience. One that is actually a pretty lonely reality now you haven’t got your work colleagues around you to chat to over your morning coffee. So I thought I’d put together a few quick hints and tips on how to cope !!
If this is you right now – stop!
No1 – Try and find yourself a separate space to work in!!
Don’t spend your entire day in the same room!! Working on the sofa is just about the worst place to be so if at all possible go and set yourself up on a table. Even if it means digging that old desk out from under the pile of stuff in the spare room, there you go there is another job to fill your time with!
No2 – Try and use a computer not a laptop.
If you have to use a laptop then try and either set it up using a separate monitor or keyboard. That way you can raise the screen up so that the top of the screen is level with your eye line. Spending hours looking down at a laptop screen is a highway to neck ache!
No3 – Make sure the chair and desk is as supportive as it can be!
You should be able to place you feet flat on the floor and have a 90 degree bend in your hips and knees. If you have to raise your desk up to accommodate this – try using some books under the legs of the table. Just make sure it’s safe, the last place you need to end up right now is A&E!
No4 – Take regular breaks!!
If you are rubbish at this set yourself a timer, do not sit there for hours as you have nothing else to be doing and no colleagues to disturb you. Get up and move, even if its just going up and down your stairs or walking round the house a few times.
No5- Try and keep to a regular structure
Ever heard the saying “if you want something doing ask a busy person” a day without structure is a day that usually (in my case anyway!) ends up getting wasted! So try and come up with a plan for the day and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be the usual 9-5, if your gym is running remote classes then schedule them in so you can work around them. Work the morning, go outside in the afternoon do your exercise, enjoy a bit of what you want to do then do a bit more work in the evening.
No6 – Keep in touch!
Set up a Whatsapp group for friends or workmates – the ones you want to keep talking too! Organise a coffee meet up using Zoom so you can still have your normal coffee chat. Whatever it takes keep in touch, if you’re feeling lonely ring somebody chances are they are on the end of the phone right now, unless they are a key worker in which case ring them anyway and see if they need any help with anything.
