What does your quarantine look like? Is it Netflix and yoga? Constantly taking online courses? Scrolling through your Insta feed and cooking nice meals? If any of the above applies to your routine, know that somewhere in the world, there I am, looking at you with jealousy and green eyes. That didn’t sound too creepy, right?
I hoped this quarantine would be a nice pause and that it would allow me some time to breathe freely. As soon as I found the perfect puzzles (no judgment please) and wrapped a blanket around myself, God knows why I decided to check my mail.
After the worst decision of my life, I’ve been constantly doing homework and working, or so I thought — until I got a notification that I spend an average of 6 hours a day on social media. It felt like I was working non-stop, and fatigue was confirming it. So, how could it be possible that I was scrolling so much?
As it turns out, working from home is a whole new kind of skill that only the wisest possess. After a little research and trying new tips out, I can share my wisdom and guide you into the knighthood (wait, or is it work-hood? I am still on the way to finding my peace).
Make a schedule
While working or studying from home, it feels like you have to be available constantly or complete tasks until there are no more. The truth is – you don’t have to. While being at home, you can still claim your working hours to be from 9:00 to 17:00. It will make you more focused and you won’t wake up thinking ‘I have to work all day again’, and stress in advance about everything you have to do. Don’t forget to tell your coworkers about your plans though. Bosses tend to become a bit angry if they get used to getting their texts answered at 2 am, and then you suddenly stop.
Use specific apps for work
That was my exact problem. I discussed assignments with my group on Messenger, then answered some unrelated texts from my friends because I opened the app anyway, and how could I reply on the Messenger app and not do that on Instagram, right? Oh, there are only six new stories and two posts, let’s see… So hours went by and my brain still thought that this was my working time. Therefore, I was getting tired of Instagram the way I get tired of working. Not nice. After Slack, Trello, and Fleep came into my life, I stopped that vicious cycle of spending hours on social media.
Take days off
My friend said that the worst thing about quarantine is that there are no days off. Why? Because she decided so. Actually, you have a full right to rest. You can turn any day you despise into your day off. It is easier to get back to work feeling energised, and it will make you more productive in the long run.
Make a difference between your working and resting zone
I don’t know about you but I used to wake up, get lazy and work from my bed all day. I mean, yes, it is comfortable to enjoy the warmth of your blanket during an important and stressful meeting, but stress kind of stays in your bed for the rest of the day. Besides, your brain gets really confused: you are lying in bed which means you are not working and your brain isn’t in tune with a working mode. At the same time, if you are working from bed now, it means that it is not a place to rest. All of that leads to you neither resting properly, nor working productively. Making the effort to organise a little working zone (and actually using it) will make your quarantine life so much better.
Keep calm and work from home.
As you can see, these things can coexist!
