Monday, March 16, 2020

How to Stay Happy and Productive While Staying Home

As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of people are suddenly finding themselves working from home and being told they should physically isolate from others. For most writers, this is a blessing (ahhhh, the quiet!), but for extroverts and people who haven't worked from home before, this can be downright scary.

Since I've worked from home for most of my career, I thought I'd share some tips for making the experience fun and rewarding.

Tip #1: Get dressed

Even if you're not going to have any video meetings, put on an outfit that makes you feel like working. You don't have to go as far as wearing a suit and doing your full makeup routine if you don't want to, but getting out of your pajamas gives you a psychological boost and signals that it's time to work.

Tip #2: Schedule your day

One of the biggest challenges of working from home is that people tend to lose a lot of the structure they find in the office. The lure of social media, laundry, pets, and the fridge can all eat into your productivity.

Schedule your day starting with the meetings you have to call in to, then carve out time slots for the projects you need to work on today, and then (and just as importantly) carve out time for breaks during which you take the dog for a walk, play with the cats, check in on Facebook, etc. Just make sure you schedule it in, and be sure to consult your schedule throughout the day, making adjustments as needed. I use the Self Journal and highly recommend it for planning your day.

Tip #3: Turn on video in your conference calls

Seeing your colleagues' faces will help you feel much more connected and less isolated. Furthermore, communication flows more smoothly when you can see each others' faces, because you can pick up on cues when someone wants to jump in and you can see their reactions. If you have a slow internet connection, though, you might have to turn off video to keep the audio from dropping sporadically. In this case, if your meeting app allows you to have a photo of yourself, use a friendly photo that shows you smiling. 

Tip #4: Carve out a space just for work

If at all possible, try to set aside a space that is just for work and nothing else. If you only have a kitchen table, try to sit in one seat for working and another seat for eating. Or make the kitchen table your desk and eat while sitting on the sofa. (Wear earplugs or headphones while working if you're in a noisy environment.) It's very easy to have work and home life bleed into each other when you work from home, which can lead to lost productivity as well as burnout. Make sure your working hours are mostly work and your personal hours are mostly personal. By carving out a physical space that's just for work, it can help you better separate your work time from your personal time.  

Tip #5: Plan social events

Wait, aren't we supposed to be practicing social distancing? Yes, but planning some remote social interaction can be critical for maintaining your mental health during isolation. 

Over this last weekend, I held an open mic night via Zoom. I created an event for it on Facebook and invited a bunch of people, and about a dozen called in. One person read a story they had written, and a couple of us performed songs. The rest of the time we just chatted and caught up as if we were at a cocktail party. 

Another friend did a live DJ set from his living room and streamed it over Facebook Live, and I had a blast dancing for over an hour while occasionally texting with other friends who had joined the live stream. And this week a friend and I are planning remote game nights; poker, Yahtzee, charades, bingo, and trivia contests are all good candidates.  

If this sounds like more social time than your introverted nature can bear, have a phone call with family or friends so you at least hear other voices. And also take a look at the virtual museum tours you can do online. 

Tip #6: Exercise

Exercise is so important for your mental health. I am one of those rare people who has never experienced runner's high and actually feels worse right after exercise, but it's important for my overall health and sense of well-being. I'm a big fan of Peloton, especially because it provides such a strong community without having to leave the house. If you don't have the money or space for the bike or tread, no worries: the Peloton app, which is free for 30 days, has tons of great classes you can do without Peloton equipment. 

Tip #7: Spend time on creativity and learning

There's never been a better time to work on your novel, learn guitar, color in coloring books, create playlists of music, read that book you got for Christmas, write poetry, paint, or simply journal about your experiences during this time of isolation. Check out Master Classes, or just look up YouTube videos and learn how to do something new. When we use this time to create or learn something new, we feel even more productive, and that improves our sense of self-worth and accomplishment, which in turns boosts our mental health.

Tip #8: Cut way back on alcohol

One of the big risks with isolation is depression, and alcohol is a depressant. It also leads us toward slothing on the sofa and watching TV instead of exercising and being creative. And if you're sharing space with family or roommates during this time, drinking alcohol will increase your chances of getting on each other's nerves and triggering arguments. It's really important that we take excellent care of ourselves during this time, so do the things that promote your physical and mental health.

Tip #9: Help others

Research has shown that helping others helps us feel better. There are many small ways we can do this while we're isolated. If you are healthy and know of someone who is in a high-risk group, offer to do their grocery shopping for them, but only if you can be extremely careful and mindful of hygiene. If you know someone who lives alone, call them and check in on them. If you know someone has lost their job, offer them financial assistance if you can. Buy gift certificates from your favorite restaurants so that they get money now to tide them over during this time, and you can go enjoy a meal in a few weeks.

Do you have other ideas for how to stay happy and productive while staying home? Pleas share them in the comments.

3 comments:

  1. After working remotely for years, I've got a few tricks to augment Jackie's great advice above.

    * Sign out of personal accounts on your work laptop. Use your phone if you need to check messages. To put it bluntly: personal surfing during the day will kill any productivity you’re hoping for. Watching the last season of GoT on your 2nd monitor wouldn’t fly at the office, shouldn’t fly at the home office either.

    * KEEP NORMAL WORKING HOURS. This one can’t be stressed enough. If your daily schedule shifts regularly, it will inevitably be harder to stay focused as the sun gets low in the sky. It’s like trying to diet with freshly-baked cake on the counter. The other advantage of a consistent schedule is communicating your availability to coworkers. An inconsistent schedule can give a similar impression to consistently showing up late.

    * Keep your "home office" an unmentioned detail of your job in social settings. Use normal terminology like "need to go in to work" when you talk about it to friends/family. The more you maintain it, the less people assume your daily schedule is "flexible" (ie: open for their interruptions). I’m not advocating dishonesty, in fact: I’m advocating that you communicate more accurately. Look at the difference between answers to : "What do you have going on tomorrow?"
    * "Nothing, just WFH." (Reads like "Hit me up anytime, I’m just hanging out")
    * "I’ve got work, but I should be off by 6pm" (Reads like "Let’s make plans in the evening")

    The prevalent theme here is that going to the office is kinda like being at a gym. Everyone’s got their own thing going on, but people would notice if you deviate. That gives you a little self-discipline "for free" due to social pressure. Working at home is like working out at home: there’s nobody to speak up if you just lie on the bench for 30 minutes, and there’s no trainer to walk by with inspiration. Every day at the home office requires you to be like Rocky: running stairs and punching meat in the freezer, ready to go when it’s showtime.

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    1. Awesome advice! Thank you so much!

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  2. Here's a few tips from my years of working from home:

    1) Get fresh air - Try to go outside once or twice a day. Just getting outside and breathing fresh air provides a huge burst of energy and reinvigorates you so you can be more productive.  I've found that doing this first thing in the morning has a similar effect to taking a shower.  If you can take your laptop or phone with you then you don't even have to stop working. Even if you can only go outside for 5 minutes, it still makes a huge difference.  If none of these options work, then at least open a window to get that outside air.

    2) Train the family - While I have a dedicated office in my house, I also have a wife and 2 kids.  It's not that they can't knock on my door to talk to me, but over the years, they have learned some basic ground rules to minimize interfering with my work: - Keep the interruptions to a reasonable quantity and hold off on things that can easily wait until later - Always knock before entering my office - Before knocking, listen to see if you hear me or somebody else talking - Texting me is an alternative, but don't rely on me checking my texts since I may be on a call or focused on a task

    3) Invest in a good chair.  It may not be worth it for a temporary arrangement, but if you're spending 10 hours per day sitting, you should be in a comfortable and ergonomic chair.  The same applies for your entire physical workspace: mouse, keyboard, monitor, phone, etc.  Lighting is also something to consider.

    4) Keep it down! - As I sit here typing this, my neighbor (who apparently also works remotely) is outside on his driveway on a work call.  He's using a headset and speaking so loud that it's hard to ignore him. There may be a water balloon heading his way if he doesn't pipe-down. OK, I'll admit that this one is less about advice and more about me venting!

    -- Craig

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