As the coronavirus impacts our daily routines here in the Netherlands, many of us find ourselves in a new and challenging situation. You might be asking yourself; how do I juggle working at home, educating the children, keeping on top of extra cleanliness and reducing my emotional stress?
We have a lot on our plates right now don’t we? That means self-care is essential to making sure we are fighting fit to handle the next few weeks.
We asked 100% remote worker and frequent Bem Estar client, Hannah Foreman-Wenneker about self-care tips during the next few weeks. We hope it helps you.
Q. How long have you worked from home?
A. I have been working 100% at home for more than two years, following almost 20 years in an office environment. At first, I found getting used to the new routine very challenging, but now I am settled it has become normal for me. I am seeing lots of my friends and associates just getting started with working from home this week, so I am happy to offer advice if it helps.
Q. What tips do you have for establishing a healthy routine when working from home?
A. (1) Build a routine and stick to it. Routine is perhaps more critical when you work from home than when you don’t. Our bodies love routine, they thrive on it, and our minds too. It is less stressful if we know what is going to happen and when. I always start my day by walking my dogs – it gives my mind and body some fresh air and boosts my happiness levels. Then I work through till lunch when I will leave my desk and eat some food. In the afternoon, I take a break around 3 pm to have a cup of tea, and I finish my day at 6 pm. So, find a routine that works for you and try to stick to it 😊
(2) Eat healthily. You would think that being at home and able to prepare all your meals would be healthier. But I can be quite lazy and making my lunches is something I found myself skipping a lot, this led to an unhealthy diet and increased my stress levels. Now I always take 5 minutes to prepare a healthy lunch, and I keep healthy ‘brain-food’ snacks like nuts, fruit and whole-wheat crackers in stock near my desk!
(3) Remember to take breaks! This is probably the most important tip I can give. When we work in an office environment or somewhere similar, we naturally take more breaks. From having coffee catchups with colleagues to visiting the canteen or local café for lunch, taking a break in our work routine is much easier to do when there are many people around us.
When you work from home, it is easy to find yourself uber-focused on your project or deadlines and before you know it, 3 hours have passed, and you haven’t even visited the toilet! To stop this happening, I started setting myself little alarms every 2 hours, to make sure I stand up, stretch my legs, back and shoulders, refill my water bottle and eat a snack or step outside.
Q. How do you handle work stress when you are alone?
A. This is a good question. For some people, suddenly working at home will be a lot more stressful than for others. It depends on your personality, type of work, level of support from your employer, home office environment and level of household distractions. To stop myself getting distracted, I have a home office where I can hole myself up and not get affected by household noises and chores (like that washing pile that needs sorting or that kids room that needs tidying up!). But that isn’t possible for everyone. If you don’t have a quiet, private place to work, try using headphones with calming music to stop distracting noises stressing you out.
In terms of work-related stress, I use mindfulness techniques to help me with that. If I come across a problem that I don’t know how to solve the first thing I do is take a deep breath and remember that every problem has a solution. I work my way through the issue methodically, and I always remember that I am not alone! I have plenty of people to ask for help; I can ask co-workers on a project, professional networks I participate in or even Google! I might be physically alone, but I am connected digitally to a world of information and answers.
Q. How do you wind down after a day of work when you work at home?
A. I used to read a book on the train ride home from the office, but now I don’t have any commuting time to wind down mentally, so I have found some alternatives that work for me:
- DO have a cup of tea. I spend the last 10 minutes of my workday having a cup of tea and looking out the window, calming my mind and hydrating my body.
- DO take a shower. This is not something people typically do at the end of their workday before starting the evening routine with the kids, but I find taking a quick power shower revitalizes my mind and body and preps me for the next few hours.
- DO take a walk. Spending just 10 minutes outside, breathing in real oxygen in my garden or walking around the block with my dogs helps me to get rid of any work stress and calm my thoughts.
- DO treat your skin. Because I am at my desk and no one can see me, I often pop on a face mask! Why not? I am a huge fan of natural skincare so I love this Charcoal Mask. I also keep my favourite hand cream on my desk and regularly step away from my laptop and other screens to avoid blue light. Luciana at Bem Estar advises I use this Advanced Day Total Protect which I have to say has really helped my skin.
- DON’T hit social media. This can be even more stressful than work!