Bio of the Author:
Natasha Kothari is a 23 year old, passionate and purpose-driven millennial entrepreneur and a new age philanthropist. She is the founder of Studio UnGap that specialises in social media marketing and content creation.
She is also an active mental health advocate, her aim is to reinvent the way mental health is perceived and also have fun with it. She also blogs about it on @moodswingsandmargaritas
Her career trajectory has contributed to meaningful social change and she is associated with multiple NGO’s that contribute to causes such as education and acid attack survivors, etc.
With the onset of this pandemic and its unexpected ramifications raining down on us, it can be safely concluded that we’re dealing with a whole new set of mental health roadblocks within the 4 walls of our own home!
We’re not being able to physically interact with anybody except for our family. We’re isolated from our friends and there’s a sudden feeling of ‘being stuck in a loop’ with the lack of change in our everyday routines. Our daily commute has become from the bedroom to living room and back, the couch has become our permanent station and pajamas our favourite outfit. Somewhere down the line, this may affect our productivity and performance level whilst working remotely.
So here are a few easy tips you can use to break away from the monotony, add some gratification to your mundane routine and still keep your creative juices flowing, all while you’re still working from home!
Prevent procrastination – Create a rewards-based To Do List!
The easiest thing to do when you’re working from home, is to become complacent. With not alot going on around you to stimulate your hardworking side- the best way to have some self-directed motivation is to reward yourself for every task you complete!
Divide your tasks into time periods, and the moment you finish your scheduled tasks within that time period – reward yourself by going for a stroll, watching an episode of your favourite show, doing some online shopping, even ordering some dessert or whatever you know is a quick mood-booster!
2.Beat the blues – Create a separate work space:
If possible, try not to work in your bedroom (the same room you associate to sleeping, relaxing and recreation) subconsciously your mind may wander, because you’re not used to working in that room.
You could create a small work station in a corner of your house, maybe go the extra mile and get yourself a professional office chair along with some stationery and other desk accessories to really make yourself ready to get into that #workmode!
3. Don’t feel too isolated – Make sure to always stay connected!
Without realising, since we’re working from home – and depending on the nature of your job, there may be times where you’ve had a period of no contact from anybody. And that might lead into ‘isolation’ really hitting home.
All you have to do, is simply drop a text to your colleagues every now and then – or even to your friends who are working. Just a few quick chats throughout the day may make you feel like you’re still in touch with the outside world
4. Let go of the lethargy – Exercise and stay active
With the monsoon blues, along with the social distancing, is not doing us any favours. It’s super easy for us to slide into that ‘I just want to lay in bed all day’ zone but keep it going and you’ll soon find yourself feeling low physically and emotionally.
The best way to beat this is by making sure to incorporate some sort of physical exercise or activity in your routine. It could just be a little bit of yoga, a small stroll, a quick jog or even a fun online class! Exercise helps hack your happy hormones, get rid of excess energy and get your adrenaline pumping!
5. Control your social media consumption – Find better things to browse:
The effects of excessive social media are a wide spectrum. Not only does it take up a huge chunk of your time once you’re hooked onto the app, it can also affect your mental state for a wide variety of reasons. That, and having nowhere to vent, or no place to go to dust it off can turn out to be a little bit of an obstacle.
So limit the time you spend on social media, don’t browse content you know makes you feel a certain way and find alternative ways to help keep you entertained while maintaining your emotional health optimally, at the same time!
More often than not, the work from home routine can get super daunting – But hey, you know what? We’re all doing the best we can, it’s perfectly natural in such unprecedented circumstances. So hold on tight for just a little bit longer, this too shall pass.