Across the globe the implications of Covid-19 are being felt, affecting the way we communicate with our friends and family to carrying out our day to day lives.
At 11:59pm March 25th 2020 New Zealand Entered Alert Level 4, meaning complete lock down for everyone apart from essential services. Although this means that everyday Kiwi’s can still nip down to the shops for essential food items or seek medical care there are strict rules in place to assist in stopping the spread of the virus and keeping our communities safe.
But, it’s not all bad! Who doesn’t want to sit in the pyjamas in the comfort of their own home to carry out their daily tasks!?
Although this does sound like a walk in the park for some, for others it can be a difficult adjustment, Below are a few key pointers to steer you in the right direction for the duration of this isolation period;
- Communicate
interacting and socialising less with friends, family and colleagues can take its toll on your mental health, it is important to keep communication lines flowing freely and maintain contact with others. Jump on Skype with your family, send a text to a friend you haven’t talked to in years.
- Stick to your schedule
Although working from home isn’t the norm for a lot of everyday Kiwi’s, try and stick to your daily routine. Dress for success - Get up and get dressed, if you get a coffee from the downstairs café at 9:30 every morning – pop down to the kitchen and make up a brew. Sticking to your schedule will also encourage healthy behaviour to switch back when you are not on the clock to see your home office also as your space to relax again.
- Take your breaks
In order to stay productive and maintain concentration, ensure you are taking enough breaks throughout the day. Move out of your workstation for this time to give your brain a chance to unwind and refocus before returning and restarting your tasks.
- Keep a to do list
Before starting each day ensure you have outlined and understand your to do list!
Working from home can make for a challenging time to stay on track and not getting distracted, by having a list of tasks to complete you can see where you are at and prioritise remaining items to be completed; Also you get the satisfaction of seeing your list empty by knock off time!
- Eat well & Hydrate
Above all other things in order to feel mentally and physically healthy we need to ensure we are putting good foods into our tank and keeping hydrated! This will help us stay more alert, motivated and energized throughout the day enabling you to concentrate for longer increasing your productive hours.
- Do fun stuff!
Although you are working from home, you still have your days off!
Set out a list of all those things you have been wanting to do but for some reason never have the time to. Finish that project off that’s been sitting half painted in your garage for 6 months, bake a cake, Get that thousand piece puzzle out, learn an instrument you’ve always wanted to. Take this time to take a step back, breathe and reconnect with your inner imagination!
