For the second post of our "How To" series, our Student Assistant and RA Rachel will walk you through tips about how to work from home.
Quaran-time to Get to Work
Many of us are adapting to work from home throughout the quarantine. Some are finding that this task comes easily and quite possibly is more comfortable than going into work. But some might be finding this extremely cumbersome. It is very easy to fall into a slump throughout this process. I realized I was in mine after I had grabbed my laptop off the floor where I left it the night before after binge watching my favorite show on Netflix, sat up in my bed, finished the bag of chips left on my desk, opened my computer, saw that it was almost noon and realized it was time to get it together. If anyone has even remotely gone through a moment like this, these next few paragraphs will be very helpful for you. I would like to share some strategies that have helped me adapt to working from home throughout these stressful times.
Create a designated workspace: I believe this is one of the most important steps in maintaining a healthy headspace to work in. After speaking to many of my peers, this has been one of the most taxing tasks and requires a lot of mental strength. Without a space that is designated only for work, an unmotivated and distracted mindset is almost inevitable. This means that if you are going to take a break to do anything, watch a show, browse the internet, go on social media, play a video game, remove yourself from your designated workspace and physically take your laptop (or another device you use to work) somewhere else. Like I said, mental strength. Take a moment right now to designate this space and tell yourself that when you are in that space you will be productive and focused. I highly recommend the space to not be your bed (we all know we work in bed to “accidentally” fall asleep). Use your judgment as you know yourself best, but I recommend this space has plenty of light, remains relatively clean and free of most distractions.
Create a routine: This is something we naturally do but becomes very susceptible to falling apart when living in a state of uncertainty. As we settle into the stay at home order, it is important to remember that a routine can reduce our stress by maintaining consistency in any way we can. Something that I have found very helpful is simply getting dressed every day. It can be very easy to fall into a pattern of waking up, staying in our pajamas, never showering, excessively napping and barely eating until we find ourselves wondering what day of the week it is. Of course, every routine will be different, but so far I have found that these few things have helped me the most and can hopefully be a basic structure in building your routine as well:
1. Get ready: In whatever capacity this may be, take just a few moments to get ready. Maybe it’s full makeup, a nice outfit, blow your hair out and do your nails. Or maybe it’s just changing into anything that’s not your pajamas and brushing your teeth. Find your “ready” and take on your day with it.
2. Plan your day: Once again this is different for everyone. I prefer to write a to-do list with everything I hope to accomplish in that day, keeping it reasonable to the hours I spend on working. I find writing things down makes it feel more attainable instead of letting my responsibilities zoom around in my mind.
3. Go outside: even if it’s just for a few moments, going outside and looking at literally anything that isn’t a screen is very beneficial.