Sharing the Positives - Healthy Habits Whilst Working From Home

5 Mins

Jack Such our Senior Technology Recruiter shares his tips for being healthy and productive whilst working from home.

We’ve all heard the news, and we’re all aware of how the current environment is affecting us. Something we may not be aware of is ways and techniques to create healthy habits whilst working from home. As part of my role at The Candidate, I’m part based at our Manchester office and part home based in North Wales. I consider myself lucky to be already setup with a home working environment, but I completely appreciate the struggles of those who may not. Due to my experiences throughout my career and education, I’ve seen the best and the worst of remote working; I’ve seen how in the right conditions you can learn to thrive from working at home, and the wrong conditions can spiral you into a pit.

The most important aspect of remote working is maintaining a positive outlook and ensuring your mental health is on the up. It’s far too easy to fall into a slump and equally as easy to be drawn into a mental battle between stress, pressure, confusion and boredom. Working from home loses the daily interactions, socialising and banter that helps pull is all through the tough moments – but all is not lost…

I believe it’s important to share my findings on techniques and tricks which I’ve learnt over the years to create healthy habits whilst working from home. I’m not saying that by implementing all these techniques that you will become overnight working from home guru, but you will begin to move in the right direction and make healthy habits as we continue into the unknown.

Create a workspace
The ability to switch on and off whilst working from home is a universally renown challenge. We all have that colleague or friend who takes themselves to an office outside of their home in order to stay away from working at home. Creating a workspace which is specifically designed for work allows you an area of focus, an area where you can switch into work without distractions. Equally, this ensures you can sit back and relax after you’ve finished your work without strain of relaxing in your workspace – this is no way to unwind and relax in what is a tough time for all. A plan as simple as setting up on a dining table, or more creative resolutions such as The Candidate’s own Blake setting up shop on an ironing board, will make the difference between you having a focus space.

 

Keep to a sleep routine
I don’t know about you, but without my sleep, I CANNOT function. As our worlds are changing, and the tradition of 9-5 timelines are equally evolving. It’s vital that you do not let yourself slip out of routine with your sleep. Getting up at the same time you normally would, whether it’s for exercise or to take the children to school, provides a level of stability which ensures you are able to plan your day. I’m hearing more and more that people are finding it harder to be strict with their time during this isolation period, and this is where it becomes vital to keep to a sleep routine. Save your lie ins for weekends where they belong…

 

Set timetables rather than to do lists
It’s time to throw ‘to do’ lists out the window. Your days have changed now you’re working from home and you should be changing the way you manage your day equally. In a busy household, it’s far too easy to be dragged into watching episodes of Teletubbies to keep your toddler happy – at which point, you’re already behind your to do lists. To do lists become outdated within a highly active environment as you will naturally focus on the most important jobs to do. Once these have been squeezed in, your less important tasks may get forgotten about and left on yesterday’s piece of paper. ‘That’s not a problem’ I hear you say as you complete the most important tasks – how many unimportant tasks are let go across the space of a week within this environment and how much impact does that have on your business? Creating a timetable of time split across business and personal ensure you can direct time for everything from business development to getting your feet up on the sofa. By creating a timetable, you can evenly spread your day to cover all your necessary tasks rather than simply ticking off a list – try this one tick and I assure you it will change the way you plan your day moving forward entirely.

 

 

Stay social across digital
A major point in order to ensure you are looking after your own mental health. We as people are built to thrive on social interactions, and we all know how much it can help to have a laugh with your family, friends and co-workers when times are tough. We’ve never been better equipped as consumers and employees to use digital measures to keep active with those around us. A day without contact within your working from home is a step in the wrong direction. Here at The Candidate, we conduct regular video meetings just to catch up and chat, for us all to let of steam and to have the ‘pick me up’ we all need. Equally, we are joining group yoga video groups and more to ensure the mental health of the team remains positive. Without coming together, this is near impossible… New figures released show Zoom’s active daily figures has increased by 67% in the first three months of this year – if you are not using a video networking platform, you are missing a trick in order to stay social.

Be strict on time away from desk
Ensure you are strict with yourself and make sure you make the most of your time away from your desk. Despite the pressures of your work, you are only making yourself unproductive by not using the most of your time when you’re supposed to be switched off. This falls in line with the requirements to create a dedicated working space as you need time to switch off – don’t cross over the space where you can clear your mind with the space you are focused on business. Take your lunch hour, go for a jog or a walk, watch an episode of your favourite series – make sure you are productive outside of your working hours so you’re fresh and productive when you need to focus.

As I mentioned, working from home is a big change to the majority of the industry. You are not going to find your rhythm after one day or one week of working from home. Using these steps and tricks will not suddenly make you as comfortable at home as at the office, but they will aid you in the transition to finding your own tricks to ensuring you are as productive as possible in this unprecedented time.

If you’ve any questions on techniques or habits which can help you stay productive and positive whilst working from home, feel free to get in contact for a chat!

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