Day 18 of self-isolation! After these past 2.5 weeks, I have reflected on what I have learned and thought I would share my thoughts with you.
The first week of self isolation was absolute chaos. It felt like I was juggling 1,000 things at once and slowly drowning in the things that needed to get done. After the first week of what seemed like complete mayhem and denial of the severity (it is human nature to resist change) I knew I had to make some major adjustments to my routines and habits. It really hit me that this was not a temporary thing and it was truly a new normal.
- Time Blocking: The first week I felt like I was working for 15 hours a day, yet getting nothing done. I started feeling overwhelmed with endless work and chores, yet I also felt like I had all the time in the world. What I realized was I would start doing work, then start laundry, then go to the grocery store, then do work, then make lunch and I would half complete tasks throughout my day instead of putting all my focus and energy into what I needed to get done, then moving on to the next.
- Water. I have found myself multiple days realizing too late that I hadn’t drank enough water. I think it is key to start your day strong with drinking a lot of water and make sure not to stop. I try to get 8 8oz cups of water in/day, not including water intake during a workout.
- Structure meals like “normal” work day. I love the quote floating around Instagram “I need social distancing from my fridge.” This is so true! Since we are laying lower, food is closer/more accessible than usual and there’s general added stress from the current state of the world, for me, it could be a recipe for overeating. In addition to time blocking my work and chores, I also time block my meals and snacks. That way, I don’t ask myself if I am hungry (because the answer is always yes for foodies like me) but my body tells me I am hungry/I know I can and should eat at certain times to make sure I stay nourished and energized. I think it is best to structure your snacks and meals the same way you would at work, so there is some consistency and normalcy in a time of such chaos.
- Screen Time. An 8 hour work day for me was 8 hours of no screens, now it is 8 hours more of screens per day in addition to recreational/entertainment screen time. I feel like I am now always on a screen, which I hate! I have made a conscious effort this past week to carve out screen-free time cooking, coloring, reading, etc. I have super sensitive skin and have even developed little styes around my eye like on my crease of my eyelid and under eye (not directly on my lash line like a bacterial infection) because of the rapid increase in screen time. Luckily they have seemed to be gone (knock on wood) and I hope I am now in the clear!
- 30 mins workout + 30 mins walk/day. I have learned to love working out at home and getting fresh air during a walk! If I know it will be raining all day long, I will choose to do an hour workout or 2 30 min workouts. Some of my favorite at home workouts are:
- Shelby Trained app (DM account for inquiries, $50/month)
- Any yoga class Liz teaches (Rooted Collective or Tula)
- Alice Liveing
- Georgie Stevenson
- Reve at Home
What have you learned from working from home?