Posted by: Unison
Quarantine has definitely been getting us down lately. It’s hard to stay productive when you’re stuck inside all day. But at Unison, we’ve managed to find a few ways to keep ourselves working (and entertained) during shelter-in-place. Here’s a list of some of our favorite methods to keep quarantine claustrophobia away.
Create a clean work space
Technically, home and work are in the same place right now. But you should try to separate them as much as possible. If you can, have a dedicated “work” room in your house. Once you start working in a room frequently, you’ll find that whenever you try to relax and enjoy yourself in that room, you’ll only be able to think of work. Don’t type up reports from your bed, or else you won’t be able to sleep at night for thinking about work. If you have enough space, dedicate a separate room to your work.
Tune out distractions
We all have a mobile phone which can be very useful, but make sure to turn this off before studying to avoid messages popping up constantly. If you think you will be distracted by people in your house use headphones with your favorite music. Classical music or jazz music can especially be helpful if you want to focus, canceling out unwanted noise.
Self-Care
Motivating yourself to work is wonderful, but it’s extremely important to take some time just for you as well. It feels more natural to take some time off to relax when we have regular schedules, which leaves many of us unintentionally working extra hours when our natural routine is disrupted. And if quarantine has you feeling unproductive, you might have a mindset that says you don’t “deserve” any time for yourself if you can’t keep up your regular work schedule. But that’s not true! You should always leave time for yourself at the end of your day: it will help stabilize your daily routine. Skincare, bubble baths, Netflix, video games: something that makes you feel happy, relaxed, and is entirely unrelated to your work life.
Set realistic goals
When you actually start to work make sure you set clear goals for the day that you are actually able to achieve. If you plan to work for 2 hours in a row make sure to write down what you are going to do. If you don’t create a clear schedule you may lose track and lose motivation. If you also want to sport and invest time in calling someone it is not realistic to say finish the whole chapter today. Make sure to split it up into structured pieces.
We all are going through a tough time and such instances, it is important to keep the mind in focus and follow these tips for working from home. Be grateful and if you’re feeling highly unmotivated, do meditation instead. Feed your mind, focus on your intention and breathing. Do it for when you feel like going on a short break. It will help to calm you down and will also help you be more productive towards work.