With Covid-19 devastating the world and sending hundreds of millions of people into stay-at-home emergency orders, like so many of us, I find myself working from home. At first, the sudden change made it a challenge to maintain balance in my life, but now, I am finding my happy place.

Mental Health

Mental health is very important to maintain during these dark times. It is increasingly important to keep a level head and stay calm as worry and panic will only lead to more stress and bad decision making.

To keep from going stir-crazy with cabin fever, I have worked hard to set a routine. Routines help us maintain a sense of normalcy in our daily lives. Having a routine when home and work become one and the same also helps me stay motivated and get tasks complete. With a routine still, at the end the day, I feel complete and accomplished.

It also goes a long way to keep exercising regularly. I do this through morning stretches and going for daily walks. My neighborhood is hillside with usually no one else around so physical distancing is not a problem. Taking a nice long walk with my husband and appreciating the elevated vantage point helps us not feel boxed in. The cardio and conversation releases anxiety from the workday.

Motivation

Staying motivated while working from home can be a big challenge. There are so many available distractions! That is why it is important to maintain an office space that is separate from your living area. I am lucky to have an office room at home. During work hours, I stay in this area so that I feel more at work and not at home.

I also use incentives to keep me on task. When I complete a task, I get a treat! A treat is something simple— maybe a 10-minute break away from the office to stretch— or maybe a trip to the kitchen for a rice crispy treat. Whatever it is, incentives are a good way to have fun and motivate yourself.

Technology

Technology will present challenges while working from home, too. Thankfully, all I have to do is connect to my POE’s VPN at work and then remote into my computer on campus from my machine at home. Form that point I have what I need for work.

The bigger challenge here has been establishing effective communication with my team. We are using Google Hangouts for basic work chat and then we use Zoom for our meetings. It is easy to forget to check-in when you do not see each other everyday. Making sure that I do that as part of my daily routine has helped me stay and feel connected with everyone.

As simple as it all may seem, it really makes a difference to find your happy place while working from home. For me it is separating my workspace from my living space, figuring out and sticking to my new daily routine, exercising and moving around regularly, incentivizing myself, and staying connected with my work team.