Helpful tips for separating work and home life during lockdown
It started out great. Waking up later, trading hours in traffic for extra family time or extra time to work on your hobbies. But now, a little more than a few lockdowns later, you’re creeping closer and closer to starting work late and you’re spending your extra hours doing more work to try and keep yourself occupied.
Here are a few tips we personally found helpful when trying to separate work life and home life.
Set screen time limits.
Modern problems require modern solutions. We live in a digital era where it is getting increasingly difficult to switch off after hours. Make the most of your smartphone’s features to set screen time limits to help you switch from business mode to relaxing mode.
Create a specific place in your home for work.
When we walk into the kitchen, we know that we can make breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If you’re anything like me, trips to the kitchen might be more frequent as I’m in the habit of checking the fridge every hour to see if treats have magically appeared (surely, I’m not the only one?)
What’s the point?
I don’t go to the lounge expecting to find magical snacks when I turn on the television. I know that to feed my midnight cravings I should go to the kitchen. Creating a specific space for work helps us separate snack mode from goal crushing mode. Tristan says: “I find if you can pick a room or other space where you can minimise distractions, far away from the kitchen, laundry room, and PlayStation, this will help productivity significantly.’’ Even if you don’t have the luxury of a spare bedroom, allocating a specific section of your space is a good option to help you separate work from life.
Spend time outside as often as you can.
I have been having my lunch outside as often as possible. Even though the weather isn’t the best at times, and I’m forced to have lunch inside, I make the most of the opportunities I get to spend some time in the sun. I find that spending time outside also helps when I feel like I’ve been slogging away and getting nowhere with my work. Take some time to reset. Go for a walk or spend 5 to 10 minutes outside.
Do something new
Never tried tennis? Neither had I. Not until recently. I’m only a few million serves away from being Ivo Karlovic or Nick Kyrgios, but I still tried, and it was great. If you prefer staying indoors, look for board games to play, quizzes to do or books to read. I recently realised that I had forgotten a few skills I had learnt in school, so I looked up past test papers to do. All I’m saying is year 12 chemistry is still hard.
Maintain your health & fitness
Look, nobody is judging you here. Most of us are guilty of letting our training plan or eating plan slide in lockdown. Netflix plus a comfortable bed or couch at home is a tough combination to resist, even for the most disciplined person. Our tips: stay accountable and set small goals. Clint says: “Try to eat a healthy lunch and drink plenty of water throughout the day so you don’t feel the need to snack. Same for fitness; start with small goals. I have a motto ‘Never miss a Monday!’ Download a fitness app and track your progress. I have even kept myself accountable by uploading my weekly Monday runs to Instagram stories with some funny GIFs and music, I know it might be lame but it helps keep me accountable.’’