Just a few short weeks ago the idea of working from home, with a few less commitments, may have sounded like an ideal solution to restoring the elusive work / life balance for many. No commute, freedom to exercise and eat when you want, see the kids more. More TIME.
Yet the reality, particularly if you have kids home too, can be an entirely different experience, with days full of frustration, overwhelm and guilt. So how do we make working from home work for US?
I’ve been speaking with many companies and entrepreneurs over the last few weeks to help them establish a new, short term, optimal normal. Having ran my own health and performance business working from home for over 10 years, firstly with toddlers now with teens, I understand the constant juggle is real.
There isn’t a perfect, nor only way to balance all the things. But there are definitely some essential pillars that HAVE to be installed to work from home with any degree of sanity and wellness! So here are the 4 foundations I find are the consistent non-negotiables:
1. ROUTINE
First up has to be routine and consistency. If we only work when we feel like it and when everyone and everything else is organised, it’s unlikely much work will be done!
Early in my home working life, my coach advised me to schedule everything. I resisted like crazy – freedom is my highest value and I love spontaneity! Yet these days I’m a HUGE fan of the google diary to map out work and personal time all in the same place. Client appointments, administration, lunch, exercise and family time all in there and colour coded helps stay in complete REALITY of time. This one is particularly important if you’re an eternal time optimist and always think twice as much can be done in an hour than it actually can!
There is likely much adapting to be done right now too. If you’re used to scheduling 8 meetings a day in the office, this is likely to have to change . You need a break, albeit 10 minutes between those calls. Time to reset the kids home work (or break up the fights!), move your body and rest those eyes. Back to back online meetings is simply unsustainable – this period of confinement is clearly a marathon, not a sprint.
The reality is even before this virus appeared, these were wellbeing habits that I advised our driven clients to optimise both their health and performance. So if our health is suddenly our collective priority, we HAVE to prioritise routines that make us feel well as opposed to in a permanent state of stress. Stress massively affects our hormones which can reduce the efficiency of our immune system.
2. BOUNDARIES
Next up, boundaries. Do those around you at home know when you’re working? Is that clear if you’re working in the family space or would life work better if you rearrange the work spaces somehow?
I literally announce to everyone at home “I’m off to work” as I step down into my office. Otherwise it would be a free for all whenever anyone lost their ipad or couldn’t find the milk in the fridge. Clear but simple rules like no coming in to interrupt if the door is closed, yet ok to pop in if the door is ajar work well with older kids (and partners!)
Delegation can also help enormously. Most women wear many hats, which makes working from home is particularly challenging. There’s no time like the present to train up partners and children with the essential tasks required to keep the house running. ‘Who else could do this?’, is one of my favourite questions of all. Who else in the house can cook? Prepare meals? Help with the laundry? If delegating is done graciously then it can be of huge benefit to everyone. Communicating in ways that work best for your family to divide the tasks can be key. Many like to write things on a notice board so it’s clear and reduces the nagging!
3. MOVE – often.
An essential habit right now has to be movement. Not only does it feel good in our bodies and minds and helps us stay more productive, it helps us to stay well. We needn’t be running marathons in the garden - short bursts through the day can be work brilliantly to help maintain energy levels and productivity.
As a physical therapist the number one exercise I teach all my patients and clients to do is to breathe well. I covered that in depth in the most recent 2 blogs, for now simply breathing through your nose and feeling your stomach rise as you do so is all you need to start.
Our immune systems need moving muscles to pump the healing lymphatic system. Our lungs need us to breathe well to keep our respiratory systems as healthy as possible. Here’s 5 simple yet effective ways to keep moving:
Take 3 breaths through the nose and diaphragm as you sit back to read an email
Do 10 squats between calls or tasks.
Stretch or do a favourite yoga pose whilst you chat to others in the house or on the phone.
Intersperse work with the active jobs like sorting the washing, the gardening or walking to check the mail.
And walk. If you’re time short walk and talk whilst you’re on a work call, chatting to your partner or catching up with a friend.
4. MINDSET
Last but definitely not least, mindset. Fiercely protecting it and being proactive to master it are the keys to everything and the above 3 tips will help you do so. As we learn to master our mindset, we better manage every decision, habit, thought and emotion we have.
Weekly Live Mindset Meditation on our facebook page through this confinement phase
A daily mindset practice through confinement might include:
Minimising news exposure
Being mindful who you connect with – on your phone, on social media - does it feel like they are they energising or draining your energy?
Reading motivating books or listening to podcasts to programme your mind with quality input
Having a simple meditation practice to learn to detach from thoughts and be better able to manage emotions.
Movement, yes again! There are enormous mental benefits to movement as I’m sure you’ve felt
More time often means more opportunity for the monkey mind to start to take over. The monkey mind being the part of the mind that has incessant destructive thoughts – which can plague us with anxiety, guilt and other very uncomfortable feelings. Coping with these undesirable feelings could be one of the biggest problems of all that people are faced with during this time of confinement. Knowing that there are many sources of support for this and that it can be very much a learned skill are of paramount importance.
So whilst there are challenges for us all through this time, finding the gifts can help switch our perspective in an instant. Taking a moment to appreciate the luxury of a longer lunch, more connection with loved ones or extra time to sleep. Having time to better prioritise our collective wellbeing and reconsider how we usually live. Really getting to know our true selves and how we define success. Those who understand themselves deeply and stay aligned with their values know when to push more and when to step back and slow down. Checking in where we’re at in life and healing where required mean that this period of confinement could be a very precious opportunity indeed.
Sally Dibden is a health and performance coach, physical therapist and yogalates teacher for both businesses and individuals. She specialises in burnout and stress related health conditions by managing hormones to optimise both body and mind. All services are currently offered online only. She will be hosting the free Monday Mindset Meditation over the next few weeks over on The Wellbeing Consultant’s facebook page .
Online services available:
NEW! Hormone and Energy Reset Online Program starting 27th April - hormone, life and anxiety management coaching at ‘special times’ rate
Online speaking / training / workshops - do you run a team and would love to keep them inspired and well?
Physiotherapy - physiotherapy consultations
Online Yogalates classes - blending pilates and yoga
Do reach out via e-mail for more information about any of these services as our availability and offers have changed so quickly that our website hasn’t quite caught up with them!