It’s incredible to think that we’re now into our ninth week of remote working. Freed from the shackles of the commute and the constraints of office life, we now have more freedom than we could have ever imagined. But adapting to these remote working pros and cons brings its own challenges. Here are my top 5 tips that I’ve learnt over the last nine weeks that have kept me sane during lockdown.
Sticking to a daily routine to aid remote working
During times of uncertainty, routines are important to give us some semblance of control over our lives. They also helps us to adapt quickly to change helping us to reduce our stress levels. Unleashed from the rigid structures of office life, we now have the freedom to introduce new elements to our routines. My mornings now consist of breakfast, followed by fifteen minutes of yoga and ten minutes spent watering my growing collection of house plants. These new routines are an important aspect of my daily self-care and help me to approach the working day in a calm and grounded manner.
Breaking up the day with exercise
Prior to lockdown, I was lucky if I managed to do exercise three times a week but now having gained an extra two hours a day of commute time, I can now fit in small bursts of exercise three times a day – maximising my remote working benefits. Following my post-breakfast yoga session, I fit in fifteen minute of PE with Joe Wickes at lunchtime. The sessions help to break up the day and also provide joyous respite from the monotony of remote working. The physical exertion of burpees, star jumps, planks and bunny hops gets the endorphins fizzing through my system and energises me for the afternoon session. As a fanatical hiker, I get my walking fix at the end of the day with a two hour walk in my local woods which relaxes me enough to have anxiety-free sleep for most of the night.
Filling my flat with plants for health benefits while remote working
Such are the benefits of having plants in the office that they’ve now become a staple in the fit-out and design of many new office buildings. Plants not only help to reduce toxins in the air but have also been proven to improve productivity by up to 15%. The act of nurturing house plants also provides a fantastic boost to psychological wellbeing. I now have five plants who all surround my desk while I work remotely. Never having had so much care and attention before, they are all growing like mad and costing a small fortune in terms of re-potting but repay me every day in terms of their new shoots and calming green hues.
Having daily virtual contact with colleagues
For those office workers who live alone like me, daily phone or teams contact is vital in terms of maintaining social contact. Of the remote working pros and cons – one of the things I miss most about being in the office is the camaraderie with my team colleagues. Sharing the minutiae of our lives as well as the big milestones is a fantastic bonding experience. Now thanks to twice weekly virtual teams meetings, we still make sure that we are able to catch up on each other’s lives and celebrate joyous occasions such as the birth of children. Remote working also provides an opportunity to reach out to others to increase your social network while also helping others while working remotely.
Taking the opportunity to learn new skills while working remotely
Studies have shown that remote working can generate 1.4 more days of work compared to those toiling in the office. While this is not the case for everyone, there will be some office workers who now have more free time to pursue remote working opportunities. In my own case as I’m now visiting businesses digitally rather than physically, I now have more time on my hands. This provides more opportunities to learn new skills through the plethora of online courses now available through providers such as LinkedIn and Reed. As the recession bites and jobs become increasingly insecure, there’s never been a better time to upskill.