If you had told me at the beginning of 2020 that this is how we’d all be spending the majority of our year, locked in self-quarantine, I’d have never, ever believed you. But yet, here we are—scared, anxious, tired, lost, bored (in the house) and still life as we know it must continue. Our work must continue even though our day-to-day activities and grocery lists seem to be quite different than before. It’s pretty damn hard, I’ll admit. Something that we as humans never thought we’d have to battle, yet is something that the future on mankind is counting on—self-isolation. And given the circumstances, working from home is both a saving grace and a curse. But in the midst of this chaos, I’ve found a way to keep your mental health in check and a work-life balance that won’t completely burn you out!
1. Plan your day. Plan your week… PLAN.
If someone told me I had to keep only one app on my phone, I know for a fact that it’d be my calendar. I cannot do anything without organising my day, week and month. It’s a habit I picked up very early in life and I’m glad because so far, the minute anything happens in my day-to-day, I jot it down in my calendar. It makes tracking things so much better and makes you look at your day or week from a wider angle. I definitely recommend having either a notepad at hand or even a notepad on your phone to help manage and map out your day better—both professionally and personally.
2. Workout for at least 20-30 minutes a day.
This one’s hard, I’ll admit. But once you tie those laces and put your hair into that high ponytail, you’ll see a huge difference in your mood. It doesn’t really matter what time of day you choose to workout—you just have to give yourself at least 20-30 minutes in the day to move! You’ll be pleasantly surprised that working out can make a world of improvement in your energy levels, keep your anxiety at bay and also the added benefit of keeping your weight in check during the lockdown.
3. Rejuvenate your face by splashing it with cold water.
I’m starting to think that my bathroom sink water has been blessed by Iron Man or something. Because every time I splash (not wash, just splash) cold water on my face, I’m suddenly hit with this feeling of rejuvenation. Studies show that cold water acts as a stressor, making one’s body release hormones like adrenaline, which then makes you feel instantly alert.
4. Tidy up your space aka tidy up yo lyfe.
Everyone has that chair in their room… You know, the dumping chair where all of the crap you have no energy to fold away or put back in its place. It’s natural to keep a chair like that in your room but it’s also suuper important to clean it up once a week. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, sometimes you just have zero motivation to do anything… But here’s a hack. Netflix your favourite show, or listen to an upbeat song on your Spotify or put a face mask on and give yourself 5 minutes to put away everything on that chair. Slowly you’ll realise that your mind feels less cluttered and sends signals to your sensory functions that will soon have you cleaning up your entire room. De-cluttered mind, here I come!
5. Take that day off! Hell, take 2 days off—but then come back on track.
These are hard times, and no matter how many motivating podcasts you listen to or how many social media challenges you partake in, the fact of the matter is that you need to put you first. Give yourself grace. Take care of yourself—whether that means going on airplane mood for a few hours (I can personally vouch for this) or whether it be ordering in and binge eating your favourite food. Just take a day off without feeling guilty because that workout, TikTok challenge and emails can wait it out for another day or two.
Hope this helps any of you who’s struggling with their work-life balance or even those who struggle with passing the time by. Ending with this: