Coronavirus: Our top 4 tips for working from home

With many of us working from home due to the Coronavirus, it can start to take its toll on your motivation.

Even if you’ve worked from home before, it’s unlikely to have lasted this long and with such little face-to-face contact.

We’ve thought of our top 4 tips for helping you stay motivated, focused and calm whilst working from home in isolation, to ensure you’re looking after both your mental and physical wellbeing.

1. Keep your home and work life separate

Although it’s difficult if you live in a fairly small space, try and break apart your work routine with your home life. Try to start your day away from your PC screen, get dressed out of your PJ’s and make a to do list to help structure your day.

Similarly when you’ve finished work, try and move away from your desk or go for a walk to create some physical separation in your work to home transition.

2. Social distance not social recluse

Although we can’t physically meet up with others, we can still make the most of technology to stay in touch. From WhatsApp Business to Zoom and Google Hangouts, there’s plenty of apps set up to help you keep connected with your co-workers remotely.

There’s also Houseparty, where you can play games with your friends online or enjoy a virtual pub quiz. Working in isolation can soon take its toll on your mental health, especially if you live alone, so it’s important to pick up the phone and talk to others throughout the week.

3. Become a pro…at anything

When stuck inside, there’s plenty of time to try out a new hobby or improve on your skills. You could learn a new language on Duolingo, try out a new recipe from one of your cookery books or give a creative challenge like calligraphy a go.

Keeping your mind stimulated with different activities throughout the weeks will help keep you motivated, boost mindfulness and stop you from getting burn-out. So when it’s time to sit down to work, you’ll be able to focus your attention properly to the task at hand.

4. Get fresh air and exercise

Without your morning commute it’s likely you’ll soon start to feel a little cooped up walking from bed to desk everyday. Now the spring sunshine has arrived in the UK, going for a walk in your lunch break to soak up some fresh air can also help clear your head. Just make sure you’re going alone or with others in your household.

There’s also plenty of free exercise apps and online resources to try in the comfort of your own home to get you up and moving. Joe Wicks is running live PE classes every weekday from his YouTube channel The Body Coach, which offers a fun way to keep active every day.

When there’s a lot of negative news stories in the press and a fear for the future, it’s important we’re all looking out for each other, from the safety of our own homes. If you’ve found a really useful tip for working from home, let us know on Twitter or Facebook.