1. Establish a routine

Not travelling into the office can easily cause you to fall into bad habits.  Research shows that effective sleep is produced by having a consistent time of getting up and going to bed. Decide on a set time to go to bed and wake up, plan your daily exercise and work diary in advance and don’t forget to plan a lunch break.

2. Create a designated work space

Work can quickly blend into home life and you can find yourself sitting on the sofa in front of the TV still working on the laptop after dinner.   Adopting a regular routine will help get you into  “work mode”.  If you can do this in a set space it will help you switch off once you end your official day and you shut the computer down.  If you are furloughed and unable to work try and find something ‘life or career enhancing’ and put that into your diary for example learn a language or go for a virtual tour of a museum. 

3. Ergonomics

This is a difficult subject to cover as there is no 1 answer from everyone. The key is to keep moving regularly. Its ok to slouch (some of the time) and you don’t have to sit up straight all day long. Having an expensive chair is equally not all that important. The key is to feel comfortable and adjust portions regularly. Spending some time in standing at the kitchen counter or walking around the room as you take a phone call is a great way to break up the sitting time. If you are working on a laptop, we suggest using a laptop stand, external keyboard and mouse so you are not looking down all day long. Here are 2 affordable products on amazon that can help.

Laptop stand    Keyboard

4. Don’t watch the news all day!

At present, the constant talk about Coronavirus is overwhelming and can get you down.There is a benefit to staying up to date with current developments, but too much information can take a toll on our mental wellbeing. Avoid checking news stories before bed and try to only check in periodically rather than keeping it on in the background all day. The most correct and updated information can be found here

5. Eat well

Don’t use food as a source of comfort, try to maintain the discipline of regular meal times and avoid too many carbohydrates like biscuits and muesli bars. Ensure you are getting plenty of protein in your diet and keep hydrated. It will keep your hunger cravings at bay and ensure you maintain energy levels.   

6. Stay in touch

Zoom, WhatsApp, FaceTime, Skype your friends and family regularly. Arrange a group or family chat online to stay connected with those you would normally see regularly. It will help break up the days and having social interaction is an important part of your mental health.

7. Mental health

With stress and anxiety levels high it can impact on your overall health and sleep. Applications like “Headspace” and other meditation apps can help relax the senses. It’s important for everyone to have a little “me time” and it’s increasingly hard with everyone at home all the time. Set aside time daily to either meditate, listen to music or read a book to escape a little from all the craziness and remember at some point life will eventually return to some normality.