Today I want to focus on a few things you can do to look after yourself.
The preparations to come out of full lock down into a new way of working for the longer term will unsettle the routine you have managed to establish so far. You’ll be loaded you up with another project to deliver with the safety and wellbeing of your team as a major responsibility alongside you financial targets.
Before jumping into this, take a step back and consider your own health for a moment. How long is it since you’ve had a break? And by this I mean a total day off from work, with your phone in a drawer and your computer set to ‘out of office’.
Mastering working from home may have been relatively straightforward, particularly when using IT for communication. Plenty of tools have made this easier.
All this has built up anxiety which can lead to burn out if you don’t take a break.
Here are some techniques to help you manage yourself:
Make time for personal development and learning. Learning non-work related skills are actually beneficial in improving work performance.
Take breaks during the work day to spend time with family or a friend. You’ll return to your desk refreshed.
Separate your work space from your living space. If you don’t have much room, tidy all your work away at the end of the day don’t leave it where you can see it (particularly not in the bedroom) and don’t be tempted to go back to it in the evening. If you have more space, dedicate a specific area to your work and only use it for work.
I have heard of one person who, after breakfast goes out of his house and walks round his block then comes back into his house to start work at his desk. At the end of the day he does the same and enjoys the pleasure of ‘coming home’ after work. What would help you to separate work from home? Give it some thought, try a few ideas stop the feeling you are ‘living at work’.
And most importantly of all, give yourself a day off. Take a few steps back so you can then take a running jump into the next stage.
Further Reading: