Locked down or not! We all thought the craziness of 2020 was over, we were all ready to leave it all behind and jump straight into the brand-new shiny year of 2021 (“New year new me!”). Everyone had their new hopes, dreams and aspirations set, ready and raring. I don’t know about you, but I feel like my skin is just that little bit thicker after 2020 ended, so I was well and truly ready for whatever 2021 had to throw my way. We were off to a good start in January, then BAM! It seemed like out of nowhere the first day of February came and hit us all right in the face with yet another lockdown due to Covid19.
One minute we were all happy doing out thing in the Crib office, then next minute we are all collecting our technology and setting up to work from home for the week. Even with everything going on at the moment, I have actually really enjoyed working from home this week so I thought I’d share with you some of my top tips that I’ve learnt working from home and what I would recommend to make things more enjoyable.
I think it’s super important to dedicate a space of your home to work (especially when you can’t leave your home) and treat that space as you would treat your normal out of home office. Make sure it’s clean and functional and you have all of the essentials (proper desk, chair, good internet connection). Bonus points if you have good natural lighting and fresh air! You’ll feel a lot more productive as a result.
Every day this week the crib team have been given a challenge/theme and we all take a selfie and send it to the group first thing in the morning. Day 1 was “crazy hat day”, Day 2 was “loud shirt day”, Day 3 was “lockdown essentials”, day 4 was “Guilty pleasures”, and Day 5 was “Breakfast”. Not only is this a great way to start the day, but it gets everyone involved and you’re guaranteed a good laugh! It has put me in a good mood every morning this week which has been great.
Normally we would work together in a large open office where we all interact and chat to each other all day every day. Since we have all been confined to our homes, we have a group chat using an online program called “Slack” not only has it been the best way to keep in touch with everyone (work-related or not), but it also has major MSN vibes and takes you back to the good times of the early 2000’s, so the nostalgia is great!
I think it’s super important (especially when working from home) to separate work life from home life. The secret to this is creating a schedule and sticking to it! Although it’s tempting to roll out of bed 5 minutes before you start work, stay in your pj’s all day and drag yourself to your computer chair while you’re still half asleep – I think this is one of the worst things you can do!
Instead, I’ve made the effort this week to get up every morning, shower, brush my teeth, get dressed (even if it’s still comfy clothes) and it has really worked a treat. It’s important to stick to a clear schedule that separates home life and work life. That means when work starts 8am-4pm you work! Set goals and tick things off your list. Then when 4pm hits (home time) the laptop shuts and you’re in “home mode”. It’s important that these two things don’t bleed into each other or you’ll feel your motivation start to drop. For those of you who struggle to stick to a schedule try out the schedule below which I created just for you!
And last but not least – self-care! This is a confusing and tough time for everyone so make sure you look after yourself! Take a moment to treat yourself to a chocolate or your favourite ice cream, take a walk around the block, have a bath, put on a facemask, or watch your favourite TV show or movie! Talk to and check in on your friends and family or have a dance to your favourite song or Spotify playlist. Do at least one thing every day to put a smile on your dial 😊 We are all in this together!
