How to stay remotely sane while working remotely for long periods
Honestly, we don’t know. But nobody does. At least there is no universal recipe that works for everyone. Days become weeks, work hours go deep into the night, remote calls start sounding like gibberish (see featured image) - we all slip here and there. But that's okay. We’re Human, remember. What works for a busy mom doesn’t work for a hip livealone. (OK, that word is invented, but you know what we mean.) Anyhow, we do have some advice up our sleeve that might help.
Sleeves
Let’s start with sleeves. They should be comfortable but not pyjama sleeves. If you think you’ll get any work done in pyjamas, dream on! Pyjamas and alcohol are rookie mistakes - we’ve all tried it the first week. But if you’re in for longer periods of working from home (and unexpected Zooming), stick to regular clothes and caffeine. Yes, we all laughed to those videos of no-pants interviews and kids crashing business meetings, but it’s only funny when it’s not happening to you.
Kids
Aaahh, kids… Those wonderful creatures that have the superpower of ruining every plan you might have. Advice: revisit your screen time policy. Documentaries, learning apps or certain Lino wisdom quizzes are not that bad for them. And give them tasks you now are impossible to finish (quickly or at all) and then follow with some very time-consuming rewards for their effort. For example, a chance to create “mommy’s working” sign just to get the point across.
Spots
Find your spot. Whether it’s an Eames chair or a cardboard box, it’s your place of work. Migrating around the apartment as soon as someone needs to eat on a table you’re working on or take a nap in that exact chair you’re using is no good.
Eats
You will eat. A lot. And a lot of that lot won’t be good for you. So take a day or two to go wild with the junk but then put on your kiss-the-cook apron and make something your grandma would approve. Like some goulash.
Voices in my head
If you live alone, make sure you hear voices. No really, listen to music, put on a foreign language learning software, open a window on the noisy-neighbours side. Just create the feeling you are not alone. And rip one off once in a while. Because, small victories.
Get up, stand up. And while at it, find some music to get you really motivated for work. No matter how comfortable your chair is, something will start to ache after a while. So dance like nobody’s watching. Since nobody’s watching. Unless you left the Zoom on.
And don’t forget to zoom out once in a while and you’ll see that it’s not that bad.
And yes, never lose your sense of humour.