During this uncertain and quickly evolving situation around COVID-19, everyone is doing their part in flattening the curve. We’ve taken many precautionary measures here at Zave to protect our team and families such as limiting face-to-face meetings, thorough sanitisation of the workplace, and asking colleagues to work remotely. If you are working remotely or going through a 2 week self-isolation, cabin fever may start to hit and energy levels can drop. Know that you’re not doing this alone, and we’re all coming together to do what is necessary to fight this pandemic. The most important thing is to keep a positive mindset; perspective is key! We’ve prepared 5 tips to help you stay happy while you’re working remotely or quarantining at home.
1. Social distancing does not mean social exclusion
Just because we’re not in the same room as our friends and colleagues, does not mean we can’t be social. The glue that will hold everyone together during this tough time is community. Every decision and action you take now is one that holds your community at your core. Being physically distant does not mean we aren’t emotionally connected! Pick up your phone, send text messages, or host Google hangouts. This is the beauty of technology; it helps keep everyone close without needing to be literally next to one another. Happy hour at 5pm via Zoom awaits!
2. Work on your diet and take the time to prepare good meals
If there’s one universal thing that can bring a smile to anyone’s face, it must be food. Being at home (and with the help of grocery delivery services like Redmart and Amazon Prime) means you have time to focus on your diet, cook nutritious meals and pick up some culinary skills from Tasty along the way. Sitting around at home definitely doesn’t mean you should compromise on diet. Processed foods are easy to stock up on, but you can always buy veggies and meat and freeze them to prolong their shelf life.
3. Stay active with or without the gym
Don’t use quarantine or working from home as an excuse to ditch exercising. If you don’t have a gym in your apartment or you’re not able to go outside for a jog, grab a yoga mat, download a fitness app like Nike Training Club or hit up the thousands of YouTube fitness channels, and get going! Both men and women can workout at home sans gym equipment; you just have to get creative. Order a set of dumbbells online or start lifting bags of rice (they’re heavy)! HIIT workouts that only use your body weight is a great way to get both cardio and muscle work.
4. Meditation
While keeping in touch with loved ones and staying active at home are important, taking this opportunity to connect with ourselves and our minds is a really effective way to maintain a good mood and energy. If you’re not familiar with meditation, it can seem quite intimidating but there are many YouTube channels, podcasts, and applications out there that can guide you on a journey to more mindfulness. Try Headspace or Calm for meditation apps or The Mindful Minute for podcasts. Start with quick 3-5 minute guided morning or bedtime meditations, and work your way up when you’ve got the hang of it.
5. Keep to a routine. Try not to merge work and home life completely
Managing your business or servicing your clients with cloud applications like Zave means work can be done anywhere. It’s easy to get either lost in or distracted from work when your home becomes your office. Try to keep these two things separate by following a schedule as you would if you were at work. It’s okay to pop a load of laundry in the wash when you need to (that’s a perk of working from home), but minimise distractions by designating an ‘office’ space in your home and keep your working hours normal. Wake up as you would if you were to go into the office and wrap up your work day at a reasonable time to give yourself a break. We understand your business is important and your clients mean everything to you, but don’t forget that you need some TLC after a long day too.