Before this infamous year, working from home was the norm for few. Most of us spent our working hours out of the house, and the commute was a quintessential part of adult life. However, it’s becoming clear that in the rapidly approaching post-COVID world, working from home could become the ‘new normal’. This has its advantages: working in your tracksuit bottoms or sticking a wash on between meetings are perks that we can all enjoy. However, it also brings unique challenges. This post will explore ways to unwind and manage stress when the bedroom becomes the boardroom.
Clocking-Off
One of the hardest things about working from home is that you never actually go home. There’s no locking-up time at the office and no homeward-bound train to sprint away from your desk for. On top of this, ever-growing to-do lists mean there’s always work you feel you could or should be doing, leading many to work far beyond their contracted hours. This can become unhealthy: your work-life balance loses any sense of equilibrium and stress levels rocket.
That’s why the first and foremost tip is that you must establish your own clocking-off time, no matter how busy you may feel. Start rounding-off your tasks for the day as the designated time approaches; when it finally arrives, shut that laptop, stand up, and walk away. You can take this further with a daily digital-detox: set aside a chunk of your day to be entirely screen-free. The mind is bombarded by notifications and blue light all day long; give yourself a moment to decompress and reconnect with the surrounding environment.
There are many meditation and relaxation techniques which can really help. Try some of these from Tea And Cake For The Soul, to help unwind.
Work Out, Get Out
The question now is: what to do once you’ve logged off? It’s all too easy to sit on your phone, sneakily checking emails, letting the demands of the working day rattle around your mind. Getting outside is one of the best stress-busters going. Direct sunlight boosts your vitamin D levels and has been scientifically proven to lift your mood.
Even if it’s dark out by the time you log off, the fresh air and lack of screens can do wonders for stress. Work some exercise into your outing to take this a step further; whether it’s a relaxing yoga flow that will help you centre yourself after a frantic day or a forty-five minute HIIT session from hell that will leave you so exhausted you don’t have the energy to be stressed about work, bodily movement not only helps the mind but also combats the physical strain of sitting at a desk all day.
If you fancy some structure with your exercise then try one of my monthly fitness challenges, which are ideal at this time of the year for motivation especially if you rope in a friend to join you.
Pots and Pans
In recent years, one of the most oft-repeated tips for helping you free up downtime outside of work has been to meal prep; by doing your weekly cooking en-mass you can open up time during your lunch hour or evening to pursue hobbies and socialise. However, cooking fresh has stress-related benefits.
Making meals from scratch forces you to take a break from work and engage with the culinary task at hand; chopping vegetables becomes your newest form of meditation. Even if you don’t fancy yourself the next Blumenthal or Bourdian, ten minutes spent boiling pasta or warming up last night’s leftovers gives you some all-important screen-free moments.
Switch-Off and Stream
Sometimes, nothing busts stress quite like throwing yourself down on the sofa and watching your favourite show. The abundance of streaming services available gives you seemingly unlimited choice, and a plethora of research advocates for the decompressive power of television: the University of Rochester suggested that watching TV reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and boosts feelings of generosity, while the University of Buffalo argues that TV viewers exhibit better self-control and emotional regulation.
Furthermore, television is easily combined with the Holy Grail of decompression techniques: a good night’s sleep. Rather than slumping into sleep on the sofa, consider investing in a TV Bed: a Double TV bed means that you can experience all these benefits from the comfort of your bedroom or, if your home-come-office leaves you stuck for space, consider a TV bed with storage.
Another activity which takes you away from the screens is a simple jigsaw. They are so addictive and all the family tend to get involved if you have one on the go. Last year I created my own and it was the perfect lockdown stressbuster. Here are more details if you want to create one for yourself or as a present for a loved one.
Home Time
However you work and however you unwind, it’s clear that the relationship between the two is changing for good. Whether you opt for high-intensity exercise, gastronomic mindfulness, or the classic couch-potato, make sure that your self-care and relaxation routines are a top priority. In the immortal words of Anne Lamott: ‘almost everything will work if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you’.