Fostering human connections via healthy habits in Remote Working
Have you forgotten the importance of wellbeing and human connection in the rush to stay productive during home working? Read on for some tips on how to rescue those much needed social interactions and begin to foster new healthy habits.
Note: this is general advice for an improved approach to routine, if you are struggling with feelings of anxiety or stress, please reach out to one of the services listed at the bottom of this post.
It’s only been 6 short months since the entire working population of Ireland was thrust suddenly and rapidly into Remote Work (RW). Many of us had been accustomed to working from home occasionally prior to the pandemic, and the vast majority of workers have adapted to this new way of working, maintaining productivity. However, this “emergency working from home” is also coupled with the ongoing stress presented by Covid and implications of local restrictions.
So the result is; many of us have lost sight of our own well being and caring for our mental health. By being so focused on ‘getting through’ the present circumstances, we have abandoned the notion of happiness and weakened our future potential to thrive professionally and sustainably. We are working longer hours with less human interaction and our reserves to withstand stress and pressure are becoming exhausted.
The only way to combat the potential for mental ill-health and burnout is to examine our unhealthy habits, create new rituals to improve our remote work hygiene by developing a rest ethic i.e. ensuring that rest taken daily is as important as the work completed.
Moreover, regularly and intentionally seeking out ways to connect and foster social interactions, mixing outside of your home working space with others and having real exchanges in real life (IRL) with friends, family and colleagues, can begin to start to fill the gaps you may have been noticing.
Before Work
Take a Minute First! - Resist the temptation to scroll through emails on your phone immediately upon waking. Give yourself time to get dressed, have your breakfast and perhaps listen to some energising music. (Rumbas are worth a try!) If you have the time, join a online exercise class.
Get in the Zone - Working from home means the line between personal and professional often becomes blurred. Consider replacing your old commute to work with a stroll outdoors before starting your workday. This small act recreates the period where we mentally shift to work mode, it also has the added benefit of increasing your energy levels and reducing the time spent inside in a seated position.
Plan Your Day - Create a realistic schedule for your day and make sure to create regular breaks, particularly around long and laborious tasks.
During Home Working
Stick to Set Working Hours - Boundaries can be a real issue in RW. Establish your official working hours and communicate them to your team. You can support these boundaries by using out of office (OOO) automated responses for your email, as well as using an OOO status on your direct messaging account e.g. Slack.
Keep Connected - It’s vital to continue to create and maintain connections with your professional network. Skip sending emails back and forth with your colleagues and schedule a video call. Take the first 5-10 minutes to have a casual chat about your week or upcoming social plans, before you discuss the topic at hand.
Step Away From The Desk - It’s so important to make time in your day to get out of your house and enjoy the flexibility that comes hand in hand with remote working. If you are noticing you are missing human connection, seek out places or activities with others. Arrange a catch up with a friend (social distanced, of course!), take your lunch to a local park or even go for a jog at lunchtime.
After Work
Power Down - When the workday has finished, shut down your computer/laptop and if possible put it away until the next morning. As the old saying goes, ‘Out of sight out of mind’, and this cant hold more true when your living room/bedroom has become an unintended office. Once your laptop is no longer within grasping-distance you are less likely to ‘just quickly check your emails’.
Turn Off Notifications - One of the biggest challenges of working from home is the self-imposed pressure to ‘always be on’. Although we may feel that we need to be available at all times, this unhealthy habit diminishes the time that we should be spending on our social life. Once the workday ends, turn off email and DM notifications so that you won’t be tempted to slip back into work mode. You can even utilise tools which will automatically do this according to your work schedule.
Reflect on Your Day - Practice ‘Three Good Things’, a daily exercise designed to tune you into positive events in your life. Write down three good things that happened to you that day, describing in detail (1) what happened, (2) who was involved and (3) how it made you feel.
An example could be a simple gesture i.e. my colleague thanked me for a task I completed: It was difficult and challenging as I had no experience in the area of P&L, but I gained new knowledge and skills and feel more confident that I could undertake similar work. When my colleague thanked me it made me feel proud and appreciated.
Have Fun - Weave social activities into your week, local Covid restrictions allowing. Try something new such as yoga, join the local gym or take an online cooking class. Whatever you decide to do make sure that enjoying yourself is one of your weekly priorities, and it’s reflected in your schedule.
Closing Thoughts
Being intentional in establishing these new habits into our routine takes a little planning, but is achievable with small steps. For example, for the next working week why not try applying three of the suggestions above, writing down (to support that intention) which three activities you will focus on and then subsequently scheduling them into your diary. If you need help with your will power, ask a colleague or friend to “buddy” with you, supporting you to stick to those three things. Possibly even, joining in with you themselves!
For further practical tips on how to weave wellness in Remote Working, check out this blog post.
Feeling stressed? Need to speak to someone? Please reach out to one of the services listed below: