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Keeping Busy While At Home

Apr 07 2020

Reading Time: 4 Minutes

Author: Anne-Marie Humniski

Amidst the global spread of COVID-19, many of us have suddenly found ourselves staying within our homes along with our partners and/or immediate family members. At a time where we’re hearing a lot of maybes, indefinite-lys, and uncertainties, taking control of our daily routines and pulling out some of our rainy day tasks can keep us occupied and productive.

Adjusting to this shift in our day-to-day lifestyles can be trying, but it truly helps to maintain a positive approach, keep organized, and develop a solid plan of action!

Follow along to learn the best tips for staying busy at home.

Create A Designated Workspace

In the interest of public safety, many essential and non-essential companies alike have opted to transition their operations so employees can work from home.

We know it can be easy to grab your laptop and hop from the couch to the kitchen, but many reputable sources and professionals suggest creating a designated workspace within your home.

Feel free to set up shop wherever it’s most convenient, as long as you think it’s comfortable for long hours of (hopefully!) uninterrupted work. If possible, we also recommend choosing a space with natural sunlight to brighten your workspace to keep your spirits high. This could be an unused corner of an apartment, a converted dining or kitchen table, or a spare bedroom. If you’re self-quarantining with others and find yourself getting easily distracted, try to choose a quieter area in which you can tune out the sounds of your new “colleagues”, or simply shut a door.

It’s also important to consider technical factors, such as if you’re close to an electrical outlet, located at a spot with optimal internet connectivity, and have enough room to recreate something that closely resembles your normal workplace setup. Allow yourself the space for whatever you need, whether that’s your morning cup of coffee, a notebook, or a second monitor for your computer!

Develop A Routine

This second tip for staying busy is hugely important for working remotely long-term: develop an at-home daily routine!

If you had a steady routine going pre-global pandemic, try to maintain the integrity of that existing routine as much as possible. Your “morning” routine should ideally be the same, whether it was making a fresh cup of coffee, to putting on makeup. Utilize what would have been your commute time for another task you find to be valuable– maybe it’s making breakfast or integrating a new product in your at-home skincare routine.

Obviously, there are some daily routine changes that can be made depending on the circumstances. For example, if you wore formal attire to your office every day, it may not make sense to still suit up at home. However, we still recommend wearing clothes and getting ready to a point where you feel motivated to work throughout the work day.

Another tip for staying busy at home is to stick to consistent work hours. If your normal work hours were 9-5, then work at home between the hours of 9-5. Maintaining some level of normalcy can serve as your “constant” throughout this period of change. Once your workday is complete, we suggest removing yourself from your designated work area and moving on to another area in your routine!

All of this said, it’s okay to go off-routine occasionally too- just as we would in our “regular” lives. If you have a meeting that goes late, a scheduled facetime video call with a friend, or just need a moment to process the current environment, that’s perfectly okay! The key to developing an at-home routine is to have a few anchors throughout your day that keeps you busy.

Stay Active

It can be tough to not keep work tasks top of mind when you’re working from home. Along with creating a designated workspace, incorporate some form of physical activity in your daily routine! Even if you weren’t a regular attendee of your local gym normally, there’s a good chance that you spent part of your days walking from commuting, on your lunch hour, or during post-work hours. Plus, there are so many incredible benefits of exercising.

While the government and medical professionals are strongly recommending social distancing, walking outdoors (at a safe distance from others) is still permitted. Practicing physical activity is not only good for your physical health, but it can improve mental wellness. Studies have demonstrated that exercise can improve moods, decrease feelings of anxiety and depression, and lower stress levels.

With a click youtube or instagram search, you can also find hundreds at-home, zero prop workouts to get your heart pumping! Adding some variety to your at-home workouts can also inspire regular exercise and routine maintenance.

Challenge Yourself

If you’ve ever found yourself saying you “don’t have enough time”, now is your chance! Compile a list of tasks you’d like to complete, or any other activities you find interesting and incorporate them into your days at home.
For some people, it’s trying out a recipe bookmarked in their new cookbook, and for others it’s finally sorting through photos from travels. There’s no rules to challenging yourself, just choose activities that keep you busy and spark happiness!

In the event that you cross off all the items of your checklist, here’s 100 other ideas to stay busy and entertained!

Follow Content That Sparks Interest

During this time, it is expected that most people will have higher levels of screen time than usual, but you are in full control of the content you absorb!

There are so many wonderful forms of media and content available in today’s world, including television shows, movies, books, podcasts, online museum tours and more! Prioritize the content you want to digest first, and work from there.

Since the team at APT Injection is passionate for all things health & wellness, we recommend taking a look into the engaging content created by industry leaders, including: Mauricio Di Maio, Arthur Swift, Sebastian Cotofana, and Dr. Harris Clinic!

While this is a challenging time for many, we hope that these tips to staying busy drive you throughout self-quarantine. Establish a routine, stick to it, and give yourself the flexibility to adjust!