In this month’s blog, we have decided to bring you something to help you and your wellbeing. With so much going on in the world, having to adapt to new lifestyles and keeping to government guidelines is very tough, so we wanted this blog to focus on helping you!

Taking some time out for yourself is important in normal circumstances, but is especially so in times of heightened stress, so we have complied some ideas on how you can think more about yourself and tips to aid working from home, especially with little people around!

Working from home
Working from home consecutively is a tough adjustment. But with schools closed for the foreseeable future, many parents now face the additional challenge of juggling behaviour, emotions and helping their child with home-schooling all the while adjusting to a whole new office-at-home regime, that is so far removed from their previous ways of working…

Here are some (hopefully) helpful tips:

• Plan your day carefully, how many hours do you hope to work that day? When will you return calls? What can you accomplish while your kids are colouring (or wrestling!!!) in the other room?
• Be open and honest with your Manager/Team about any concerns/ activities that might be impacted by these new ways of working.
• Not if but when your kids do interrupt you, stay calm. Once you’ve managed that situation and finished your work, have another discussion with your kids.  When your kids don’t interrupt you, reward them.
• During “normal” times, you might monitor your kids screen time and even limit it. But working from home with kids during an emergency is different. While you probably don’t want them playing on the IPad/video games for weeks at a time, there’s nothing wrong with letting them have a little more screen time than usual.
• Look after yourself! Make sure you take frequent breaks in your day. Instead of sitting down and working on a task for three hours, break up your day a bit more. Work for 30 or 50 minutes, then take a 10-minute break to check in with your kids.

Time to think of you
We are all doing our very best to combat the spread of coronavirus by staying safe at home, but the days sometimes seem long when you work from home and can’t go out.

To help make effective use of time and allow some mental space, many of us are taking up hobbies or discovering new favourite pastimes, which is a great way to help stress and anxiety.  Check out some of our suggestions:

• Yoga
• Gardening, growing your own food;
• Painting
• Knitting
• Creative writing – find the inner author or poet!
• Become a Master Chef
• Trace your ancestry
• Why not go to the museum?  The British Museum do virtual tours from home
• Volunteer to help your local community, or start a group that does;
• Organise a street exercise session!

Find your laughter! 
During this time, it can be very difficult to stay motivated and positive! But don’t forget the importance of laughter…and this is why:

• It can reduce blood pressure;
• It can reduce anxiety and other negative emotions;
• Is an immune booster;
• Is a natural anti-depressant;
• Calms stress hormones;
• Is good for your cardiovascular system; and
• Best of all, is a calorie burner!

In these worrying times, we need to find tools for laughter, catching up with family and friends on Facetime, Zoom etc, sharing stories, reminiscing or sharing funny pictures or jokes are the new ways of life. It’s important to keep connected and cherish virtual time with those around you.

Keep Safe, Keep Healthy and Keep In Touch!

#togetherwewillwin