Note from the ACDIS Editor: Staying sane while working from home
by Linnea Archibald
The world is changing hour-by-hour as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread. In an effort to flatten the curve and keep vulnerable folks safe, many office workers have made the transition to working from home. Like many of our CDI friends across the country, the ACDIS team transitioned to 100% remote almost three weeks ago. This change has been an adjustment for everyone.
As a self-identifying introverted homebody, I personally feel much more productive working from home in the peace and quiet. Nonetheless, it still has its own set of very real challenges, particularly when it comes to communication and connection with colleagues, friends, and family.
Right now, my “commute” home involves closing my laptop and walking to the kitchen; my “after work socializing” involves cooking dinner with my husband who’s also working from home, usually across the table from me, and talking to the dog.
I don’t want to belabor the struggles of working from home today though. Instead, I’d like to share five ways I’ve been keeping my sanity. I hope these tips will help you as you adjust to your new work-life balance.
- Take walks: Barring bad weather, I’ve been making a point to get outside and take the dog (Hans, picture to the right) for a two-ish-mile walk each day. Some fresh air and a change of scenery does wonders for mental health, just keep a safe six-foot distance from any other walkers. I wave across the street to the same three or four dog walkers each morning in our neighborhood. (Side note, if you’re working from home with your furry four-legged coworker, we’d love to see pictures! Send them to us!)
- Write things down: Now, I may be biased as a writer, but keeping a notebook on hand for jotting down thoughts throughout the day has been a lifesaver. My current practice is keeping a “These are the days of” list. I first heard of this practice from author Emily P. Freeman on her podcast The Next Right Thing, but I’m sure others have similar exercises. Essentially, you use just one notebook page per day. At the top, write the day’s date and “these are the days of…” Then, just make a bulleted list of what’s happening in your life right now. Two of my bullets from earlier this week were: “stress baking biscuits” and “girls’ night on FaceTime.”
- Cook or bake something new: I already told you that I stress bake, so it shouldn’t surprise you to know I’m spending a lot of time in the kitchen these days. Since we started working from home and social distancing a few weeks back, I’ve made a cardamom lemon tea cake, rye tahini maple shortbread, pretzel bagels, and the most butter-filled biscuits you could imagine. Even if you’re not normally a chef, try baking or cooking something new. You may just find it relaxing!
- Connect with loved ones virtually: Just because we’re isolated doesn’t mean we can’t connect with our friends and family. Last week, a group of my lady friends got together over FaceTime to chat about life and drink a glass of wine together. It changed my whole perspective on the day. This week, my husband and I plan to get together virtually with another group of friends over Zoom for an hour just to catch up with no agenda.
- Be kind to yourself: The world is a scary and crazy place right now and it’s okay to not be functioning on all cylinders at all times right now. When the news is stressing you out and making it hard to focus, give yourself permission to take a break and disconnect. Go make a cup of coffee, eat a piece of chocolate, call your mom, dad, sibling, best friend, read a real paper book for 10 minutes.
Hopefully, this list will be of service to you in these ever-changing times. What I’ve seen from the CDI community these last few weeks has been inspiring—your willingness to adapt and lend a hand in this crisis. This time will pass eventually, but we have to work through it together.
As we said in last week’s edition of CDI Strategies, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know how we can help you during this time. We’re here to help.
Editor’s note: Archibald is the editor for ACDIS. Contact her at larchibald@acdis.org.