For my job it was difficult to work from home before the Covid-19 crisis. But now I’m working from home since halfway March 2020! You have to be inventive and flexible in a couple of ways to make things work. I arranged an extra screen and our IT helped create a stable system environment to work from home. The basis was there, now the challenge was my stable mindset. How do I deal without my colleagues, no or significant less social contacts, find the right balance and so on? Prevent from going crazy and freak out in this strange world where everything is falling apart. I found out that I could really manage myself in this strict Corona Quarantine. See below my tips and mindset in literally surviving the Corona crisis in quarantine and hope you can learn from my experiences.
1. Peace of Mind
I’m living by myself and I travel most of the time by myself as well. So you could say that I can manage myself pretty well. That was definitely a very good basis to lean on in this Corona period. I even approached it as one of my long travel periods. See points below as well, but also in the way not seeing you loved ones live for a longer period. Accepting that this is the way and you can’t change it. Just giving in by the situation and make the best out of it. Stay positive and live in the moment. It was also a relief at some points; I felt no peer pressure, social agenda was empty and had no fear of missing out. I didn’t have to plan and could do what I wanted to do; of course within the quarantine limits.
2. Explore Your Back and Front Yard
I visited places in the neighborhood I haven’t visited before! I live close at the beach and that is a big bonus; I already knew that but appreciated that even more in this period. Cycled to some nature parks and walked in some parks too. Had coffee at local shops I never went to before. Like I said felt like exploring my own town, like I normally do on my travels. I appreciated the little things more, like a nice cup of coffee in the sun, spotting rabbits and squirrels on my walks; real mindful living!
3. Stay Active
For me it was very important to keep in a rhythm and have a daily structure during this Corona period. I normally go running in the morning before I start with my work. At lunchtime walk to do some groceries. Since the gyms are closed, I now and then used my small weights and do some TRX workouts. I even followed some online Yoga classes and surfed. Staying active helps to stay fit in your body and mind. Of course I had my good and worse periods, but in general I stayed active!
4. Keep in Contact
Keep in contact was and is more important than ever during quarantine. I called my mother every day! She is older and part of the risk group, so we had to take care of here. Make sure that she felt left out and give attention. For work we used several media to organize meetings, daily updates with the team, informal online Friday Drinks with the team. With my friends we used the app HouseParty to meet and chat. I met my sister now and then during my lunch break and drank a take away coffee on a bench somewhere. All within the restricted rules of meeting other people; now all the rules are less strict and there is more room to go and meet outside. I prefer to go outside, lucky the weather has been great the last couple of months.
5. Do Thinks you Normally don’t have Time for!
Indeed see this strange Corona period as an opportunity too!! Time to pick up activities you normally don’t have the time for. First goal for me was to clean and de-clutter my house; see my blog on Tips for Life Editing too. That felt very good, donated everything to the recycle shop and ended up with more space in my house. I watched a lot of Netflix series but learned my Spanish at the same time (see blog here). Next to that I started with my online Spanish lessons with my teacher again. As you know I’m a creative person, but never paint or draw things. Time to start that too!! Bought some paint and canvas and started to paint some of my travel pictures on canvas. Was nice to do, being creative and seeing some nice results too. Also read some books and at some points I didn’t do anything at all; how good is that!!
Now the restrictions are less strict and restaurants are open again, but still it is a different 1,5 meter world. I try to keep up the positive things of the Corona crisis; stay positive and appreciate more what we have. Of course I can’t wait to travel again, meet my colleagues and enjoy a good meal in a restaurant; but I learned a lot in this period as well!!
How are you coping with working from home during the Corona period?
