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I’m Rachel from Rach Talks Business and I am so excited to be guest posting on the lovely Miss Manypennies today. My post is all about managing your mental health and maintaining a positive mindset while working from home. I hope you all find it helpful and take away some tips to feel happy and motivated through this unusual time.
Many of us are working from home and it can be hard to feel positive and motivated staring at four walls all day. You may find you’re lacking motivation and productivity and I am here to tell you, this is completely normal! We are all experiencing this unusual time together and working from home is not something we are used to. It can be both overwhelming and stressful, so it is important to prioritise your own mental health at this time.
I’ve devised a list of ten tips for managing your mental health while working from home that should hopefully help you out!
Stay Connected
Working from home can make you feel lonely and isolated from your work colleagues. Many of us feel like we are missing out on valuable social interaction and it can be harder to understand work without help from your team. Take some time each day to connect with your colleagues and see how they are feeling. You can find some helpful advice on staying optimistic and positive here: 10 Tips To Stay Optimistic During Lockdown.
If you’re struggling with work or with the workload you are being given, do not be afraid to ask for help. Working from home does not mean you are on your own, help is just a phone call or email away and keeping in contact with your friends from work will make you feel positive.
Give Yourself a Break
Working from home can leave people feeling heightened stress levels as it is hard to distinguish between work and leisure. Taking breaks often as you would in a working environment is so important.
Try to take a five to ten-minute break every hour and give your mind a short rest. This is especially important if you are looking at a screen all day as it can be damaging for your health and eyesight. Short breaks improve your productivity and relieve stress.
Stick to a Routine
Maintaining your home life and work life balance is vital in keeping your mind positive. It can be so easy to fall out of your work routine. Try to follow your normal sleep and work patterns. This also means when your shift has ended, stop working.
You need to ensure you are still staying in the routine of having a relax after work and avoid staying in ‘work mode’ for too long.
Keep Moving
When working from home it can be so easy to forget the importance of keeping active. Try to incorporate some light exercise into your busy day. Keeping your body moving even for a small period each day has been proven to elevate your mood and rapidly reduce your stress levels.
It is recommended about 30 minutes of light exercise each day is enough to have a significant effect on your mental and physical health and will rapidly increase your mood. Light exercise can relate to anything including yoga, walks or just stretching each day.
Always Be Kind to Yourself
This is an unusual situation and you may not be as productive as you usually are. Do not be too hard on yourself. Remember everyone is in the same boat and you are still doing amazing under the circumstances. Take some time to practise self-care each day and practise breathing exercises to ease any anxiety or stress you may be feeling. You are your own priority.
Take Up Something New
Working from home can cause us to focus on work more than we ordinarily would. It can massively benefit your mindset starting a new hobby on your days off. This can help you switch off from work and can make you feel positive and productive.
Purposeful activity can reduce feelings of anxiety and low moods which is something we will all benefit from spending so much time at home.
Create a Happy and Motivating Playlist
This can be an elite form of self-care when working from home as it can work as a healthy distraction from the world. Create a playlist full of your favourite happy songs and it should help you feel more upbeat and ready for the day.
Maintain a Healthy Diet and Remember to Drink
Working from home gives us an amazing opportunity to have healthier dinners and drink often. However, it is so easy to forget to drink or to just order in food. Focus on what you are putting in your body and try to maintain a balanced diet with lots of water to stay hydrated.
We can get easily distracted working at home but keeping your body healthy massively contributes to keeping a positive mental state.
Check Up on Others
By taking the time each day to check up on our friends and family and how they are coping, we are actively helping our own mental health. Something as small as sending someone a little pick me up gift or giving someone who you know is struggling a little call will not only make them feel amazing, it will also help your own self-esteem.
As humans we love the feeling of happiness and achievement so making someone you love happy will make you feel much brighter and positive in yourself. You can find some beautiful letterbox friendly gifts in my post: Pick Me Up Gifts: Isolation Gift Guide.
Seek Help When You Need It
Some people thrive working from home, but for others it can be lonely and isolating. Nobody is superhuman, we can all become overwhelmed at times. These are completely normal feelings and if you are feeling down or anxious, please do not hesitate to talk to a loved one about how you’re feeling or reach out to an expert.
You should never feel embarrassed about your feelings and especially around this time, many others are feeling the same.
I hope this post has helped you to maintain a positive mindset working from home. Massive thank you to Miss Manypennies for letting me guest post on her beautiful blog!
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Authors Profile
Rachel is a marketing graduate and part-time blogger from Liverpool. Rachel hopes to make a huge change in helping small businesses with her degree knowledge and to increase exposure for small businesses through her blog: Rach Talks Business. Rach Talks Business covers a wide range of topics specifically focusing on Finance, Blogging Tips, Small Business Support and Marketing.
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