“It’s all about finding harmony in your days.”
Being stuck at home can bring on all sorts of new obstacles, including figuring out how to keep ourselves afloat and stable during the workday. Luckily for us, Lucy Moon is here to give us a helping hand. As a veteran and self-described “expert” of working from home, she offers us her best tips for keeping it together.
Her first tip is to complete the deceptively simple task of getting out of bed. Sure, it may be the normal way to start the day, but some of us find it easier said than done. Lucy notes that spending time in bed can be alright some of the time, but forcing yourself out is a good way to overcome a hurdle for the day.
Next, Lucy recommends that we “move our body”, however works for us. For her, that’s doing a morning session on the spin bike, but that isn’t the set standard. Anything like going for a walk or starting the “couch to 5km” can help you sleep at the end of the day, she explains.
Keeping up some habits from pre-lockdown times is Lucy’s next piece of advice. She details how ticking something off a to-do list or habit tracker can be a simple way to get motivated. A day’s worth of tasks can often feel overwhelming, so starting off small can kick that oncoming stress.
The “rudimentary” act of brushing our teeth and washing our face is what Lucy recommends next. She reflects that, for those of us who are students, it can be easy to have the mentality of “I don’t need to do my routine skincare today. I don’t even know if I need to shower”. At the very least, Lucy pleads with viewers to “please, brush your teeth twice a day”.
As a follow-up, she suggests getting dressed. It’s been all too easy to fall into the habit of having a pyjama day all day, every day, but Lucy stresses the importance of separating your time in bed from your workday. She does this by putting on a comfy pair of pants and a t-shirt – nothing too “proper”, but still enough to feel good.
Lucy then shares that planning your day can be super helpful. Whether you’re doing a daily to-do list or following her own method of roughly planning the week ahead, it is such a help to clear your mind. “It just gives me a sense of calm amongst all of the stuff that is floating round my head,” she admits. She also shouts out the Pomodoro Technique of working in 25-minute spurts as her go-to working and study method.
Lucy believes that food is a natural way to break up our day, and she recommends we make the most of this and eat at regular times. Though this is possibly “contentious”, it creates a solid schedule and gives the brain a rest from work, she assures us.
Aligning with this is the tip to end work at a set time. Having a cut off time to stop working to possibly “grab a glass of wine”, call a friend or play video games is the perfect way to unwind. Lucy also notes that this gives you “something to look forward to at the end of your day”, serving as a lovely reward for all that hard work or studying. For her, this doubles as a way of keeping up her morale and taking care of her mental health.
Finally, if you’re isolating with people, especially those you don’t normally isolate with, Lucy stresses getting some alone time. This could be anything, from listening to a podcast or making a new playlist, to going for a walk or even meditating.
Lucy closes things out by sharing that she hopes we’re all doing OK, ending her series of tips we’ve all noted.
Want More?
Niomi Smart recently shared some tips and advice for those of us wanting to get into running. Alternatively, you could read about Hank Green‘s visit to the world’s largest ball of paint.
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