Working From Home:
How To Decrease Anxiety
- A new routine working from home
- Creating your perfect morning routine
- How to get optimal productivity
- Finding your new fitness routine
- Creating positive mental health routine
- Make working from home fun
- Making it through COVID 19
Ah, the joys of finally working from home.
Goodbye to traffic jams on your commute to your dreary office building!
You now have full independence to wake up when you want. Take your time enjoying every sip of coffee, with one hand scrolling through your Instagram feed.
Take your zoom conference calls with your top half clothing choice all business. While what you are wearing off-camera you most likely slept in the last few nights. Finally, the work-life you wanted is here!
Now that you are here, it is a little underwhelming wearing the same pair of sweatpants for the fifth day in a row, eh?
Working from home anxiety has kicked in hasn’t it?
Getting up at regular work hours doesn’t make sense to you anymore, does it?
Work and living are now inseparable.
And being so, they are both taking a hit in productivity and enjoyment.
I get it.
I have been self-employed working from home on my laptop and smartphone for the last two years. Not only did I have to face finding a new work/life routine, but I made this move while my mental health was at an all-time low.
Battling the loss of self-motivation while grieving the death of my father left me in months of lost days. Laying on my bed full of anxiety, staring at the ceiling was a regular on my “To-Do” list.
After a time, I was able to create a blueprint for a successful day in both the realms of work and enjoying life again. And I want to share these how to work from home tips with you.
Here are seven pillars on how to decrease anxiety when working from home. Create your own perfect mental health routine.
Wake Up With A Purpose
The need for routine is critical when facing anxiety and depression. And there is no better mental health routine than to start your day off with a regular wake up call from your alarm clock.
Find that perfect time to wake-up. It might not be as early as it was pre-COVID, and that’s fine. You have more hours of the day to work with. You might find that waking up too early in the day, leaves you twiddling your fingers by 3 PM.
The key areas to focus on are to find a time that allows you to not rush through your 45-60 minute morning routine.
And to set this alarm Monday through Friday.
Creating The Perfect Morning Routine
When you break down the morning routine, you will find a handful of working parts that do well on their own.
But when put together, they work beautifully to ease your mind into the rigours of the day ahead and negate any anxiety.
Mental Health Morning Routine Checklist
- Make your bed
- Hot lemon water with ginger
- Write in your journal
- Read from a novel
- Meditate
- Breath work
- Yoga
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Stay off your phone and computer
Check out the Creating Your Mental Health Morning Routine Video and see how to decrease anxiety today.
Finding Your New Work Routine Working From Home
Having no boss or co-workers around you can be a blessing in staying focused once you get into the swing of things. Yet, you can find yourself working through small breaks that you used to do at your job.
Snack breaks and short walks to get a drink of water served many purposes for you. These kept your energy up as the hours ticked away and gave you a mental breather to chat with co-workers.
When working from home, these breaks become a thing of the past. Your fridge is only three feet away, and its a pretty lonely conversation talking to yourself.
Working From Home Task Managing Tip from the pros
Create the perfect to-do list when working from home.
Tryout the Things app today – 15 Day Free Trial on Mac
Where To Find Your Time To Exercise
Turning your home into a work/living situation will have you getting cabin fever if you don’t watch out. You need to make a conscious effort to get a breath of fresh air and your blood pumping for not only your physical health but mental health as well.
Set your workout in your calendar for the same time each day. Do your exercise after the first four-hour block of work.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, it can be harder for you to find a socially distanced place to get your workout in. Try these at-home options.
How To Decrease Anxiety With workouts at home
Nerd Fitness’s blog – The 7 Best Home Workout Routines
They break down seven great workout routines with written descriptions and videos.
It’s great if you are stuck in your apartment building or a more densely populated area.
If you enjoy boot camps and classes, here are three FREE fitness brands that run weekly Instagram live workouts.
Barrys Bootcamp
Barry’s is a brand that runs high intensity interval workouts. They focus in toning muscle and maximizing fat loss through a combination of cardio and weights. With over 300,000 followers, Barry’s is a proven workout that will keep you motivated throughout your day!
We Are Equilibrium
Equilibrium take functional fitness classes to a whole new level. Their mission is to get you to the best shape of your life and keep your there. If you have a TRX or set of rings, these are the guys you want to follow!
Kevin Maynard Fitness
Kevin Maynard hooks you up with daily workouts and diet tips on his Instagram page and stories, to help you lose those stubborn pounds. His value really comes into play after the workouts are done, and he is still giving you advice and motivation to stay health the other 23 hours of the day!
"I don't have time for it" Project
Remember the days where you said to yourself, ” I don’t have time for it”?
I am going to break it to you, you DO have time right now to start your passion project.
With your new ability to schedule out your day and plan for the week, the free hours will appear.
Not only will the free time appear more often. The act of starting projects with emotional connections will give you positive boosts, creating small wins.
Find a project you have wanted to finish, and plan out the steps needed to complete it over the next days to weeks. By working on it a little bit each day, you can set achievable sixty-minute goals.
As the days pass by and the To-Do list gets checked off, your anxiety will piggyback off these wins in a slow wave of positivity.
Evening Routine Wind Down
Depending on when you woke up to start your day, anytime between 4-6 PM, you should be looking to wrap up your day.
Physically checking off each box completed is essential for your anxiety. It gives us a proud feeling of self-accomplishment as we look at the day being a success.
The same goes for preparing tomorrow’s list. This will allow you to go to sleep with a plan in your head, feeling in control of your life.
- Physically check off all goals you had written down to do
- Move over any uncompleted goals to start tomorrow's list
- Fill in tomorrows goals for the day (Do Not Do It Tomorrow)
- Close your laptop and put it and all work away for the night
Bedtime Routine To Ease Anxiety
It’s to easy to get lost in a few drinks at the end of the day. You have been diligent in staying on task all day, so go ahead and crack open your fave bottle of wine or liquor.
Keep it to one drink.
It may feel like you fall asleep faster after a couple of drinks, but this will only lower the quality of sleep. And in the long term, it will lead to a higher risk of anxiety throughout the day and struggles staying on task.
Fill your evening with positive actions that will lead you to wake up the next day feeling rested.
Here are four tips for a night of successful sleep.
- Turn off all screens 45 minutes before sleeping.
- Read a novel instead of watching tv.
- Make a journal entry.
- Write out your To-Do list for tomorrow.
Conclusion
Finding your new working from home routine will allow you to go to sleep with a smile on your face.
To ease your anxiety, choose one step to try first and perfect it.
What step are you going to work on first to better your working from home routine?
Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.
