hello sweeties potatoes welcome back a
friend sent this to me last night
and it couldn't have been more timely as
I've been procrastinating like mad I
heard this from a co-worker
you're not working from home you're at
home during a crisis trying to work this
is important to realize as even I'm
struggling and have been working from
home for years 60% effort may be all you
can muster some days and my 80% and
others I'm at - whether you've been
thriving at home or have turned full
potato mode no that's so long as you're
trying your best any percent is more
than enough in such uncertain times
although there are many things that are
outside of our control when it comes to
navigating this new normal there are a
few things we can control and today I'd
like to talk about those few things here
are seven tips for staying healthy and
productive while working and studying
from home before we can get to the
working and the productive inge there's
one thing we need to do check your
mental state because of that is unstable
your work will be to name your feelings
sit with your feelings take your
feelings out for a walk in your
apartment be present with it as if it
were your one true love embrace it
accept it for who and what it is because
you'll love it and this is what it means
to love in all seriousness David Kessler
co-author of on grief and grieving
introduced to the world the five stages
of grief in an interview with Harvard
Business Review he said there's
something powerful about naming it as
grief it helps us feel what's inside of
us so many have told me in the past week
I'm telling my co-workers I'm having a
hard time where I cried last night when
you name it you feel it and it moves
through you emotions need motion it's
important we acknowledge what we go
through one unfortunate byproduct of
this self-help movement is that we're
the first generation to have feelings
about our feelings we tell ourselves
things like I feel sad but I shouldn't
feel that other people have it worse we
can we should stop at the first feeling
I feel sad
let me go for five minutes to feel sad
your work is to feel your sadness and
fear and anger whether or not someone
else is feeling something allow yourself
to feel what you feel if you've been
procrastinating as I have take it as a
sign to slow down and look inward to
figure out why and what you're really
procrastinating be honest and more
importantly be gentle with yourself
whether you're going through the five
stages of grief in order or out of order
or backwards or forwards or whichever
words remember that this is all
temporary our feelings included and that
acceptance is waiting for all of us
right around the corner now that we're
spending 99.7 of our days indoors it can
be mighty tempting to stay in bed just a
little longer take 13 naps throughout
the day and throw our pre quarantine
routine out the window but it is exactly
in times like this where we should
revisit and readjust our routines try
new things and ultimately stick with
what works best for us take some time to
think through your ideal morning how
would you like to spend these first
precious 30 minutes of your day what is
the one thing you can rely on to help
put you in a calm and peaceful state I
still make my bed and brush my teeth
every morning but I haven't been washing
my face as consistently as before which
I found it's actually imperative in my
morning routine especially now that
we're home all day to me washing my face
is like crossing that threshold between
half awake dream state and reality like
really being up if I don't wash my face
for the whole day I just feel groggy as
if I never fully woke up it's like how
people change into real clothes and wear
pads to feel more human this is exactly
how washing my face makes me feel I also
started waking up by 7:30 to join our
Beauty within team for morning reading
and sharing until 9:00 a.m. then I make
a quick breakfast I've been making a lot
of grilled cheese and loaded yogurts in
here I added chia hemp flax seed as well
as some maple syrup and strawberries
these strawberries love you just like
how I love you okay anyway remember your
routine is your routine it can be as
simple as washing your face changing out
of your PJs and
in water or as eventful as meditating
writing morning pages reading and making
breakfast
do you boo-boo always
I feel like my days have been blowing by
with doing two things before it's way
past my bedtime and I need to go back to
bed and wake up the next day to only be
able to do two more things so I've been
writing out my schedule every day hour
by hour and throughout the day I'd
update what I actually did in detail to
keep track of how I've been spending my
time every night I review how the day
went
and do a quick energy audit for every
task that I perform did it give me
energy or did it drain my energy this is
from the book the great CEO within the
goal of auditing my schedule and energy
is to keep myself accountable the
benefit of this is that it'll help you
get into a working mindset when the time
comes to be more focused and efficient
and have some sort of work-life
home-home balance this also helps create
structure and boundaries for you to
include a start and end time for work
and not blur home life and work life and
schedule Emile's virtual social hangouts
and downtime so that you're not working
for hours on end balance is timing not
intensity it's not doing multiple tasks
at 80% but developing the skill of
turning it on and turning it off sleep
fully then work intensely focus deeply
then relax completely
you've each phase your full attention
balance is when - not how - having
worked from home on and off for over
five years
I've found creating a designated corner
for work or study to be the most
important aspect of working from home if
possible it tried to work at a table
with a comfortable chair that offers
plenty of support somewhere with enough
electrical outlets adequate light and
ample space to spread out all your
thoughts and feelings even if you have
limited space get creative a little
corner is really all you need to
mentally zone your space into work zone
and work free zone here are three things
to keep in mind to achieve optimal work
space magic number one pick a corner
that is designated solely for working
purposes only this will help you be far
more productive by allowing you to enter
a mental state of I'm here to be serious
and get down to business
and work be vigilant with their coroner
here's a rule I set for myself corner is
for working couch this for relaxing and
non related work things bed and bedroom
is for sleeping no excuses
set boundaries for yourself like your
sanity depends on it because it does
number to keep it tidy clean and clear
space equals clean and clear mind a
clean space also reduces distraction
according to a 2011 Princeton University
study working in a cluttered workspace
is similar to trying to multitask when
you see multiple stimuli at one time
they all compete for your attention
making it more difficult to deeply focus
on any one thing and deep focus is what
we all strive for in these very
scattered times right yes number three
have economics and posture in mind your
wrists shoulders neck head as well as
your back the top of your monitor should
be just below eye level so you don't
strain your neck to read prop your
laptop up with the stack of books or a
shoebox if it is not the ideal height
when you type your arms should be bent
at a 90 degree angle and also avoid
bending your wrists upwards I invested
in a mousepad primarily to protect my
table that was quite the investment and
secondarily for my wrists we're either
gonna come out of this stay-at-home
Order looking like a snack or wishing we
didn't snack as much stick to regular
mealtimes this helps so you don't skip
meals or overeat
I haven't been the best at this but I'm
trying really hard I've mostly been
eating only when I get hungry which also
works but I should still be more
structured with eating at consistent
times every day schedule water breaks
fill up a large container of water in
the morning that you keep drinking and
refilling throughout the day this also
helps you get up to use the restroom so
that you can walk maybe 200 steps a day
instead of two and also be mindful of
snacking don't constrain yourself but
also don't over indulge snack and
moderation it's very tempting to open
your kitchen cabinet full of snacks
especially when you're trying to
procrastinate from work just be aware of
this or don't buy and healthy snacks in
the first place so you aren't attempted
take advantage of staying home and use
your kitchen to cook healthier meals and
also set up your environment for success
remove any bad triggers like leaving
chips or cookies out on the table or in
a place where you can easily see there's
a reason why I stick all my sweets way
up high in the pantry back to balanced
use exercise to speed up and mindfulness
to slow down put some form of exercise
on your to-do list every day if you can
it's easy to fall into the trap of
staying indoors all day so get up move
around and step outside just to get a
few breaths of fresh air if you have a
backyard or if you can manage to just
step outside for a second or at the very
least open your windows to get some
fresh fresh home workouts there's a
number of free workouts online here on
YouTube that are geared for all fitness
levels and don't need any equipment shop
around and find the one that fits your
style and pace an app that I've been
using is obey they have a free 7-day
trial I've taken Pilates flow and
high-intensity interval training which
was amazing I was so sweaty by the end
of the 28 minutes other apps are Nike
Training Club peloton class pass it's
tempting to sit on your computer all day
and lose track of time but just get up
and move around have a dance party by
yourself or with your significant other
or your roommate or your family or your
parents during your scheduled breaks you
can get up and do laundry take out the
trash fold your clothes organize a
cabinet or a drawer clean vacuum set a
timer for 20 minutes so you don't get
consumed in whatever you're doing
remember the goal is free to get up and
move around this will help keep you
healthier and give you more energy which
will help you when you sit back down to
work as first slowing down take breaths
look outside the window watch the cloud
pass meditate journal write out your
feelings sit with your feelings be your
feelings and gracefully let go of your
feelings if they're holding you down
more than lifting you up focus on what
you can control
and let go of what you cannot last I saw
this tweet from Navarro back on an
investor and entrepreneur who was my
favorite guest on Tim Ferriss his
podcasts and he really made me think
schools aren't about learning offices
aren't about working churches aren't
about praying restaurants aren't about
eating there are many ways to interpret
this on the surface they're all about
socializing and we're all social beings
living a balanced life and tending to
all areas of our lives to be a mental
physical emotional spiritual and social
will help us do better work so call your
loved ones and schedule virtual hangouts
with friends families co-workers I'll
include a Google Doc below in my
description box of all the online games
under the Sun this has been so clutch
for virtual hangs and game nights all
right so all of that is very cute but
back to the quote if you unpack it a
little more it's like a structured set
of activities and experiences we've been
sold or whole lives as being essential
and necessary
they all give us some type of external
validation but why do these activities
exist to begin with and who set the
structure are they meant to keep us busy
and if so from what I'll just leave it
as this for now the essence of
philosophy is that a man should so live
that his happiness shall depend as
little as possible on external things
take this time to go inward and work on
the most important relationship you'll
ever have which is with yourself for us
introverted as I am and as much as I can
be self-sufficient for the whole
duration of this quarantine there really
is no need to go to extremes
relationships are important call your
parents and friends and set up weekly
virtual hangs be balanced be live water
walk the middle path and walk it well
I'm going to leave this snippet of the
article here for you guys to read if you
guys do want to read it also link it
down below hit spacebar or pause to read
fully but I'm just going to go on
because I feel like reading this you
guys are all capable of reading
yourselves with all of that be kind to
yourself listen to your body and give it
what it needs to be it physically
mentally emotionally spiritually and or
socially do whatever it is you need to
heal and stay balanced and healthy
during this time
whether it's journaling meditating
binging a show Korean dramas something
creative like painting or drawing
whatever helps you he'll do it
coding High School Musical we're all in
this together
experiencing the impact together so
remember you're not alone
we're not alone we're all here for each
other potato fam I love you guys as
always thank you guys so much for being
here I really wish every single one of
you are doing as best as you can and
that you're all staying healthy safe and
sane in these very wild times that we're
in voice hug
love you guys I will see you guys next
week next week okay bye