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Different personalities will respond to the challenge of distancing themselves from others and having to work apart from colleagues in different ways.
Introverted personality types and those already used to homeworking might actually welcome the opportunities this provides to live a healthier lifestyle, in terms of being able to prepare healthier food at home and take exercise during the day. While extroverted personality types, who need to bounce ideas off others for their inspiration, might struggle.
Here are three ways to help make the transition:
1. Embrace adaptive working
Instead of just being a ‘homeworker’, think about becoming an ‘adaptive worker’. This means that as well as adapting where you’re working, you also think about adapting how and when you’re working. For example, just as working parents are opting to start work earlier in the day, to have a longer lunch to home-school and look after young children, think about how you might also be able to break up your day to embrace opportunities to exercise during the day, meet up with a friend at a safe distance or do a hobby you love. Also, if you’re working more productively due to fewer interruptions and less commuting, avoid the temptation to work through lunch or into the evening. Instead, challenge yourself to sprint to complete tasks and reward yourself with a break to keep your day dynamic.
2. Stay connected to colleagues
Extroverts thrive off human contact with others, so it would be better if ‘social distancing’ had been called ‘physical distancing’ because, even though we can’t socialise in quite the same way we did before, we can still enjoy the company of others in a variety of ways. If you’re missing the opportunities for social interaction that work provided, think about ‘meeting’ a colleague for a virtual coffee, scheduling online meetings ten minutes early to allow for some general conversation before the meeting starts, hosting an online quiz for colleagues one evening or using a wellbeing app to allow you and your colleagues to support each other to achieve shared wellbeing goals, be this going for a daily bike ride or sharing healthy lunch recipes.
3. Be spontaneous
If you feel like you’re climbing the walls, allow yourself to be spontaneous and do something different each day. Start the morning doing one of the many free celebrity workouts now available and make sure your evenings aren’t just spent slumped in front of the sofa. There are ten happiness tools we can all use to boost our happiness, including talking to a friend, instead of just liking their posts on social media, joining a volunteer group or getting out-and-about in nature. There are now many workshops, on everything from drawing to creative writing to cooking, available to try out online. So see what’s out there and try to do something a bit out of the ordinary every day to keep your life interesting.
Most of all, remember we now all find ourselves in exceptional circumstances, so do give a bit of thought to how you’re feeling and what you can do to stay positive and healthy.
Related article: Four ways to boost your emotional resilience
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