How not to get mad during home office or quarantine

Last Updated on August 31, 2020 by Lucie Klabanová

(For czech version of the post click here.)

Currently, a large number of people have ended unplanned at the home office or even quarantined. But the first enthusiasm to finally enjoy your time at home and not have to go to work, can quickly turn into dissatisfaction, considering the situation. The enormous pressure of uncertainty and negative information flow can make you get depressed very easily.

It is now extremely important to remain as positive as possible, to be patient and to develop a functional plan. Only then we will not get crazy and at the same time we will feel the sense and effectiveness of our actions, that even in a difficult situation, we are valuable.

Create a plan for the week ahead

Set your daily routine. Get up at the same time, go to bed at the same time. Schedule your day differently than you used to. Create smaller periods of different activities, probably hour or two, which you will rotate regularly. What to include?

Use the crisis as an opportunity

You get a chance to turn out off the track. In other times you maybe wouldn’t do it, to step out of your comfort or habits, now you have to. Use it as an advantage. Take time to do what you haven’t done before.

👉 Breakfast time with family

“Come on, we’ll miss the bus!” This is normal in the morning. Now you have a few days without the morning hustle and bustle. Make a good breakfast and enjoy it together. Don’t hurry. Don’t think what you need to do and enjoy the moment. I wish we could keep this even after life returns to normal.

👉 Working at home

If you are not used to it, you may not feel like working. In addition, you have an excuse: children steadily around. Therefore, create (and schedule) shorter, perhaps hour-long, blocks of work. In order to maintain concentration, also explain to the children that at this time they will learn or play alone. If you make it clear to them that you have to work now, and they also, but that in an hour you will play together, they’ll probably manage it. This is an unusual situation for them, but children are adaptable. As a result, it will be better for them to know how the situation is. And they also have a regular regime in kindergarten or school, they are more used to it than you think. Be consistent.

👉 Enough sleep, but no morning sleeping in

It is tempting, you do not have to get up, so you can sleep in an hour or two more. Don’t do it. Get up as usual. Take the extra time for something that will charge you with positive energy. But go to bed on time, do not spend hours before bedtime reading horrific news and information. Take a book or watch a movie. Make sure you get enough sleep. It is important not only for immunity, but especially for mental health.

👉 Exercise at home

Are you still making excuses for not having time to exercise? Now you have time. There are countless online lessons in the internet. Just check on Youtube or anywhere else. Find an exercise that the whole family can join. You can make it a family activity and more fun.

👉 Education

We always want to learn something new subconsciously. Just there is normally not the right time for it in the daily rush. Plan 30 minutes a day for learning. Did you want to dive into foreign language? Or study more about self development? There are plenty of online courses. You don’t have to go anywhere, you just need the internet and a moment of concentration. You will see that the good feeling of how you move forward will come very quickly and will help with another piece to maintain a positive mood.

👉 Information and critical thinking

I know there is no point in advising you not to read the news right now. Even me, who basically does not follow the news at all, consume them in bulk these days. But try to find a source of information that does not unnecessarily “color” them. Needless to say, most news sessions, of course, provide information in such a way as to evoke the greatest emotions in people. It works. Therefore, use critical thinking. Question everything that someone tells you. Only in this way you can obtain real and true information. Maintain common sense at all times and under all circumstances.

👉 Meditation

Are you just worried, stressed? No wonder. We all feel it. Uncertainty about what will happen. Fear of the unknown. This is absolutely normal in such situation! But don’t let it dominate, paralyze you. Meditation is a great tool to concentrate thoughts. If you are a beginner, look for some guided visualization meditations. Remember that you will not learn to meditate for the first time, but try at least a few days in a row. You will see for yourself how much benefit and relief it will bring you.

👉 Establish a place and time for privacy

Many families now stay together all the time. This is very unusual and can be a challenge even in well-functioning families. It is very important that each family member ideally has as much space as he or she needs. If you create a common weekly schedule, determine who will be where at what time. For example, for an hour dedicated to work, everyone can find their own corner, not to disturb each other. You may not have enough rooms to lock yourself in one, but even having your “corner” may be psychologically sufficient.

👉 Take care of yourselves

Take care of yourself not only by exercise or meditation. Treat yourself by a bath, a face mask, or a massage from a partner. Relaxation and body care will help the psyche deal better with all the negative things that attack us.

👉 Go to nature

If you can go out, do it. Spring is almost here, beautiful weather is perfect for walks. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Perhaps if you go to the other side of the house than usual, you will discover a forest where there is noone, but plenty of clean air. So breathe deeply. Breath is our best medicine, we just can’t use it right. Enjoy the blooming flowers, bird singing, green trees. And just be.

Let me conclude with my own point of view on the situation

I’m worried about what will happen. I have uncertainty inside. I struggle with it every day, and I fight it over and over again so that fear doesn’t squeeze me.

I have a tendency to tell myself, it makes no sense to even begin doing somethin, that I should wait until it is by. And then again and again I convince myself that it is exactly the opposite. That right now it makes sense to deep dive into things. The feeling of well done job is still a great inner stabilizer for me.

I wonder every day how to use the crisis as a challenge. What will change. When I started working intensively on online education two years ago, people wanted mainly personal courses. Now I’ll start pushing everything online again. It has great advantages, not only during quarantine.

Twice as much as usual I work on my mental hygiene. I feel that the lesson of this pandemic is not if we survive, but how we manage our minds. How many of us can stay positive. I certainly don’t mean to not think about anything, but accept the fact, respect the regulations, and still be grateful for being here and right now. And this is what I work on every day.