dr4co

In the past few weeks, I have heard a lot of people say that they only noticed how much of a recluse life they lead because they barely had to change anything. I am one of those hermits. I have been working mostly from home for a few years now, and the strongest change for me was that my wife (a teacher) is now also working from home.

A few days ago, I saw a toot thread on coping with being stuck at home (which I now can't find), and I had a few ideas to throw on top. So here you go.

Day structure

Keep times consistent (wake, bed, meals)

Having a consistent time structure helps me not to fall into a slump of disorganization where everything blurs together. Meals are the point where I still struggle the most – when I am deep in hyperfocus, I often forget to have lunch in time.

Daily routines and rituals

I have a morning routine that helps me a lot to get going. For me, it's 10 to 20 minutes of yoga, followed by about 10 minutes of meditation, then breakfast, morning hygiene (brushing teeth, washing face, skincare, doing my hair), getting dressed. My bedtime routine is brushing my teeth, setting a glass of water and my meds for the next day ready, and going to the bathroom before going to sleep. Routines help me transition from rest to waking day and from waking day to rest.

Structure work time

I use the Pomodoro method to structure my work time, and I keep track of my pomodoros in my Bulletjournal. There's something very satisfying about marking one hour of focused time in my journal. I'm also a big fan of FocusMate; it helps me to commit to working at a certain time in a focused way, and tackle the tasks I want to procrastinate the hardest.

Get dressed (and maybe dress up for no one but yourself)

I dont' feel awake until I am dressed in clothes that I would leave the house in. If I work from home, there's the temptation to just throw on any old pair of jeans and t-shirt, and for some work that may be appropriate... but I actually feel better if I wear something just a little bit nicer, even if no one sees me. Lately, I have even started to wear makeup again just for myself.

Journaling to the rescue

All who know me have heard me loudly sing the praise of the BulletJournal. There's something about keeping track of my tasks, of my days, of what I want to do and what I actually do on paper with colored markers and pencils, in a book I always use for this purpose, as a daily ritual, that makes it way more helpful than doing the same things digitally.

Also, I use a paper calendar with a timetable-like grid, and I find this visual representation of time very helpful. Again, I use colored markers to outline time allotted for events because color helps me a lot to mentally organize things.

Mark larger time structures

I find that it helps me to mark the passage of time – and thus keep it from blurring into an amorphous time goo – if I mark certain days. For me, that's seasonal turning points and holidays (e.g. Equinox), full moons, new moons. Also, weekly events (e.g. I call my BFF on Wednesdays, and Fridays are date night – going out may not be an option now, but we can still make time for a nicer-than-usual dinner) help me mark time.