Your wellbeing: Creating a routine that works for you during the lockdown

This small home office works well for Jody Bennett in our Communications team. Email your workspace photos to communications@unitec.ac.nz and we’ll share them!

This is the first in a series of Nest posts designed to help make your ‘working during the lockdown’ experience a positive and successful one. Keep an eye out for regular updates here and on Yammer.

During this first week of nationwide self-isolation, it’s the time for us to set up the office at home and create a work-life schedule for the next month.

Under these unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in, having a schedule isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. It will mean the difference between feeling like you have no grounding and sense of direction, leading you to potentially waste huge amounts of time each day, to developing a sense of clarity, purpose and productivity.

Almost all of the normal structures that drove your time – commute schedule, school schedule, activities schedule – have disappeared. Now you need to construct your own structure to stay on track.

Start by looking at your current routines and discuss with your team and the people who are at home with you – what can stay the same and what could be done differently and better?

It is highly recommended that you stick to as many of your usual daily activities as possible within the changed circumstances. For example, in the morning, still get yourself (and the kids) dressed, and instead of the commute to work or school, go for a walk around your neighbourhood to mimic that habit and get momentum going.

When it comes to work schedules, you could still start and stop at the same time, and do your regular team meeting via Skype for Business. If you are used to walking up to your colleagues to discuss when an idea or question pops up, you can still do that by calling them. And if you’ve become accustomed to catching up with colleagues in the lunch room, you can now set up a virtual chat during lunchtime, and still catch up.

The reason for this is that even if you’re in a different place, your mind already has deeply embedded patterns. Keeping the same schedule allows you to take advantage of already established ways of doing things, while having to create new habits puts you at risk of becoming distracted and shifting your schedule later and later.

Some tips for setting up your day and your workspace

• Tip: when you set up your work station, follow this work from home ergonomic guide as closely as you can and read up on how to work more ergonomically at home in this NYPost article
• Radio New Zealand featured an interview with Dr Sarb Johal, who shares some excellent tips for working from home. Dr Johal is a specialist in the psychology of disaster recovery and pandemics and is also experienced in working from home

Please share a pic of your workspace at home – is it an office, the kitchen bench or another space you’ve converted? Email a photo of your at-home workspace and we’ll share them! Update (3 April 2020): Check out these home work spaces on Yammer – thank you for your contributions!

In our next post, we’ll give you some suggestions for new habits to try during this time to boost your immunity and regain a sense of calm.