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One of the hardest things about working from home is the discipline you need to get things done, despite everything happening around you or what you feel (stress and anxiety seem worse these days). Unfortunately, now in 2021, covid continues to spread, and it doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. So we are all now faced with two decisions: do we sulk and let anxiety take over? or do we take the reins and change our attitude? I vote for the second and here I will share 9 different things I am doing on a daily basis to keep the monsters at bay and my happiness level high.

1. Give yourself time to get ready for work

Many of us have fallen victim to the ever-so-comfortable and completely unproductive habit of rolling out of bed minutes before we have to log in to work and start working in our pajamas. DON’T DO THIS. This is the first thing I noticed that was really not helping me because I didn’t have a separation between my home life and my work life.

Giving yourself time to brush your teeth, take a shower, put on makeup, get dressed are important steps to get you mentally ready to open your email and start tackling what you have to do at work.

2. Break tasks up into smaller ones

Anxiety is very real, and Covid-19 has amplified it. Unfortunately, it is easy for this to seep into other activities you may do. So instead of stressing about the million things you have to do, start with the tiniest of things and build yourself up. You’ll find it easier to tackle the big things if you take baby steps first to get there.

3. Write things down

My grandfather once told me, “if there is anything I can teach you, it’s to write EVERYTHING down”. This doesn’t just work with keeping things in order, but also to calm wandering minds from going overboard.

If you are working on a report and get a random thought of wanting chicken for lunch, write it down.

If you are writing an email and think that you need to buy toilet paper soon, write it down.

We cannot control these random impulses and by writing it down you give the thought the attention it needs, and can quickly go back to what you were doing. It would be worse to let the idea wander around your brain endlessly and not letting you focus on the tasks you have to do right now.

4. The magic of mandalas

As a kid, one of my favorite things to do was color. I never colored within the lines no matter how hard I tried. But now, I have what I call an adult coloring book of mandalas that no one cares if I draw in the lines or not, or if the color I use go together. It is so liberating!

5. Have a clean work space

Your workspace, whether at home or in the office, HAS to be neat. Give yourself the room you need to be comfortable. Your chair should be comfortable too and maybe add an extra cushion for lower back support if you need it.

This is important because it lets you focus on work instead of thinking other things as your back hurts, my boyfriend stole my chair again (true story), or that you don’t want to be there. During working hours, your focus should be on work, and having a comfortable space will help you focus.

6. Put on music

Every time I have to do something I don’t like, like cleaning, washing, cooking, I can only get it done if I have music on. When I was in college, some of my friends and I came up with the idea of a Snow White Club because we sang and danced while cleaning the house.

A variation of that could be listening to playlists on Spotify or YouTube that helps stimulate your brain to either calm down, spark ideas, study, etc. Try any one of these and see how it makes you feel. For example, I have a list for when I feel overwhelmed and calms me down, and a different one to motivate me to think of new strategies at work.

7. Take care of your health

This is the one I struggle with the most. However, there have been countless studies and an abundance of scientific research that all arrive at the same conclusion, we have to take care of our bodies for better wellness. Eating right and exercising really do make a difference in every aspect of our lives.

You don’t have to go on a crazy rabbit food diet or intense workout session to see results. Start small and with things you love to do. Maybe you love cooking and find a great healthy recipe to substitute pasta nights. Maybe simply walking around the block makes you feel energized. Doing these small acts make us want to do more healthy things for our bodies and our moods improve as well.

8. Motivation Notes

This is my favorite one and it is really quick to do. It involves putting up motivation post-its around your computer monitor. I even have a drawing (a really bad one to be honest) of my boyfriend telling me “you can do this”, and another one saying, “let’s go for a walk”. Having motivation notes in front of you that are quick and short is important to center us to feel ready for anything life wants to throw at us.

9. See what works for you

This is probably the most time consuming item on this list, but you’ll thank me in the long run. The best thing you can do for yourself is learn about the way you operate. Start simple with are you a morning person or a night owl, and work your way up to the best ways for you to calm yourself when stressed out. This is necessary to give yourself a break, and see how you can improve your day-to-day life to feel better overall.

For example, I’ve always been a morning person and my brain stops working around 10:00 pm, so I know that it’s better for me to wake up early and plan the most difficult activities in the morning than leave them for the end of the day when I’m exhausted and can’t think straight. I also love to dance, so when I get really stressed out, I have to literally get up, move around the room with some music, and release energy to get back to what I was doing.

In the end, it is important to listen to our bodies and find the best things that work for us to try to feel better in spite of everything that happens around us. This pandemic has hit practically every country in the world, and changed all of our lives as we know it. I hope things improve soon, but in the meantime let’s work on at least improving our moods so in the long run we will become happier and ready for anything.