But here we are. Almost a month into the New Year. As is tradition, now’s a good time to engage in a bit of introspection — to reflect and set goals for both personal and professional improvement.

Provided, of course, you have the energy to do so. Don’t worry if you’re still feeling a bit burnt out from 2020. Many of us are, so don’t beat yourself up about it. 

That said, if you’re looking to hit the ground running in 2021, we’ve got some valuable advice to offer in that regard.

First, Know Yourself

Think about your past achievements in both your career and your personal life. What did you find easy to accomplish, and what did you struggle with? The latter is where you want to direct your focus. 

Understanding your weaknesses and flaws is at the core of self-improvement, and the first step in bettering yourself. Let’s say, for instance, you struggle with executive dysfunction. You might consider padding your deadlines or getting as much work done as possible when you feel productive. 

This will allow you more time to work around mental fatigue without worrying about turning in work late.

Of course, you might also consider speaking to a mental health professional if the executive dysfunction is severe enough; never underestimate the difference treatment can make.

Second, Think About What You Want

COVID-19 changed the world, and in most cases, it wasn’t for the better. People are struggling to make ends meet, and businesses are closing their doors. People are scared, stressed, and uncertain when it will end.

If you’re among those who’ve been laid off or seen their business fail, don’t panic. This could, given the right circumstances, represent a new opportunity for you. Ask yourself what you want to do with your life. 

Once you’ve ensured you’ll be able to keep yourself comfortable and secure, pursue that dream. 

Third, Be Realistic

You don’t need to be a productivity powerhouse. You don’t need to charge headlong into your dreams, especially if you’re still trying to keep food on the table. Know your limitations, and learn to recognize when you’re taking on too much work.

It’s far too easy to set your expectations too high and give up when you fail. 

Where goals are concerned, don’t overcomplicate things. Figure out what you have the time and energy to achieve right now, and play to your strengths, tracking your progress as you do. And know that you don’t need to pursue every goal right now. 

Do what you can for now, and that will be enough — you can always set long-term goals for the future, and pursue them as soon as you’re able. 

Fourth, Don’t Overdo It at Work

Last year showed us, in stark detail, the fragility of our way of life. It showed us how much we took for granted, and caused many of us to rethink our priorities. If you haven’t done so already, you should do the same. 

Ask yourself what matters to you. 

Do you want to pursue a well-deserved raise or promotion? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Do you want to pursue a new hobby? 

Make sure that whatever your goals, you don’t veer too far to either end of the spectrum where work-life balance is concerned. You don’t want to be pouring all your energy into work to the extent that you’ve nothing left for the people you care about. But you also don’t want to ignore work altogether. 

The key is striking the right balance. 

Finally, Try To Remain Positive

It’s easy to dive into the New Year with momentum…most of the time. This year might be a bit of an exception to the rule. Either way, it’s easy to set and pursue goals in the short term.

Long term, though? Not so much. As the grind continues, deadlines grow tighter, and life grows more stressful, it’s easy to get discouraged and lose your positive energy.

Consider setting small goals and rewarding yourself when you meet them. Learn to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the world. And take time every day to consider what and who you’re thankful for. 

Final Thoughts

We live in unprecedented times. Most of us are struggling right now. Remember that. 

Be honest with yourself, practice a bit of kindness, and show sincere gratitude for the good things in your life. You can and will get through this. And we’re all in your corner, cheering for you to do so. 

Yeah, neither do we. It’s now been over a year since COVID-19 first surfaced. In that time, it has killed over two million people. For context, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the seasonal flu results in an average of 63,000 deaths a year. 

Now that we’ve put to rest the notion that the novel coronavirus is ‘just the flu,’ let’s talk about what we can do to help curb its spread. Because unless we want to deal with more outbreaks, more deaths, and more lockdowns, we all need to do our part. We need to wash our hands, isolate when appropriate, work from home if possible, and practice social distancing.

We also need to wear masks when in public. This is where most frequently see people making mistakes, born of either a misconception about what masks do or from simple ignorance. Let’s set both to rest with a few important reminders about mask use. 

You Aren’t Just Protecting Yourself

One of the most common misconceptions about masks is that they’re exclusively for the sake of the wearer. It’s a common retort used by anti-maskers — if you’re scared enough to wear a mask, why should they be inconvenienced? The reality, however, is that masks don’t solely protect the wearer. 

On the contrary, as noted by online medical publication WebMD, wearing a mask helps you from spreading the virus in the event that you’re asymptomatic. In countries with high mask use, the pandemic’s spread is far less pronounced and severe. And per The Hub, a publication at Johns Hopkins University, masks actually do reduce the number of germs the wearer breathes in. 

Even the study most frequently cited by anti-maskers, DANMASK, proves that masks are both beneficial and necessary. At this point, refusing to wear one is the height of selfishness. In doing so, you are saying that your personal convenience matters more to you than the lives of others. 

That’s not okay. You do not get to insist that people should simply stay home because you don’t feel like wearing a mask. Have a little compassion and common courtesy. 

Don’t Half-Mask It

If you wore a welding shield over only half your face, would you be protected from the glare and the sparks? If you wore an oven mitt that only covered two fingers, would you be willing to grab something out of the oven? If you wore shoes that didn’t cover your heels, would you go outside? 

You see where we’re going with this, right? 

If you commit to wearing a mask, it needs to cover the entire lower half of your face to be effective. Respiratory droplets are one of the primary transmission vectors for COVID-19. Moreover, per WebMD, the virus primarily dwells in the nasal passages. 

If you insist on leaving your nose uncovered, you might as well not wear a mask at all. 

Keep It Clean

As the pandemic has worn on, many of us have made the switch from disposable masks to reusable ones. On the one hand, this is a good thing because it both reduces waste and frees up surgical masks for the frontline workers who desperately need them. On the other, it carries its own set of risks.

For instance, when’s the last time you cleaned your mask? 

We aren’t just talking about the occasional spritz of hand sanitizer. We mean actually running it through the washing machine. See, because masks trap respiratory droplets, they provide the perfect environment for germs. 

This means that the longer you go without washing it, the filthier it gets. 

Per Doctor Lisa Locker Maragakis, Senior Director of Infection Prevention at the Johns Hopkins Health System, you should wash your mask after every wearing and throw out any disposable filters. For this reason, she recommends owning at least two face masks. That way, when one mask is in the wash, you’ve still got one to wear if you need to go out. 

Don’t Be Selfish

The pandemic isn’t going to go away, no matter how much we wish it would. That’s why we all need to do what we can to help flatten the curve. We’re all in this together, and we need to work together to get through it. 

Unfortunately, this trend continues to rise as 75 percent of employees believe that work pressures have increased dramatically from the previous generation. While stress is uncomfortable, it also puts a strain on other aspects of an employee’s life, including personal relationships, mental health, and, in some cases, physical health.

While trends show that workplace stress is unlikely to decrease, there are plenty of tools to reduce the negative side effects of stress. 

Below are the top three scientifically proven ways to better manage stress and reduce anxiety.

Focus on Your Breath

Numerous studies have shown that learning to breathe can decrease stress levels and improve cognitive abilities. 

Breath awareness is also one of the most fundamental steps of meditation as it teaches you to become more aware of your thoughts.

The best way to begin breathing exercises is to sit down for five minutes in a quiet place and focus on your breathing. If negative thoughts come into your mind, simply notice the thoughts and bring your attention back to your breathing. Once you can learn to observe thoughts rather than react to them, you’ll be able to control your emotional responses to work-related stress in a healthier manner.

Gratitude Journal

Another tool to reduce stress is to do gratitude journaling daily. A study by the University of California at Berkeley of nearly 300 students who experienced clinically low levels of mental health showed that those that participated in gratitude journaling and counseling were significantly less stressed than those that only received counseling.

To start gratitude journaling, write down five things that make you feel grateful. The key to making this exercise successful is to write about things for which you are genuinely appreciative. For example, if you write that you are thankful for breathing, though you don’t really feel gratitude for it, you won’t experience the rush of good emotions that come with the exercise. 

Therefore, it’s also important to be specific about what you feel grateful for to make the exercise effective.

Research also shows that it’s best to journal just one to three times per week as those that journal daily typically experience decreased levels of gratitude.

Exercise

While exercise may be physical, the mental benefits gained from it are significant. When your body exercises, you experience decreased levels of stress because the physical activity reduces stress hormones like adrenaline and increases the production of endorphins. 

Even if you don’t have time to go to a gym, consider doing a quick pilates video on YouTube at home before you go to work. In fact, even just running for 15 minutes a day can prevent depression and more clinical anxiety.

Wrapping Up

If you experience anxiety, try these three tools to better control your responses to stress and improve your mental health. If you find that you continue to experience high-stress levels, don’t hesitate to talk to a medical professional. Quarantine and the COVID-19 pandemic have increased stress levels, and it’s important to reach out for help when you feel you need it.

Amidst such an atmosphere, the best thing any of us can do is keep ourselves occupied. Find a way to fill up all the seemingly-infinite spare time many of us now have. Find something constructive, fulfilling, and creative to help you pass the time.

Here are a few that we highly recommend. 

Plant A Garden

Per Psychology Today, there are multiple mental health benefits associated with gardening. For one, a bit of fresh air and sunlight does everyone a bit of good. And even if you have an indoor garden or greenhouse, there’s simply something relaxing about caring for and cultivating a crop of plants, whether for food or simply for aesthetics.

Moreover, green space is proven to have many positive effects on our psyche, including helping with both anxiety and depression. 

Create Some Art

There are few things more fulfilling than creative expression. Ever since the earliest days of human existence, we’ve expressed ourselves through art. And while you cope with the stress of isolation and quarantine, so can you. 

Train yourself to learn a new craft, like cross-stitch or oil painting. Write a song, or try your hand at some poetry. Practice calligraphy, try making something new or learn a new instrument. 

Not only can this help you take your mind off the stressors in your life, but it can also help you better cope with, understand, and manage your emotions. By channeling your thoughts and feelings into artwork, you can develop a new, deeper understanding of who you are as a person, and how you relate to your surroundings. Plus, immersing yourself so thoroughly in creative flow is incredibly relaxing. 

Learn To Cook

Last but certainly not least, consider cooking or baking. There are countless recipes and guides on the Internet for everything from delicious desserts to filling and healthy dinners. Why not try your hand at a few? 

Teach yourself to mix up your favorite dessert. Practice making some new meals that catch your attention. Learn how to make your own bread, or create your own sourdough starter. 

Being stuck inside doesn’t mean you can’t still eat well and treat yourself, after all. And learning to prepare your own meals is both more satisfying and far healthier than constantly ordering in. Take our word on that one — delivery gets expensive after a while. 

Better Days Will Come

The coronavirus pandemic won’t last forever. And even if you’re in an area suffering through a second wave and another lockdown, that, too, will pass. In the meantime, the best you can do — the best any of us can do — is manage the day-to-day. Find something that fulfills you and enriches your life, and lose yourself in it. 

You may be surprised at how much it helps. 

Unfortunately, in practice, perfectionism is a whole lot more toxic than the simple pursuit of excellence.

Missed deadlines. Mounting stress and irritability leading inevitably to burnout. Dissatisfaction with a career that once sparked endless passion. 

All tied together by a crushing, pervasive sense that you don’t belong where you are, that your professional successes are all somehow fraudulent. 

This is the face of perfectionism that we don’t see. The dark side of one’s desire for excellence and improvement. The pursuit of perfection at all costs and at any expense, to the point of sabotaging your own work. 

Let’s talk about a few ways this self-sabotage tends to manifest, and what you can do about it. 

It’s Making You Likelier to Procrastinate

When you’re a perfectionist, the thought of doing any task you know won’t receive your absolute best leads to a form of paralysis. You simply can’t seem to motivate yourself to work on the things you need to get done. As the work piles up, you grow increasingly overwhelmed, increasingly desperate, and increasingly stressed out.

And for some reason, you still can’t motivate yourself to start working. Because you already know you can’t do the job right. Or at least, you can’t do it right according to your standards. 

So you don’t bother doing it at all. And as you sit there staring at your ever-growing task list, the deadlines speed past. And all the while, your inner critic is screaming at you. 

It’s Exhausting

As you may have surmised from the above point, perfectionism is extremely draining. No one is perfect all the time, and no one is capable of always firing on all cylinders. It’s great to aspire to always do one’s best, but you need to understand that you’re only human.

You’re going to have off days. You’re going to have times when you’re too tired or too stressed to give it your best. You’re going to have projects which, while you might finish them to the satisfaction of others, you won’t be able to finish them to your standards.

And here’s where your perfectionism gets actively harmful. You’re never satisfied with your work, and you’re constantly pushing yourself to your limits and beyond in a vain effort to be better. That is not sustainable, and it will inevitably lead to burnout, especially with how stressful the rest of 2020 has been thus far. 

It Can Kill Both Flexibility and Creativity

At the core of perfectionism is an ingrained fear of doing something wrong. The constant worry that your efforts simply aren’t going to be good enough. Unfortunately, whether you want it to or not, having that background radiation in your mind does have an impact.

It can, in some cases, make you less likely to try new things. Less willing to get creative with your work. Or simply cause you to enter a sort of stress spiral wherein you constantly submit work that you feel is sub-par because you’re creatively stagnant, yet you lack both the energy and the will to fix it. 

How To Overcome Your Perfectionism

Overcoming perfectionism is all about perspective. 

The first thing you need to do is to understand that no one is perfect. You are pursuing an impossible ideal, a standard no one is capable of meeting. From there, ask yourself one thing about your work.

Are your clients and colleagues happy with it? Are you receiving praise for it? If you’re a contractor, do people keep coming to you with additional work? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, that means that, from the perspective of everyone else, your work is already perfect — or at least near enough to perfection for it to count. 

Finally, when starting on a new project, you shouldn’t be trying to make it flawless on your first run. Settle for on time and just good enough. You can always refine a project after you’ve finished it, but you can’t turn back time if you submit something late. 

There’s nothing wrong with trying to improve or pursuing excellence. It’s where you let that paralyze and drain you that you encounter problems. At the end of the day, try channeling your perfectionism into self-improvement, and don’t let it control you.

Because you’re better than that.

Rather than waste too much time and energy stressing yourself out over the fact that you’re eating when you shouldn’t be, we recommend instead keeping yourself stocked up with one of these healthy snacks. Not only will they keep well out of the fridge, but they’re also a relatively guilt-free way to satisfy any mid-day peckishness. 

Roasted Legumes

Available in most stores, roasted chickpeas or snap peas come in a ton of flavors and varieties. Although they may not necessarily be the healthiest thing you can indulge in at your desk, they do tend to be highly essential vitamins and fiber. Plus, depending on what you get, you can enjoy the experience of eating potato chips without any of the guilt that comes with it. 

Jerky

It’s quick and easy, it tastes good, and it keeps forever. Jerky can provide you with a quick hit of protein right when you need it most, making it a great snack to keep in your desk, or at least nearby. Note, however, that you should pay very close attention to the ingredients of the jerky you purchase. 

Some brands tend to come packed with preservatives and sugars that quickly edges them from “healthy snack” to “unnecessary indulgence.”

Homemade Trail Mix

Take several types of dried fruit, a few nuts of your choice, some sesame or sunflower seeds, and a treat like yogurt-covered raisins. Toss it all in a bag, shake, and divide it into portions. You’ve now got your own homemade trail mix, free to snack on whenever you need a quick pick-me-up. 

Seaweed Snacks

Seaweed is great on more than just sushi. Dehydrated seaweed snacks are available at a bunch of different grocery stores, and although high in salt, they offer an extremely low-calorie way to sate your hunger. Do note that they can get a little flaky and messy, however, so you might want to be careful about eating them over your keyboard. 

Dark Chocolate

It might not be quite as sweet as other brands of chocolate, but dark chocolate can really grow on you. Treat yourself to a sea salt and dark chocolate bar from your local organic food store, and you might see why so many people find it so satisfying.  It’ll allow you to satisfy your sweet tooth without adding too much to your waistline in the process.

Finally

The ideal office snacks all have a few traits in common. They’re non-perishable, they’re relatively healthy, they’re easy to make and store, and they’re easy to consume. Next time you’re feeling peckish at work, why not try one of our suggestions?

Outside of a global pandemic, working from home can be immensely beneficial. It can lead to happier and healthier employees, greater productivity, and more flexibility in your recruitment efforts. It does, however, require a bit of a mindset shift in leadership – a few measures your business can take to make remote staff more productive. 

Offer Flexibility

One of the most notable benefits of remote work is that it eliminates potentially lengthy commutes and considerable cost in fuel, parking, and vehicle maintenance. In addition to these savings, it also reduces the impact your business has on the environment, both directly and indirectly. Finally, it gives people more time to themselves, allowing them to potentially pursue new hobbies.

You can play into this increased freedom by offering more flexible working hours to your staff. Let people settle into the right cadence for them – as long as they’re available for team meetings and finish the work that’s assigned to them, it shouldn’t matter how or when they get things done.

You might consider offering a blended schedule, with only a few days of in-office attendance per week, or a floating schedule with complete flexibility. 

Stay In Touch

Communication is critical in remote work. Ensure you schedule weekly or daily meetings and host regular discussions about priorities and upcoming projects. Videoconferencing tools like Zoom can be immensely valuable in ensuring people remain connected to one another, whilst chat apps like Slack can help people communicate in their day-to-day.

It’s important that you’re both prudent and sparing when it comes to scheduled meetings. It’s also imperative that you avoid micromanaging every minute of an employee’s workday. This will inevitably lead to both resentment and a significant downturn in productivity. 

Offer Advice

The comforts of home can be extremely distracting – but as an employer, you can provide a wealth of valuable advice to staff who may have trouble focusing.

Encourage people to frequently get up and stretch during the workday; a simple walk around the block can work wonders for focus. You might also consider asking staff to write down what they want to accomplish each day, thereby reducing productivity loss that may be caused by a lack of focus.  

Advise staff to work in an office-like space with a door that can be closed to minimize distractions, rather than a bed or couch, and to stay away from known distractions like having the television on for background noise.

Conclusion

These are unprecedented times, but even once the pandemic ends, it’s likely that remote work is here to stay. Understanding how to care for your staff and help them focus on their work now will serve you well in the future. By demonstrating flexibility and compassion, you can not only help them stay focused on their work but also show them you have their back.

They’ll remember that. 

There is now mounting evidence that people simply cannot be productive for forty hours a week. That even eight-hour days might be too much to handle. As noted by service desk software specialist AskSpoke, multiple studies have found that limiting the workweek even down to as little as three days has almost no impact on productivity and that reducing the time people spend at work can lead to employees that are happier, healthier, and more productive. 

In Sweden, for instance, a nursing home conducted a two-year experiment that switched from eight-hour days to six-hour days. Sick leave dropped by 10 percent, and nurses reported they were more energetic, healthier, and more alert. 

The simple fact is that our minds aren’t built to focus constantly on repetitive or simple tasks. Nor are we meant to spend our every waking hour working or thinking about work. Our focus, explains Srini Pillay of the Harvard Business Review, is ultimately limited.

And overdoing it can result in a lot of problems, both for your business and its staff. Low morale, lower cognitive function, more frequent absenteeism, more frequent mistakes. Overworked and exhausted employees, simply put, are bad for business.

Never mind the fact that an endless workweek is also arguably exploitative, especially given that not everyone makes a living wage on it. You are, after all, not just spending your time at work. You may have to deal with a lengthy commute and all its associated expenses, you need to get ready each morning, and there’s the constant pressure to be ‘online’ even outside working hours.

It’s a wonder anyone can get anything done in their personal lives at all. 

Modern professionals have started waking up to this. They understand that this needs to change. Flexible working hours have consequently become the most valuable perk to more than 40 percent of employees, who note that it contributes to a better quality of life, improved physical and mental health, and the feeling that they’re valued by their employer. 

The key here, as many progressive organizations have discovered, is to focus on productivity and flexibility instead of trying to force people into mandatory, micromanaged facetime. If nothing else, the COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly effective in driving this home. Telecommuting has meant that flexible working hours are now a must, which has caused many to rethink how they feel about the traditional workweek.

People have realized that an exceptional workplace is defined not by meaningless amenities, but by happy, satisfied employees. They’ve realized that you don’t need to be dedicating nearly half – or more – of your waking hours to a job. And perhaps most importantly, they’ve realized that you don’t need to micromanage employees or force them to work set hours in order to maximize their productivity.

Instead, by focusing on employee morale, accountability, and freedom, they can empower their workforce in entirely new ways.  Consider what life would look like if everyone had even a few extra hours to themselves. They could discover new projects and come up with new innovations, flexing their creativity for the benefit of both themselves and their employer. 

As organizations and industries evolve to meet the needs and demands of the new crop of young professionals hitting the workforce, we will start to see significant changes in the way we usually approach working. We’ve come a long way since the assembly lines of the 20s, but to sustain a healthy and productive workforce, we have many more challenges to overcome.

We can blaze a trail towards healthy, humane work practices, and be a responsible example for other continents, but it’s something we need to do together.

An uncomfortably high body temperature or an overly warm worksite can cause significant productivity loss. Not only that, if you’re not careful it can also create a ton of other health-related issues, including heat exhaustion, heatstroke, heat rashes, and heat cramps.  And that’s to say nothing of the tension and uncomfortably-warm workplace can create.

When the heat goes up, so too do stress levels – meaning more office conflicts and lower morale. Let’s talk about the how and why of avoiding that. Outside of investing in an air conditioning system (which you should already have), here are a few ways you can keep things cool, both as an employer and as an employee.

Employers

Keep the Blinds Closed

Especially during the hottest hours of the day, direct sunlight can create a ton of ambient heat, resulting in an effect similar to a sunroom or greenhouse. To keep the temperature low, productivity high, and the office cost-effective, it may be worthwhile to block out the sun altogether. You can open the shades and windows later in the evening to keep up air circulation, but during the hottest hours of the day, shuttering the shades might be the first step to keeping things cool and reducing the burden on your air conditioning. 

Reflect and Reduce Heat

You’ve likely noticed how the sun reflects off a skyscraper. That’s not just a stylistic choice – it’s a functional one, as well. Reflective window films and coatings redirect the heat and UV rays of the sun, lest an office tower turns into an overly-tall oven.

If you have the money, they’re a worthy investment. This is not, however, your only option for heat reduction. Turning off lights and devices that aren’t in use can not only cut down on your electric bill but also reduce the amount of heat in your surroundings. 

Making the switch to motion-sensitive or software-controlled LED bulbs is also a good idea, as they tend to put out less heat than traditional lighting. Better yet, doing this doesn’t just make your workplace more comfortable. It reduces your business’s environmental footprint, which can often be written off on your taxes.

Stay Abreast of OSHA

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has published a fairly extensive set of guidelines pertaining to heat management in the workplace. As an employer, It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with this framework. Understand the common causes of heat-related illnesses, and how you can play a part in their prevention.

This is more than just a matter of comfort, it’s the law. 

Employees

Be Proactive

If you’re stuck in an office that’s too hot and there’s no relief in sight, you might consider using an ice pack or a cold compress on your neck, under your arms, or on your legs. By focusing cold temperatures on major pulse points, you can cool yourself off considerably, and quickly as well. That aside, stay hydrated. 

Water is your friend, especially in hot weather. When temperatures climb, so too should your water intake, to help you keep pace with the heat. Keep a large water bottle by your desk, and consider adding fruit or mint slices if you want a bit of extra zest to your drinks. 

Dress Well

Specific clothing types and fabric blends can also play a huge role in keeping you cool. Focus on materials that are cooling or moisture-wicking, such as cotton, linen, rayon, silk, or jersey. And if you’re stuck in an office that still has a dress code, consider exploring ways you can still dress professionally without overheating, such as an extra-light suit or short-sleeved dress shirts. 

Listen to Your Body

In spite of your best efforts, the heat can sometimes get overwhelming. Stay vigilant. If you start experiencing muscle cramps, headaches, heavy sweating, rapid increases in your pulse, dizziness, or goosebumps, you are likely in the early stages of heat exhaustion, which can quickly progress into heatstroke.

Get yourself somewhere cool immediately, and consider calling for medical assistance if cooling off doesn’t help. Similarly, if you notice someone else in the office showing signs of heat stroke such as rapid breathing, confusion and agitation, nausea, extreme lethargy, or flushed skin, don’t be afraid to take action. They will likely appreciate the effort.

When temperatures spike, it’s important to focus on staying healthy. Prolonged exposure to heat does more than stymy productivity – it can be deadly. Keep cool, keep comfortable, and focus on your health.

The strain of prolonged isolation can lead to multiple mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and insomnia. The best route to avoiding this is to take care of your health. Physically, that’s relatively easy. 

Get some regular, light exercise. Keep yourself properly hydrated and ensure you’re getting proper nutrition. Make sure you get enough sleep and avoid the consumption of too much caffeine.

The mental side is a bit more challenging.

The first thing to remember is that there’s no “best way” to reduce stress. What works for you might not work for someone else. That said, there are some general strategies that can help. 

Define Boundaries

Creating a boundary between work and home is something many people find beneficial. Either make sure you have a separate office space with a door you can close, or seek out a small cafe or city park in which to work if conditions allow. Remember also that your work should be put away when you’re done for the day. 

Resist the urge to answer non-essential emails when you’re not on the clock.  If your work can all be done in your home office on a desktop or laptop, it’s quite likely that you’ll work longer than intended since there isn’t a manager to remind you to take a break or finish up for the day – you need to be cognizant of this risk. 

Create a Wind-Down Routine

A simple routine that you do at the end of your day can help your mind realize it’s time to put your work away and relax. You could try something like opening a window at the top of the last hour, cleaning up your desk area at the final thirty-minute mark, then finish by organizing your tasks for the next day and eating a small snack. The point is to pick something you can do and stick to it until it becomes a routine. 

Shifting the way your brain functions isn’t as hard as you may think, it just takes consistency.

Take Actual Breaks

Taking a break can be difficult. You need to finish one task, then another, then one more, and suddenly it’s late evening. It’s important that you schedule and stick to allotted break-times, lest you end up in a vicious cycle of insomnia.

Consider setting an alarm. Once it goes off, get up and stop working for a bit, no matter what you were doing at the time. Eventually, these breaks will become part of your daily routine.

Leave Your Work in the Workplace

Do not, under any circumstances, take work with you on a holiday. It may be tempting to do so – you may think you’ll get the drop on the tasks waiting for you when you return – but you’ll just end up burning yourself out. Whether you’re taking a temporary break or a long-term one, allow yourself the time to relax, disconnect, and unwind. 

Seek Interaction Where You Can

Spending time offline is essential, even if it’s just coffee with a coworker. Unfortunately, amidst COVID-19, that’s often easier said than done. It’s likely as not that you’ll need to get creative, perhaps through a remote movie night, online games, or a regular zoom call with friends or family.

There’s still much we do not yet know about the long-term effects of remote work – but current events give us a real opportunity to learn. Companies with remote teams need to be ensuring that employees aren’t stressed and overloaded with work. This may be a reasonably new working environment, but the remote format is here to stay for better or worse.