Covid 19: 7 mental health hacks if you’re working from home

The pandemic is creating significant stress for many people. A number of employees are going to be working from home full time for the first time. Whilst this can sound attractive – it can also freak some people out. They will be asking questions like:

• How do get anything done at home with the distractions?
• How do I avoid getting bored?
• How do I avoid being lonely?
• How do I stay connected with my colleagues?
• How do I separate my work life and my homelife?

It is critical to remember that our mental health is determined by 3 elements:

• Our genetics (which contributes 50%)
• Events (10%)
• Our daily activities (40%)

We have very little ability to change our genetics and we certainly can’t change the majority of events, but we can choose what we do each day.

Here are 7 mental health tips we all should be embracing:

1. Only read Covid 19 updates from trusted news sources

Australian Health Department: Covid 19 – current situation and case numbers

Safework NSW: Coronavirus: Advice for NSW workplaces

2. Restrict looking at the news to 2 times per day
3. Create a routine and stick to a schedule – decide on a start and stop time
4. Work in 50-minute chunks – set a timer. When it goes off stand up, walk around, get some fresh air
5. Set a regular time to speak with teammates
6. Schedule a work date – who do you know that lives locally? Where could you meet?
7. Take a lunchtime walk in nature – a rejuvenator

3 tips if you have young children

1. Work in 2 hour shifts with your spouse/ partner. One person has undivided focus on work – the other exercises self-care with quality time with the kids.
2. If you are a single parent – Do you know another parent that lives close by that you can have half day swaps with?
3. If you are a morning person – get up 2 hours before the kids for a solid block of work. If you are a night owl – plan for 2 hours after they go to sleep.

Please make your mental health a priority during these challenging times.

If you would like to know about a webinar program to support your employees during these challenging times please email support@graemecowan.com.au or call 02 8005 0344