The short winter days mean that it’s dark when you wake up, and it’s dark by the time you finish work. When you’re working from home it’s even harder to escape the lockdown cabin fever.
So how can we make it easier for ourselves?
- Make the most of your lunch breaks when it’s actually light outside. Use this time to get out of the house. Wrap up warm and take a stroll, even if it’s just round the block, or your garden. Take a flask of hot chocolate or soup to ward away the winter chills.
- Let there be light! The obvious lack of sunshine at this time of year is a mood killer even without a pandemic added into the mix. Light boxes mimic the sun’s brightness. This encourages your brain to produce the feel-good hormone serotonin. Placing one next to your desk whilst working can also help make you feel more awake and productive.
- Breathe some life into your office space with houseplants. As well as being proven to reduce stress and anxiety, having a plant on your desk takes away from the harshness of winter outside, and is a reminder that spring isn’t far away.
- Switch off. It’s harder when your dining table is your new workplace to completely switch off from work at the end of the day. If you have a home office, shut the door. If you don’t, put your laptop out of sight to mark the end of your working day.
- Don’t stop moving. The gyms may be closed but there are hundreds, if not thousands of free exercise classes on YouTube or that are organised on Zoom which will come in extra handy after all the Christmas chocolates!
- Appreciate the little things that you wouldn’t normally get to see or do if you were in the office, or the extra time and money you save from not having to commute every day.
The most important thing to remember is an end is in sight. These are unprecedented times, so be kind to yourself.
