Everybody is learning to work at home in their own way. However, there are those that have struggled with it from day one. Being a mother that works at home requires having two brains. The number of plates that need spinning (literally and figuratively) can be overwhelming. And when you try to find some sort of rhythm, this is when everything changes and you have to start again. The perfect example is right now; people are preparing for their children to go back to school. Whether your children are going back soon or they already have and you’ve decided to stay working from home, it seems like the whole process of keeping yourself motivated has to start all over again. And with this in mind, if you feel that the rules are constantly changing, especially with what’s going on and you don’t want to go back to the office yet in case lockdown happens again, what can you do to keep yourself motivated in the right ways?
Exercise Your Mind
You may think this to be counterintuitive. If you’re already working a job that seems to stretch your brain or you feel that you’re not able to cope with the numerous challenges, why should you exercise your mind? When you start to acclimatize to a stressful situation this will give you the tools to better cope with it. There will be times when you feel like you aren’t in control but they say that if you want to cope with stressful situations you have to desensitize yourself to the feeling. This means that in many ways you have to throw yourself into the fire. But when we start to consider the fact that we are working hard in our job as well as trying to keep everything together as a parent that we will have times when we feel powerless or exhausted. But this is where you have to keep your mind sharp.
Partly, it can be to do with something that keeps you motivated or inspired. You can find numerous wall stickers quotes to put around your home office to give you a little pick-me-up or you can do something that challenges your brain that you have wanted to do for a long time. The latter part is very important, especially when you feel like you’re not doing anything for yourself. When you start to stretch your brain in the right ways this helps to solidify connections in your mind. It’s all about strengthening these bonds. As they say, if you don’t use it, you lose it. Always be learning, and this will help to desensitize yourself to stress as well as an overbearing amount of information.
Rest Right
Part of the reason we can all struggle working at home is that we are within the same four walls. But this is only one aspect. When we start to think about our health, we may not be fuelling our body and brains in the right way. When you are struggling with numerous aspects of life, whether your children are going back to school and you don’t know if you will be able to cope or you have too much on your plate as it is, rest is the one thing that can help you to recover properly. When we think about rest in a physical and mental sense, proper sleep is everything. But so many of us barely get proper rest.
In addition to this, we have to think about the other side of the coin: fuelling ourselves. If you feel yourself with the right things this will give you more energy to deal with what’s being thrown at you, whereas having proper rest to recharge will help as well. But in order to rest properly, you’ve got to find the best practices for you. The best place to begin is to get rid of all of your devices from the room. Perhaps invest in blackout curtains, but also think about a bedtime routine.
Step Away From the Situation
We can’t avoid news about COVID-19, and the more we watch the news, the more anxious we may feel. You may feel that we need to keep on top of information, but if you are someone who is constantly watching the news, it can get you down and add to your anxieties. Make a pact with yourself to watch the news for 15 minutes just to get the key items of information and then avoid it. When you work at home, there are so many aspects of your life that creep into your brain to demotivate you. When you get distracted, you will start to think negatively and this becomes a cycle that is hard to escape from. Learning to step away from the situation allows you to gain some perspective.
Stepping away from the situation can mean going out for a walk or finding a place that you know isn’t usually trodden by people who don’t socially distance. It’s important to take opportunities where we can to escape ourselves. When we begin breaking the routine, we will feel a new sense of motivation. Because it’s such an anxiety-inducing time when you work at home you can feel that there aren’t as many healthy distractions and that it’s just you and your thoughts. Consider, now that your children are back in school, incorporating a new routine for your health. If you incorporate something like mindfulness for 10 minutes in the morning and for 10 minutes before your children come home from school you are taking the opportunity to do something for yourself that is a regular practice in maintaining your mental health.
It is not easy for any stay-at-home parent now that the children are going back to school, that there are going to be so many things that you worry about. In its most basic way, you must think that now is the opportunity to fix your anxieties. Now you have breathing space from the children, there is a bit more time for you to get back to looking after yourself.
Disclosure: This is a featured post.