Staying at home all day long can be problematic. Especially when the situation forces us to do so. We’ve been used to get up early before, get dressed, eat breakfast (or drink the first cup of coffee to wake up) and then go to work. But now, instead of taking a bus or a car to your office, you probably move from the bedroom to the kitchen or if you’re the lucky one, to the place prepared for working remotely. Sounds quite boring, doesn’t it? So, what to do to make the remote work more enjoyable?
Make remote work more fun with these simple activities!
Music is your ally
Working remotely means you’re no longer obliged to use headphones. What is more, you can listen to your favorite music, turn it up and even dance – no chances that somebody’s watching you! Many of you have their favorite songs or artists, but if you’re looking for inspiration, Spotify is full of amazing playlists dedicated to the remote workers. The platform’s users even created the COVID-19 themed playlists – rather strange, but full of different songs with the “virus” or “corona” in their names. Want to try? Check out the one below!
Stretch yourself!
Working from home means that you can do a lot more things that you’re not allowed to at the office or you’re just ashamed of doing so. Staying at home makes you feel more comfortable and more willing to move your body – as I said above about dancing to your favorite music. But I also encourage you to step back from the desk/kitchen table/couch (delete as appropriate) and stretch yourself a bit! It helps to reduce the lower back pain that often bothers the office workers. Make a few even simple exercises or try some yoga, e.g. the de-stressing workflow posted below!
Play with your pet
Having a dog or cat at home? You’re the lucky one! And luckily for them, you staying at home means more time for playing and cuddling! Most of the pet owners agree that their beloved animals love to help them fulfill their responsibilities, especially when typing on the keyboard is involved. Sometimes the results of them typing are quite fun but imagine sending a “b;iwbn alvns`;ohgag” message to your boss or manager and explaining how it happened…
That’s why try to not ignore your dog or cat if they’re in the mood for playing! It’s scientifically proved that cuddling and playing with the pet reduces the stress, cause it stimulates the production of oxytocin, the “love hormone”. As a dachshund owner, I can assure you that it works! Each time I play with Molten, we’re both happier and more relaxed, even if doxies are often considered as one of the most demanding dogs. A little bit of mutual love never hurt anyone!
Read also: How Cat Videos Can Improve Productivity?
Cook!
Working in the office often means you don’t have enough time to cook something yourself. It results in eating outside (mostly junk food) or buying the ready meals in the convenient store. If you’re the lucky one, your partner can prepare something for you. So, instead of relying on others, maybe use the time spent working remotely on mastering your cooking skills? Take a break, go to the kitchen and if even if you’re not considering yourself as Gordon Ramsay, try to surprise your friends and family with the new tastes. Who knows, maybe you discover the passion of preparing home-cooked meals for lunchboxes when you’ll get back to work in the office?
Tasty channel on Youtube is the must-see for these who want to eat nice and healthy at work!
Have a call with your teammates
Spending 24 hours per day at home makes you probably missing office life. No wonder, nobody was fully prepared for the sudden life changes the pandemic caused. But here the technology comes with the helping hand – we still have Internet access, as well as collaboration and meeting tools. Suggest your teammates the idea of daily calls. Why? Because they’ll help you track the team’s progress and discuss the matters that need to be explained face-to-face (this time, screen-to-screen, but who cares). Moreover, you can even maintain your chitchat routine and drink the coffee together, like in the office. To avoid being surprised, first, find out if they want to make these meetings more or less formal. Maybe you come up with the weirdest clothes/pose/surrounding contest?
Help Scout makes the remote work more enjoyable by making fun of daily video calls – find out how they do it: How We Use Video to Build Remote Culture
Hope these few simple activities will make the (mostly) forced remote work more enjoyable! Don’t forget to establish a healthy daily routine and try to separate the work from private life (especially when both you and your partner are working at home together). We all know that watching Netflix all day long in this kind of situation is quite tempting, but try to avoid it – leave the treats for later!