Today marks my 1542nd day of self-isolation. I’m not sick or anything. Unless you count full-time freelancing as an illness of the mind.
As much as I love freelancing, it isn’t for everyone. I’m a natural born introvert (and some say, misanthrope) and am most energised when I’m writing instead of talking.
Others are the opposite. I get that too.
So here are some ways to stay sane and be productive at the same time – both of which go hand in hand.
“This is my fifteenth cup of coffee and I’m still not done reorganising my folders.”
1. Be at your desk when you’re meant to
This one is a crucial one. It establishes a routine which you can follow. If you usually start work at 9am, be at your desk at 9am. Even if it is just a shuffle from your bedroom to your new ersatz office setup. Which it should be: don’t work in pyjamas from your bedroom.
If you work from a desk, set up a desk, even if it’s at your kitchen table. Ensure a continuity of your habits at your home. If you sit in a beanbag at work…why?
2. You’re still on company time – remember that
The urge to watch YouTube and play video games on your computer with 1440p screen and GTX 1070 graphics card can overwhelm you at times; but that’s not why you’re at your desk. A quick round of Battlefield 1 or side quest of Kingdom Come: Deliverance may not hurt anyone, but you’re being paid to sit there. Honour the commitment. Play games during your lunch break, or better yet, after knockoff time.
Don’t disappear from your desk for long stretches without explanation. You wouldn’t do it at work, so don’t do it here.
3. Lonely? Use talking heads in the background
Hungarian-American author and psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said that every human being can enter a state of “flow” or effortless connectedness to their work, brought on by setting goals and devoting oneself to a challenge. You’ve felt it before when you felt “in the zone” or “switched on.” This means your brain is allocating mental resources to the task above all others.
However, as our brains want to do, ruminate. Some of us feel anxiety when we are isolated. (I’m not one of them. Then again, I’m weird.)
In order to regulate your mental resources and flow state, it’s helpful to have familiar noise in the background such as human voices. They aren’t substitute for the real thing when you’re concentrated on it but will suffice when you’re in a “flow” state. No, I don’t recommend the news at the moment.
I recommend death metal at ear-splitting volume, but that’s just me.
4. Stop eating everything
Seriously, stop that. Don’t order in. Make your own stuff. It’s not only better for you, it’s cheaper. My coffee bill is about $15 per month, because I make my own using a drip filter. Most office working people hit that in about two days.
Go for walks in the afternoon, too. Keep up your gym routine – this is just as important for your mental health as much as it is your physical health.
5. Do your job and do it right
The temptation to do your job half-assed unsupervised is tremendous; but character is what you are in the dark and who you are behind a screen when no-one (you know of) is looking.
Sir Henry Royce said “whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.”
I also say that adulthood is the feeling when, as a kid, you clean your room from top to bottom and your parents (who usually bug you about it) don’t even notice. You do what must be done because it must be done. The mature person does not lust after praise.
In these trying times, hard work, honesty, and helping others are the three elements that will ensure we bring out the best in ourselves and each other.
Let’s get to work.