People are getting addicted to reading how many deaths how many hospitalizations. One of my colleagues who is very great with time management said she's very much limiting her exposure even to the news. I think that would be great for someone who suffers from anxiety especially to only maybe check the news in the morning and in the evening. Couple hours before bed. We don't need to know every news feed going on. I think sometimes that can create more anxiety
as the world is dealing with the spread of Coronavirus. Many in the workplace are finding themselves with a new office at home. Maintaining a work life balance is a struggle even under normal circumstances. But when your work is at home, new challenges present themselves. This is random acts of knowledge presented by Heartland Community College. I'm your host, Steve fast. Today we're talking about how we can maintain a healthy working environment while working from home. Our expert gives us some tips for giving yourself some space at the home office.
My name is Lisa summers, and I'm a certified personal trainer and a wellness coach and I do workouts and training and teaching at Heartland often on topics that relate to personal wellness, fitness, and just ways that we can take care of ourselves.
Well, during the Coronavirus pandemic, many of us are telecommuting, and for the first time, this podcast is being created totally from home. Lisa, you're at home, I'm at home, we are appropriately socially distancing. I think the real struggle sometimes is socially distancing from the other people that are all home. And we can talk about that. But one of the things I think I would want to address first is telecommuting can be a big adjustment for people, many people maybe have done it before. And some people maybe have just done it for a few days. But when it becomes part of your regular work week, every day, that can be a big adjustment.
Absolutely. And I think we have to remember the college students particularly, they are very technologically savvy. But online learning is way different than then being able to be in a classroom be with their peers, ask the professor questions in real time. And I do think we all are at a learning curve if we have not worked remote in the past. So we all need to give each other a little grace as far as being kind and staying well, because we're all in a different way of living right now.
Yeah, it definitely is a big adjustment period for everyone, especially if you're not used to using all those tools and not having the ability to follow up in person. I'm finding that's the case, as I work from home, but something that I didn't anticipate personally, is how my physicality would change working from home. One example is I find that I'm not taking breaks. As I, as I used to in the office, you know, if I have a meeting, it's a virtual meeting, and it's on the same computer that I've been working on, instead of getting up and walking to another room, or even just walking to someone's office. I don't go anywhere. And I think that not only is that physical break important, we need that mental break between working on projects.
I do. I think when we are on a computer, a lot of times we get into a low where we don't take a break. So I am telling clients that are struggling with that to set an alarm. If you're not taking regular breaks to get up, walk around, I'm encouraged because a lot of people I know are doing lunch hour workouts, there's a lot of my fellow trainers and colleagues offering online workouts. So I love to see people taking their lunch break, doing a workout in the middle of the day, they don't have to wait to get off work, they can get back to it if they don't have meetings and take a healthy lunch break or go for a walk outside socially distancing. So if you're finding yourself not taking breaks, and alarm, every couple, three hours is good for you to get up and get around or make a connection via the phone. Do something personally nice for yourself to take care of your physical or mental health.
You know, you raise a good point for a lot of us. Part of the routine might be you go to the gym first thing in the morning and then you shower and then you get ready. Or some people use it as an excuse. I know I have that, oh, I don't have time to work out because I have to shower and get ready is sort of a two way situation there. You know if you have an online meeting, maybe you can still do that without showering after you've worked out.
I'm encouraged by that too because a lot of people have found the healthiest thing They are doing a sticking to a routine. So when you say you don't have time, maybe this is a great time to start a new routine, because you can get up, get a workout in, and then get to your online call, if that's what you need to do first thing, so it might be a great time to set a new healthy habit and keep a schedule. That's what I'm reading and hearing from my friends and clients. Keeping a schedule is helping them stay sane and mentally well,
I've heard that as well, too. And also, it helps really prepare you, I know that any adjustment in your work situation can probably affect how you do your job. And part of that adjustment, whether you realize it or not, is the mental preparedness of a routine. So even though you might not need to get up and get dressed in the same way for work. Maybe just doing that helps you be mentally prepared to start the workday.
And I think that goes both ways. I was watching a podcast a psychologist did. And she was full makeup, full hair, nice, professional outfit. And she said that's what really helped her stay in the moment. Stay professional. I also on the flip side of that have had friends that work in corporate America that are really enjoying being able to wear joggers and a ponytail if need be. And just kind of relaxing. I think there's a lot of emotions right now. And I just did a quick blurb yesterday on feelings because we all are in unchartered territory. We all are feeling differently about this. And I've had multiple conversations about we can't really control how we feel. So we kind of have to accept how we feel, and do what seems best for us. If that's getting up and doing makeup and hair. Or if that's wearing a ponytail and kind of just being a little more chill than usual. It's very personal. And I think that's okay, well, let's talk
about some of those feelings that could be arising from this situation, and maybe what we can do about it. So one thing that is just a byproduct of the social isolation is they feel isolated it make them make them feel strangely lonely or disconnected, what are some things people can do to try to maintain some sort of social connection with the outside world?
I think one key is not to let ourselves continue to feel isolated, because that is a huge word that a lot of people are using right now, especially in states where we're really not supposed to leave except for things that are essential. But this is where technology can be a great thing. And I think even getting up and taking a phone call with a friend, and just catching up or doing a FaceTime or zoom with a group of your friends. I think even as much as I don't always love social media, I'm seeing some great things on social media, online workouts, online encouragement, people bringing out positive things that they're doing. And that helps us connect to other people, whether it's a phone call, or just following positive people, I think it's also a time for us to be mindful of other people. And we may need to take the initiative, if we know an elder who lives alone, we could volunteer if we are getting groceries to get there, drop them off at the port for them, just make a phone call and check on them. Because we don't want people to feel isolated, there are ways to connect virtually.
And I think that that is something that we all should consider when we think about our own situation. You know, we might be home with four or five, six people all together, and trying to stay out of each other's way. But there might be a relative who's all by his or herself, somebody that that really could probably use a little extra time to talk on the phone. Let's talk a little bit about that extra time with your family. You know, you always hear people say when they're getting ready to retire or change a situation. I want to spend some more time with my family. Now we're all getting that time whether we want it or not. Kids are home from school. That's a big hurdle right there. So your kids are home from school, and they might be an age where they don't really understand that mom or dad is still working. How do we try to maintain our patients and our schedule, when you're working in an environment where the kids are around your spouse or significant other is around? And you have to deal with all of that?
Well, I think once again, we got we have to give each other Grace here as far as the employer and the employee and our kids are trying to maneuver through a time of uncertainty as well. So I know different ages will obviously be a different challenge perhaps, but communication with them is really important. And then again, a lot of my friends with school age children, the best thing is to kind of keep a little schedule going, will there be interruptions? Absolutely. On the nice days, though, again, a mid day walk or going outside and, you know, playing catch or doing things so that the kids aren't stuck by themselves, we have to give grace to our schedules. And I do think that we have to talk to them about what is going on, and that we're at work and, and also keep them up if they're in school with their online homeschooling. As much as possible. I was reading something from a Mr. Rogers book, and I loved it, because we all feel better to help. And as adults, we can think of ways obviously right now to help. But I was thinking, why can't we let our kids help more around the house, this is a great time to teach chores or responsibilities, and make it a family team effort. So that they feel like they also have a purpose, or they're helping the good of the cause. This might be a good time to introduce things like that on ways they can help as part of the family.
And then they might be really ready to go back to school, when it's time,
possibly. Parents have really underestimated what a teacher does every day. And obviously, when you become a teacher at home, and that's not your realm, I think there will be a whole new gratitude for our teachers after this time of our lives.
We talked about trying to maintain that schedule. But again, you do have a situation of proximity. You know, if you're all home on a snow day, you get a little taste of that. And now if you have a rainy day where you can't go out and get that break, some people just might simply feel they need a break from the kids. But people might feel guilty about that, do we have to think about that the right way, and say I have to find some time for myself here. Because essentially, I'm working all day on parenting all day, and the breaks might not be presenting themselves.
I think it's always required. We're human beings. So we do need connection. But we also need time alone to just process. So this is a great time, if you're able tag team with your partner and take a break, go for a walk. If your kids are old enough, they can be you know, at the house alone for a half hour, go outside on your own or go escape into your room and read or journal. But it's very necessary. Just like most kids, depending on their age, they don't want to be smothered, I can tell you from experience my teenagers, especially the one that had to move home from college, I'm on her timescale a little bit because she doesn't want me to be around her all the time. She's trying to process she is a young adult. So we have to be considerate of the age. And also, I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a break any more than we have, we just maybe don't have the childcare in place. But if we have a partner or an older sibling that could even watch children for 15 minutes to go take, you know, a long shower or a walk or getting some exercise or read a book that's all healthy for our mindset, we need to process and have time to think
we talked a little bit about how people might be feeling isolated by the situation. But this entire situation can cause a lot of anxiety. Because not only do you have the anxiety of having to adjust your work schedule, or maybe your home schedule. But this is an anxious situation. This is a total worldwide disruption and it can cause you consciously or subconsciously to be kind of worried about it. So how do we take a moment to decompress and process some of that anxiety.
I'm always as a personal trainer going to remind everybody that there is lots of scientific evidence that moving your body and exercise is good for you and more than just the physical aspects. So that's a great release. I always tell my clients find things you enjoy lifting weights, doing high intensity burpees those aren't for everybody. But a walk or bike riding. Those things are a nice way to release and also can help alleviate those anxious feelings. I also think that it's a time of unknown so if people normally suffer from anxiety or depression, it may be escalated right now, but I think we need to remember that we can use the same coping mechanism as we did before. Most places you can still get outside in your neighborhood. You can still read a book to escape. Get your mind off things. I Also think planning and being proactive. One thing that I've been concerned that is the news media sources, it's a rampage. And people are getting addicted to reading how many deaths, how many hospitalizations, and one of my friends and colleagues who is very great with time management said she's very much limiting her exposure even to the news. I think that would be great for someone who suffers from anxiety, especially, to only maybe check the news in the morning. And in the evening, couple hours before bed, we don't need to know every news feed going on. I think sometimes that can create more anxiety. So just planning, being proactive, getting physical exercise, and again, whatever strategies we're helping you prior to this, maybe that's connecting with a phone call and a friend, you can't have coffee together. But you can make a cup of coffee at home and have a great conversation. And I think that helps a lot of people calm and relax.
So what about sleep, that's another thing that anxiety can get in the way of, and a disruption in your routine can also affect your sleep? What are some of the things that we can do to try to make sure that we're getting good restful sleep, when we're in this different situation,
that would go back I think, to the schedule, I don't think that we should use this time as Oh, I don't have to be up early for meetings. So I can stay up till one or two, we need to stick to a schedule, maybe even improve our schedule. Because of the situation. Try to get to bed earlier not turning on news sources right before we're trying to relax for the evening. Find a good book, I think a lot of people have talked about book related to nothing going on. leisure reading helps us kind of escape to a different reality, that can be good for us to calm down before bed journaling, I always say, dump all your feelings out in your journal, get them out of you put them down on paper, and then close the book and put it away. Also doing things like limiting caffeine in the afternoon, it's probably not a great time, because you're home to keep making coffee at three 4pm. Some people can go right to sleep, other people will struggle if they have caffeine later in the day. So being mindful of that. And then just working on breathing, sometimes you forget deep breathing naturally calm down and resets our body. So those are all little strategies we can try to do to improve our sleep.
And also, I know that sometimes when people are connected with work, through their phones, through their computers, they sort of don't stop, they keep being connected long past the regular workday when they might be headed home. And that screen time if you're checking your emails, when you need to be thinking about getting to sleep that could be affecting your mental state as well. Absolutely. One break that a lot of people have been taking while working from home is a break to walk to the fridge, that fridge is available, the snacks are available in a way that they might not be at your workplace.
I think that can go both ways. And I have new clients, one of the first couple of meetings I talked to them, I'm going to use a term most of us are spoiled, and that we really don't even remember what it's like to be hungry. And in this country. I always call it first world problems. Because if we're hungry, we get food, most of us are not missing a meal. And we use food a lot as a celebration, which is not a bad thing. But we also are emotionally connected to foods. So I'm seeing things both ways. Now I always ask are you a stress eater? Or are you a stress Sarver, people tend to be one or the other. So there are people right now that I've had to give a lot that are eating 678 meals a day, they've already been through all their quarantine. And that's a natural response for some people because they find comfort in food, then you have the opposite where some people can't eat when they're stressed. So they may be working, like you said and missing meals or not feeling like they're able to eat because of the stress and anxiety. So it's time to be mindful of what you are. And then that would help you decide possibly how to deal with your connection and your relationship with food at this time.
So one other thing I wanted to touch on before we finish up, Lisa is just how people might be thinking about their personal health. In light of all of this. I think that how you take care of yourself will affect everything else you do. If there were one or two habits that you would want to suggest everybody develop. This is a great opportunity. They always say you know a crisis presents an opportunity. What are two personal habits you'd like everybody to incorporate into their routine sets everything else in their routine may have been appended anyway,
so often people say when I have more time, so here you go. We have more time right now and I would say mainly The two things would be move your body, your body is meant to be a moving machine, it's not meant to be sedentary, fresh air is great for us. So on these days where the temperatures are mild or the sun comes out, get outside and move, play cats, do something fun with your kids, or take a walk or jog, but move your body every day. And then the other would be food does affect as sleep. Both of those affect how we feel. So they kind of are all related. And when I talk about being centered, sleep, stress, food exercise all kind of go hand in hand, but look at what you're eating. And is that going to make you feel better or worse? Is that going to raise your anxiety? Or is it going to help give you vitamins and nutrition. And so be mindful that you have color on your plate that you're getting in. If you're eating protein, giving a protein with your meals, getting in your vegetables and fruit, not drinking and eating a lot of sugar right now, that obviously isn't going to make us feel better, it may be a temporary, that you feel better eating the cookie. But later, you probably aren't going to feel better and you possibly will crave more. So I would just be really mindful about what you're fueling your body with during this time of uncertainty, especially because a lot of us aren't making multiple trips to grocery stores. So make sure you're getting that produce frozen vegetables work amazing. And they laugh, to think about that type of stuff. And I just read a quote this morning I thought was great. It said life is only as good as your mindset. So remember, we're all in this together. We're all experiencing the same feelings. It's okay to navigate new territories and maybe not know how you're feeling or everyday changes but find what's working for you whether that's a good strict routine, or reminders on your phone to get up and move. Find what works for you to be your healthiest during this time of uncertainty.
Well Lisa, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us about this today and fit this into your adjusted schedule.
Glad to help hopefully everybody can stay healthy and stay home. Thank you. Thanks Dave.
Lisa Summers is a wellness coach and certified personal trainer. She spoke to us today about work life balance while working from home and telecommuting. If you're interested in more interviews about the workplace wellness and more. Subscribe to random acts of knowledge on Apple podcasts, Spotify, audio, or wherever you found this one. Thanks for listening
