1. Looking After Yourself

First and foremost, you can’t do a good job at work if you are not taking care of yourself. 

Working in times of chaos, personally or globally, you have to give yourself the room to breathe and manage your stress levels. Check out our blog post on the best ways to manage workplace stress and anxiety, this will give you some ideas of how to get through the day to day while maintaining your mental health.

Acknowledge the uncertainty of these times and allow yourself permission to express whatever emotions you feel.  Repressing that stress will only negatively impact your work life and feed the cycle that makes everything feel much worse than they are.

Self-compassion is hugely important because feeling stressed is a normal and natural reaction to chaos, and you can’t force yourself to have superhuman productivity skills as a coping mechanism.  It’s exhausting, not to mention impossible!

2. Cut Down on Distractions 

According to Susan David, author of Emotional Agility, “a symptom of distraction is more distraction. Then we feel more anxious.”

We might find distractions comforting during these times as they can help us escape from real world problems, or we feel more in control by knowing what’s going on in the world. But while they may help us in the short term, in the long term distractions only make it harder to stay focused while working, which makes us feel more overwhelmed.

Giving yourself a specific amount of time before work to check up on current events or social media is a good way of getting it out of your system and allowing yourself to feel informed, without falling into a hole of reading depressing articles. But don’t jump on your phone the second you wake up!  Allow yourself time to wake up and enjoy some peace before taking in any information.

During the workday, try blocking social media sites that you find yourself absentmindedly opening when your mind goes blank, or download apps like Forest to limit what you do on your phone and laptop (it also works as a Chrome extension).

My biggest tip to avoid distraction is to turn off all notifications on your devices.  Take control back with this action, you can chose when you want to check your social feed or email.

3. Communicate and Listen

If you are struggling with feeling overwhelmed while working, it’s just as likely that your co-workers and peers are feeling the same way.

Reaching out is the scariest step, but if you let people know how you are feeling, whether it is someone you work with or know personally, you may surprise yourself with how many people are feeling just as panicked as you.

Doing this, your network can share tips and coping tools that help ease stress, and you know you will always have someone to turn to who can understand your struggles.

If you’re working from home, having the family around can make is almost impossible to focus.  Particularly if you don’t have an office you can shut yourself away in, or home schooling you have to be present for.

Talk to your family or flat mates about your needs and together work out a plan so you all have the space you need to focus. 

Just as important as it is to reach out, it is also important to look out for anyone else who seems to be struggling. Offering a helping hand is a great way to support your colleagues and give yourself a purpose that makes work more fulfilling.

If you find your feelings are getting worse despite trying ways to manage them, letting your manager know will make them aware of the situation so they can implement ways to help you cope with your workload.

4. Block Out Your Day

Scheduling your day is one of the best ways to get through your day.

Whether you are a Type A person who schedules out their day to perfection or a Type B who goes with the flow, blocking out your day when you are struggling with staying focused is a great way to be productive in a healthy way.

Planning your workday in advance allows you to prepare for any deadlines, manage your time more efficiently, and gives you less room to feel distracted.

Give yourself a set timeframe every day to work between so you know when you need to focus and when you can start to unwind, and your body will eventually fall into a routine even if that doesn’t come to you naturally.

In this COVID-19 world, spending so much time at home can be really hard, and we can feel the pressure to have to use all this time to work nonstop. But if you treat your home work-life like a normal day at an office with set breaks and tasks to do in specific time slots, you may find the day going faster and your focus levels rising.