Looking After Your Mental Health When Working From Home

It’s been a year since we all started working from home – where has all that time gone? Going from a bustling office working environment to a single quiet desk in your lounge or spare room might have been quite a shock for some, while others may have thrived on this quiet time and enjoyed the perks of working from home. 

As a digital marketing agency in London, we’ve missed seeing each other for a cuppa and a chat and having the dogs Benny and Broker around for some afternoon strokes! And, having grown so quickly over the past year, some of our newest team members haven’t even had the chance to go into the office yet! 

So, how have we been looking after our mental health while being at home?

Having A Break

When in the office, chances are you’d be getting up to make a drink, going out for lunch or chatting with colleagues. When at home, you might find that you’re stationary in your chair for hours on end with no real reason to get up. Try and get up at least once every hour to stretch your legs and take a short break from the screen. Not only does this warm the muscles up to prevent injury, but it also gives your eyes a rest from straining at the computer. 

Not Setting Expectations Too High

Getting into a working routine at home may have been difficult; whether you tried to maintain a strict schedule or worked in your pyjamas, everyone dealt with their ‘new normal’ in different ways, and none were better than the other. If you’ve slipped out of your old morning regime or not been going for your daily walk, don’t beat yourself up over it and remember that the most important thing is your happiness. If you just feel like sitting on the sofa watching Netflix after work, then do it! Unlike what social media suggests, you don’t have to make achievements every day. 

Taking A Lunch Break!

When working from home, it’s easy to make yourself a sandwich and go back to your computer, because after all, there’s nowhere to go, right? Wrong! Walk over to the shop to buy yourself a nice lunch or even buy some ingredients to cook something fresh. Catch up on your favourite programme for an hour or go for a walk in the sun – anything to get you away from your desk for a while. When in the office, we’re more likely to venture out into the world during our lunch break, and this dose of fresh air is something we should continue to do while working from home and works wonders for our mental wellbeing. 

Being Honest About How We’re Feeling

If you’re having a hard time working from home, perhaps struggling to concentrate or suffering from low moods and motivation, be honest with your employer about how you’re feeling. It’s ok not to be ok under these strange circumstances, and there’s more support than ever for those who are not feeling like themselves due to isolation. Being honest about how you’re feeling means that your employer will be able to support you as best as possible to ensure that your wellbeing is cared for.

Chatting With Colleagues

If you were in the office, you wouldn’t just talk about work-related topics with your teammates. You might be nattering about what you watched on Netflix last night or what you have planned at the weekend. Try and keep this up while working from home by chatting online or even arranging video calls just for having a catch up with each other. 

Being locked down for a year has forced each of us to take life at a slower pace and be more aware of how we’re feeling each day. During this time, you might have learned to take some time for yourself each day to unwind and relax, which is something you can carry forward in your routine when things go back to normal. If one thing is for certain, it’s that mental health has become a priority for everyone in the last year, and it’s not going to change anytime soon!