How to Stay Positive, Productive and Engaged during lockdown - Rahul Thakur

Create a Designated Workspace

If it’s your first time working from home it can be tempting to just work from your bed or the sofa or anywhere else you feel comfortable. However, staying productive during Coronavirus will involve setting up an area of your house to be specifically designated as a workspace. By creating an individual workspace where you live, it will send a clear signal to your brain that when you sit down at it, it’s time to focus and work.

Keep It Clean

Once you have created a workspace for yourself, keeping it clean is incredibly important. Doing so helps you stay focused, remain organized, and can help with promoting positivity and mental health. Even if a mess doesn’t bother you, keeping the order of your immediate surroundings is intrinsically tied to working more effectively. If your workspace, or just living space in general, is filled with dirty cups, plates and anything else on your desk, it makes it much easier to procrastinate and form a mindset that is detrimental to working efficiently. It’s a seemingly little thing, but when you’re in lockdown for an extended period of time, it can make all the difference.

Remember To Be Active

While lockdown means staying inside, being active is crucial to encouraging great physical and mental health. This is more important than ever when you are likely to be predominantly indoors. Even if you spend a lot of time at home normally, incorporate more exercise into your daily routine, make a point to get outside, even if it’s just for a short time, but being active and exercising is linked to remaining productive. If you can, go for a run, follow along with a workout plan app or yoga video, essentially whatever you like to do in order to stay fit and healthy, find your own ways to do this. This will also help you plan your day and build a routine that means you are more engaged with your daily activities.

Take Breaks

Working from home or in lockdown can potentially feel like a double-edged sword. Some people may feel that they have to work harder and at an increased pace compared to normal just to prove they are in fact being productive. This is a dangerous mentality and approach to have as it can quickly lead to burning out, increased levels of stress and have negative effects on your mental health. The brain is a muscle and it needs periods of rest. If you feel like the muscles in your legs are hurting, it’s wise to take a break from exercising, the same thing goes for your brain when working. Schedule regular breaks into your day that give you the chance to slow down, relax, get some exercise or fresh air to get the energy to keep working efficiently. Not taking these breaks will in fact damage your productivity in the long run and put a definite strain on your overall mental health. 

Rahul Kumar Thakur, The Fabindia School <rtr@fabindiaschools.in>