Planning Your Day With a Holistic Mindset
Britton Taylor Chaves
With working from home the new “norm”, it can become harder and harder to find separation between your “work” and “life” . With a clear strategy and a flexible mentality, you can find balance in your day.
Setting boundaries between work and life is tough, but when you are working from a one room apartment or in the basement with your kids running around upstairs, it can be nearly impossible.
Given that most of the world is currently quarantined at home and maybe learning how to work from home for the first time, it is understandable that the lines between work and home life will blur.
While I have worked from home for nearly a year, these past few weeks have been eye-opening on what I need to thrive in this setting. Follow along as I share my learnings with you.
Photo by Melanie Ruth
At the onset of working from home, I quickly realized that I craved structure. I needed to be very clear with myself (and others) about my work hours and my downtime.
Knowing that I also take a holistic approach to many things in my life, I knew I needed to make sure I made time to move my body, rest my mind and connect with loved ones.
Over time, I developed an outline of what works best for me. My goal for each day is to get things checked off my to-do list, schedule in free time (to workout, go for a walk, cook lunch, call a friend, or just read an article) and then have a clear ending to my “work day” so that I have down time at night before bed.
Sometimes this structure feels too rigid, so when that happens I literally say to myself “this day will look different and that is okay”.
Depending on what industry you work in or what your life looks like, you may need to allow for a level of flexibility so that you can easily shift your schedule or move things around to allow for an unplanned meeting, call or attending to a family member.
Here are some tips and tricks I have developed that allow me to create a sense of structure to my day that allows for free-time and flexibility.
Plan Your Day, The Night Before
Get ahead of your schedule. Decide if you are going to plan your day ahead the night before or on Sunday night for the week ahead. For me, my schedule changes rapidly so the best I can do is the night before.
As you are winding down on your “work day”, pull up your calendar, your to-do list and your journal. On a fresh sheet of paper, write down what time you would like to start your morning routine and schedule in time for you to move/meditate/shower etc.
For me, I wake up at 7:30 AM and from 7:30 - 8:30 AM, I set aside time to move, meditate, get coffee and shower. I don’t check my email until 8:30 AM. Shift your start time according to your schedule.
From there, I map out what my day looks like based on scheduled calls and meetings. I physically write down what I will be doing at what time throughout the day, starting with when I will be in those meetings/taking those calls and building out free time, time to check emails and time to work on larger projects.
Make Time For “Free Time”
Next, I look at my “free time” aka time when I am not on calls or Zoom meetings and begin to plan when I will work on projects and when I will take time for myself.
At 12:00 PM, I break for an hour for lunch and a walk. Sometimes I switch it up and do a workout class around 11 AM. If I don’t have a ton on my plate, I schedule in 30 mins to walk around 4:00 PM.
This is even more important when I am super busy and might not have time to do something for myself. It might sound crazy, but physically scheduling in free time and writing it down has been a game changer. I no longer feel guilty for taking breaks and it actually makes me more productive.
BATCH YOUR WORK FOR WHEN YOU HAVE THE MOST ENERGY
Instead of trying to get a lot done here and there throughout the day, think about when you are most productive and set aside time during those hours for larger projects.
For me, I find that I am not yet focused in the morning, so I use that time to check emails (30 mins), work on small projects (1 hour) and take calls. The afternoon is broken down into more calls, checking emails after calls (30 mins) and then I set aside large chunks of time for major projects as I am most creative from 3:30 - 5:30 PM.
Create Physical Separation Between Your Workspace and Your Free Space
I begin to wrap up my day around 6 PM, starting with planning out my next day. Once that is done, I close my computer, get up from my desk and try not to return to it until the next morning.
Yes, I check email at night. Yes, sometimes I sit at my computer until 10:00 PM because I have a big deadline. Every day is different.
But for the most part, I work 8:30 - 6:30 PM in a room that is now my makeshift office and I try not to go back to that space until the next day.
I know many people do not have a separate space for work. My advice to you make a makeshift office space! Drag a table into your living room, set up at your kitchen table, or work at a small table in your bedroom.
Outside of work hours, dismantle the set up and put the room back together. I know this sounds a bit aggressive but try it! It is all about creating a separation between your work and your regular life.
Go easy on yourself
I crave structure, so this very detailed approach at mapping out my day and scheduling myself down to each hour works for me, most of the time.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t have days where I work from bed in the morning or forget to take time for myself. When that happens, I brush it off.
Fall back on those things that make you happy when you are feeling down. Call a friend, take a bath, turn on some music and dance. Go easy on yourself. If there was ever a time to cut yourself some slack, it is now.
What works for you? Do you have certain practices or resources you turn to? Let us know in the comments below.
Britton Taylor Chaves is Holistic Health Code’s Content + Community Manager and the person behind hhc’s Instagram. A content marketer by day, she specializes in wellness and supporting women entrepreneurs. On the side, she is a RYT-200 & RYPT yoga teacher specializing in prenatal yoga and breath work.