How to Stay In is a series about redefining "normal" life in order to take care of ourselves and one another during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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It’s easy to get so caught up in impressing your manager and proving that you’re good at working from home that you neglect to take care of yourself. By day’s end, you’re a shell of your former self: Your hair is greasy, your sweatshirt is covered in bits of the stale tortilla chips you grazed on all day for “lunch,” and your back hurts because you’ve been hunched over your laptop in bed without moving.It doesn’t have to be this way! On the cusp of a global pandemic, perhaps it’s time to think a tiny bit less about productivity and a little bit more about not feeling like a garbage-pail person. Here are some tips that might help.It’s very easy to open your phone or laptop first thing and get sucked into emails… and then not come up for air until noon. Instead of bypassing your normal morning routine, make a point to not look at your work emails or Slack until you’ve gotten up and moving and are feeling a bit more human.Taking a shower = a bummer. Taking a bath = a treat! Starting your day with a quick soak feels slightly luxurious. Another option: Make use of your many face masks. Hell, do one in the morning and another one during that boring conference call you’re taking later.The above constitutes the holy trinity of “bare minimum steps to not feeling gross” here, which is ultimately what we’re trying to hit, if not surpass.The first tip in nearly every article about working from home is “put on real clothes.” You should get dressed… but you also don’t need to be Dressin'. Much like wearing biz caj is not terribly comfortable, neither is sitting in your own filth all day! Make a point to change out of whatever you slept in and into something cleanish and comfortable before you start working for the day.Wearing sneakers while I’m at home makes me more amenable to getting up and moving around, and ultimately less sluggish. My colleague Hannah says she feels better when she puts her hair in French braids. “[It's] something about the no-nonsense look of having all of my hair pulled back,” she said. Figure out what makes you feel like you’re Working, and do that.
Don’t start working the moment you wake up.
Since you’re not commuting, take a bath instead of a shower, or do an extra skincare step.
At the very least, wash your face, brush your teeth, and put on clean underwear.
Put on clean day pajamas.
Alternatively, put on something that makes you feel vaguely active or put-together.
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Don’t work from your bed.
… But if you must work from your bed, at least make your bed.
Make a point to actually talk to other people.
Figure out lunch.
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