How’s your lockdown going? I must admit to getting very excited about our trip out to the Supermarket today. It’s been over a week since I got in the car and I even got dressed up – as in I put shoes on and changed out of my hoodie 😊
It’s been interesting hearing everyone’s experiences and whilst we’re united by lockdown we can be feeling anything from isolation to overcrowding depending on our bubble. I’ve witnessed people enjoying the time to slow down and be with family right through to those in a mad panic to get out there. Get stuff done and be even more productive during this ‘down time’.
It leads me to my point for today. During the Imposter Syndrome work I do we talk a lot about perfectionists and high achievers as there’s a particular risk for that group in our new normal.
If you’re working from home now and it’s something new there’s a tendency to want to get it perfect. To be extra productive, to be a great family leader in these uncertain times, to be the best teacher your home schooled kids could have wished for and stay healthy and well despite the challenges this way of life presents.
Many people are reporting feeling tired and having off days. This is a pretty big event the world is having right now and these are strange times so it’s normal we may have off days, we might feel tired and our motivation might struggle. Instead of beating ourselves up about this allowing this to be and knowing that in our current circumstances it’s perfectly normal. It takes some mental adjustment events of this scale so go easy on yourself.
We also might find we’re not as able to achieve or ‘prove ourselves’ like we can in the workplace. It’s harder to deliver in these times and a lot of firefighting might be happening in your day to day role. We’re also in an unfamiliar environment if we’re not used to working from home without the collaboration with team members in the office.
This can drive this need to do more. The work and home lines are blurred now too so it’s easy to find ourselves working beyond 5pm and logging on at night, home and work are now the same place.
All of this can lead to productivity guilt. Often brought about by everyone else posting about how much they’re doing and how productive they are at home. We can feel guilt if we’re working all day and the kids feel abandoned. Or guilty if we stopped work at 3 to occupy the kids. Guilty that we’re not training for a marathon with our spare time or doing personal development webinars or baking bread.
So here are a few top tips to offer in this space.
· Set good boundaries for yourself and your own energy
· Set your work hours and stick to them (be flexible in how you do that, it doesn’t have to be 9-5 if that’s not going to work for you from home)
· Have a separate space at home that you use as your office
· Use this time at home wisely – rest, connect with family
· Put family first
· Give yourself a break – go easy on yourself and expect off days, we’re human
· Drop the ‘shoulds’ (increasing the amount on your to do list)
· It’s a marathon not a sprint
Get more support top tips from the blog and the Covid19 support page on the website