It wasn’t easy to adjust to the new normal when the pandemic struck. Everyone had to rethink their strategies in a way that still makes it safe to work in 2020’s new landscape.
If you are still struggling with getting things done in this different climate, here are a few tips that might help you.
- Get Enough Sleep
According to the National Sleep Foundation, 8 is the recommended number of hours we should be sleeping every night. This is great advice especially for working adults right now when we need to be on top of our health and maintain a strong immune system.
However, this can be quite hard to achieve for some, especially for those whose occupations just do not work on a schedule. But as the saying goes (though factually inaccurate), we must shoot for the moon. This will help you make better decisions in the daytime, keep your focus, and accomplish more work.
- Know When to Say No
The coronavirus situation has had a detrimental effect on everyone’s mental health. That is why this is the best opportunity to be kind to yourself. If you weren’t able to step back to reflect on your limits before, this is the time to get to know yourself better. Bite only what you can chew. Focusing on tasks that you are sure you can accomplish will lessen the stress brought on by heavier responsibilities.
- Keep a List
Better yet, make listing down everything a habit. Lists provide less clutter for our brains to absorb and remember. You can do it with a small notebook that you keep on your desk or your bedside table or even via an app that you have on your phone.
You can use checkboxes to mark tasks that you have accomplished or make your own personal color system, where red means the top priority stuff and black is the more mundane. If you haven’t tried this technique before, it will definitely change your life.
- Avoid Distractions
As a movie line went, “Distraction is an obstruction to the construction.” Be it social media, video streaming, or games on your phone, distraction is a key ingredient to procrastination.
Unwinding is ok and it should be done whenever you can so that you can be more stress-free, but work and leisure are two things that shouldn’t be mixed together if you want more tasks completed. When we know the value of our time, this helps us make better decisions on how to spend it.
- Smell the Flowers
We work for a reason, whether it is for our families, for ourselves, or for our vision of the future. Sometimes, the end of the tunnel is the prize in itself, but along the way, we must still learn to stop and smell the flowers, ponder our mistakes, heal and reflect on ourselves.
Keep your eyes on the prize but don’t forget to appreciate the journey. It will help you get more things done when you are able to see the bigger picture and maintain balance in your daily life.