How do I stay conscious with home office?

Now the time has come, we are almost all in home office – Corona has sent us into lockdown.

I have been doing home office for years now, but for many it is totally new and possibly a challenge. Because of course everything would be nicer than sitting there and work. And if you are also a Vata person (Ayurvedic: “air person”), like me, who gets easily distracted, then you have to come up with something …

Therefore I have summarized my tips for you to consciously go through the home office time. To stay effective, productive, but also yogic.

1. Routine!

It is important that you create a routine! Set your alarm! Even if you are at home and no one is checking when you actually start, you need to make a difference between your working days and your days off. This is important. Also wear your working outfit! As nice as it sounds to do home office in pajamas, but your subconscious mind will no longer understand what’s going on… In pajamas, your body is set on “free time”. So throw your clothes on, after you finish the next point – Meditation.

2. Meditate – priming is the magic word

Before you start your day in home office, sit down and be present. Perhaps right out of bed on your meditation cushion – which you have deliberately placed next to your bed the night before. Pay attention to your breath, maybe use your favorite breathing technique. If you’ve done that for a few minutes, prime your day. Means you feel with all senses into your day. What does it look like? How do you feel about it? Also how does it feel when you have achieved something you’ve set for the day? Try to imagine everything as detailed as possible. – Then start your day

3. To Do List

Write down what’s coming up today. The best way for me: write down your To Do’s in categories: “Important and must be done first”, “Things I can do later” and “If I still have time I do it, otherwise put on important for tomorrow”. So you have 3 categories with which you don’t get confused so easily. Real Passionates has a few things, which can help a lot with planning – check my favorites here and here

4. Switch everything else off!

Everything that is not part of your work should be switched off now.

Switch your phone to silent or even flight mode to really concentrate on work. Put the remote control realy far away – turn your tv off of course beforehand;) And place all personal to do’s to after work. Your working hours are not the time to do laundry or clean the bathroom. But maybe you also have the opportunity to separate yourself from your everyday life in a separate room and just close the door behind. Or you can sit down in your new work corner (which you set up beforehand) and only leave this place after you have worked through the first ‘to do’ category.

5. Lunch break: yoga, breathing exercises or nature walk.

At lunchtime, take 20-30 minutes to stretch, maybe do 2-3 yoga exercises, e.g. relax your shoulders, stretching the neck, cat / cow at the table to reactivate the spine or even leaning forward to calm your head down. Breathing exercises are also very effective here or maybe if you have essential oils at home, smell a bottle of lemon or mint, they will get you out of your midday low (If you need some, check doTERRA). And of course, if you have nature around, take a quick walk, this always helps to get fit again too 🙂

6. After work

After you have worked 8 hours, you have definitely earned to end your work. So turn everything off, tidy up your workspace (especially if it is not in a separate room) so that you do not keep your head busy, looking at your mail and think “oh I could do that quickly … “. Perhaps you will go for a long walk after your working day, talk to your friend / family on the phone or treat yourself with an online yoga class to switch your head off. Journaling is also great for slowing down again – write down what you can be proud of, what you are thankful for and maybe what was the highlight of the day today. So you go to bed happily 🙂

I hope I could give you a few tips here which you can use for your home office day 🙂

Lots of love from me to you

Marina