How not to burn out in these pandemic times?

With 6 months of working from home, I think a lot of us are reaching a point where we want to go back to physical work spaces (at least a few times a week). Some of us have had the good fortune of moving our home location altogether and others are finding temporary new places to work from a scenic/ different location. Whatever the state of mind or work from home location, one thing is very clear that the current situation is here to stay for awhile and we need to adapt our mind and bodies to it, if we want to continue to WFH without burning out. Over the last 6 months, I have found that couple of things help keep you sane and going.

• Take 1 day or 1 week at a 1 time, whatever time frame works for you to plan and do things. Sometimes thinking ahead for weeks and months can be quite overwhelming in the current scenario.
• Keep some 'chill' time for yourself and whatever you like doing - whether it's reading or painting or listening to music or watching movies. It's more relaxing now than it was ever before and your brain just needs that change of scenery and pace from regular work.
• Talk to people whether its friend or family or colleagues - I have personally reconnected to more people in the last 6 months than in the last 6 years and it's just nice to hear and see (thanks to the myriads of video calls apps) them. It also brings perspective on what's happening in other people's lives and how they are managing the current pandemic.
• Keeping disciplined about your food, exercise and sleep is critical - as cliched as it may sound, if you want to keep going and not burn out, the body and mind needs the right fuel and rest at the right time on an ongoing basis. It may get boring and mundane but this is the foundation to staying healthy- everything else comes as an add-on to this.
• Lastly, keep some boundaries between work stuff/ hours and home stuff - it's not easy when you are doing everything at home but it's important to switch off from work every now and then, even it means switching of your phone or keeping it away in the evenings or weekends (like I am trying to do).

It's not a sprint....it's a marathon and self preservation and self care is the key to keep going and not burning out.