The 'New Normal'...

This week marked 100 days of working remotely.

When I reflect back it seems like a whirlwind of events but it’s a time I will always remember, and no doubt learn from. For many the experience will differ, and ultimately my thoughts are with those who sadly lost loved ones. For many people I’m connected with, including my own family this meant extremely challenging career changing experiences.

I must respect my own experiences have not been as consequential as the latter but the new normal was enforced upon us with such speed, that I wanted to share my own experiences over the last 100 days. Mid-March we received an internal communication to say from now on we shall be working remotely. Life was changing as we know it and at a dramatic pace. There was no time to reach for the hand brake and we all had to adapt to the new normal…but what was the ‘new normal’??

Week one of working in lock down the new normal for me was working hard but perhaps not smart. I was still recovering from my own flu like symptoms whist working with little screen breaks, a chocolate digestive here, poor posture, countless cups of coffee, a chocolate digestive there, and checking the news frequently for updates. All having detrimental effects on my own physical and mental well being. ‘Was this really the new normal?!’

To work more efficiently I learnt to adapt by making some minor adjustments, that have had such a positive impact on my own physical and mental well being and for that reason I wanted to share. Many of you may be aware of these anyway but I wanted to share with you in case not. I only learnt such things by people sharing so I’d like to do the same…

·        Breathe

·        Diet

·        Move

·        Engage

When I reflect back to week one I was breathing too fast, not eating mindfully, and not moving enough!!

Breathe

This first change I made at first was more challenging than it sounds. While the physical impact of Covid-19 is becoming increasingly clear, Britain is also facing a mental health crisis with increased levels of anxiety as people start to think about their return to work. By spending 10/20 minutes a day on deep breathing exercises I was able to take back control of all negative thoughts. I found the best apps to utilise for this were the ‘Wim Hoff Method’ App and ‘Calm meditation’. Both available on android or smart phone.

https://www.wimhofmethod.com/wim-hof-method-mobile-app

https://www.calm.com/

Diet

It’s easy to slip into bad habits with diet especially working remotely. From my own experience’s early lock down, I was reaching for the biscuits too much! I learnt to adapt by simply not buying these items moving forwards. I personally only wanted to visit supermarkets once a week so leaving these items out meant they were difficult to get hold of. Moderation is key and weekends were my let the hair down moments. I’d recommend Gousto or Mindful Chef for diet recipes. As they send you the recipes and ingredients from scratch, they provide you with an opportunity to switch off from the outside world whilst making healthy meals.

https://www.gousto.co.uk/

https://www.mindfulchef.com/

Move

Whether it’s a 30-minute walk or an intense workout I found home workouts a great way to get the body moving and let off some steam. After week one I reckon I had enough adrenaline to feed a Rhino and it was time to let some of this off!! I’ve seen many people on my linked in feed utilising ‘map my run’ or ‘strava’ for their own runs or bike rides which are great apps and I’d highly recommend. If you are short on time and would like something intense, I’d recommend live workouts on Instagram. @Bradleysimmonds and @commando_charlie are great options where you won’t need any weights so just bring yourself, some space and a gym mat.

https://www.instagram.com/bradleysimmonds/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/commando_charlie/?

Engage

The digital world has been a refreshing change and potentially the biggest benefit to the new normal. I enjoy my daily catch ups with my clients, team and wider internal teams. Whilst we are living in times where we are unable to engage so frequently face to face, whenever I reach for my mobile phone, I now stop and reach for teams. I’ve found it’s important to be mindful of clients, colleagues and family who live on their own and engage where possible.

Whilst all the principles I have mentioned are quite simple they can have a massive effect on your physical and mental well being. As lock downs are lifted and life goes back to some form of closer normality the challenge is to sustain the positive parts of this ‘new normal’. 

Thanks for reading and if you have any other tips around working remotely, I'd love to hear from you.

Stay Safe.

Jonny