According to a survey, even after the pandemic is over, 30 percent of the population will continue working from home multiple days a week. Since work from home is likely to persist longer than we expected, we must prepare ourselves to live with this new normal. And ensuring your mental health is in place to adapt to this new normal is the fundamental of all the preparations needed.

Below we have outlined 5 such mental health tips that ensure your mental health is intact and doesn’t take a toll on your productivity.

1.       Allot Comfortable Work Corners

Till CoVID-19 is here, you are going to spend half of your time working at the home workspace. And with lines getting blurred between personal and professional space with the prolonged remote work setup, the urgency to maintain a work-life balance becomes prime.

You can start from allotting a corner of the house as your workspace to help you get in the work zone, just like your designated cubicle in the office. Study desks, balcony, garden, or a distant corner of the house, pick anything that keeps you away from distraction and gives you mental peace and isolation. You can also aesthetically decorate your work corners to make it pleasing for eyes and mind.

Dedicating a space not only helps you get in the working zone – physically and mentally – but also helps communicate your demarcated boundaries to your family. While picking your comfortable space ensure to check the lighting, network, or any other practical issues that can hinder your workflow.

Read More: How Can Organization Prepare for Remote Work

2. Make Meditation and Exercise a Priority

This cannot be emphasized enough. With our daily movements being restricted, and few methods to rejuvenate left, self-care is the utmost priority in these tough times.

Following a strict health routine keeps your dopamine high and bolsters up the immunity to fight the CoVID-19 disease. Research also states that individuals who are regularly active have increased immunity compared to inactive ones.

Health experts recommend investing 30-40 mins a day(preferably morning) into physical activity including exercise, meditation, running, and yoga. You can pick an activity of your choice and start your day with it. Maintaining an active physical routine is nothing new but in the current times when you’re physically and mentally obstructed, adhering to a physical routine becomes imperative.

3.  Limit News Consumption

We are sitting inside our homes glued to televisions, laptops, and phones. Inundated with loads of information such as the deadly spread of CoVID cases, natural calamities hitting the world, and whatnot. You can easily get sucked into the rabbit hole without any conscious notice.

Bombarding your mind with too much bad news will only aggravate your anxiety and deteriorate your mental peace. Apart from putting a dent on your work motivation it also leaves you discouraged for the uncertain future.

Thus, you must consciously evade any such events to keep your calm. Be picky with the information you are feeding to your mind. Follow only legitimate sites for corona updates and distance from other sources which might incite unnecessary panic or fear.

Also, limit your social media usage to stay away from rumors. Instead, try channelizing your thoughts and time towards a constructive task –  professionally or personally.

It’s not easy to remain in the dark with so much going around. Yet, restricting your media exposure is the only way to maintain your mental health during such tough times.

4.  Stay Connected with Colleagues and Friends

Coronavirus has left us stranded in our homes. Unlike earlier, you are unable to make weekend plans or go out for long office lunch breaks. Human connection has taken a hit. In times of corona when we have fewer distractions, larger worries, and uncertain future ahead, sharing your emotions with friends, family, and colleagues becomes a big fallback.

Here are a few ways through which you can connect with friends and colleagues in the virtual world.

• Initiate a virtual hangout session with colleagues and friends to chit chat as you do in the office setup.
• Organize coffee breaks, lunches, tea breaks, and happy hours once in a week or a few days to stay connected.
• Get emotional, discuss your fears, worries, problems, and give others the liberty to do the same.
• Organize game and dance sessions to share a feeling of belongingness and camaraderie.

5.       Eat Healthy

Current pandemic has clearly marked the importance of maintaining good health and immunity. Processed foods, restaurant meals have taken a backseat, we are now reliant on self-cooked food to keep ourselves striving and thriving during these catastrophic times.

Eating healthy has, therefore, become a necessity to not only keep your body going but also your mind working. WHO has recommended a list of eating habits to sail through the corona health crisis.

• Every day, eat a mix of whole grains like wheat, maize, and rice, legumes like lentils and beans, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, with some foods from animal sources (e.g. meat, fish, eggs, and milk).
• Choose wholegrain foods like unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, and brown rice when you can; they are rich in valuable fiber and can help you feel full for longer.
• For snacks, choose raw vegetables, fresh fruit, and unsalted nuts.