How to spend time and be active during a lock down

With COVID-19 pandemic around , many countries are fighting to eradicate the virus  through social distancing measures and lock-downs for specific duration. Wondering how to spend time productively during a pandemic lock down , below are few tips which help to keep you active throughout such lock-down periods.

(1) Prepare a to-do checklist 

There is a popular saying  "Plan the work , Work the Plan" , which means before starting any work  spend some time to plan what to do , how to do , when to do and start working on one by one as per that plan. List down all activities what you want to do for the next day or week . During a lock down you may start spending time for more activities at home , preparing a routine - allocating a fixed time will assist to complete routine tasks on time . Slowly this also develops as a habit and you will notice any work is not tiresome and sense of daily accomplishment sets in keeping you happier.

(2) Keep in touch with your family and friends

It may be hardly possible to travel during such crisis times to meet friends and relatives. With technologies in place and almost everyone using smart phones its easier nowadays to keep in touch over a internet Video call , Voice call conference. While working on normal days , we may have no time to reach many of our dear ones due to busy schedules  , utilize this time to reach them out and keep in touch. Plan to call one or more members everyday. If you are working from home , speak to your team members regularly. 

(3) Exercise , Regular workout routine

Maintaining a fit body and mind during this crisis time is very important as its quite easy to get bored and drained being at home for long hours. Maintain a regular exercise routine  - in absence of gym access - include possible options at home such as stretches / walking for short distance - if not possible outside , then on terrace or in corridors / Yoga asanas, Using Stairs etc . Get some sunshine and fresh air in the morning or late evening when climate is cool . 

(4) Nurture your Hobbies 

If you have always been missing on your favorite hobbies due to time constraints  this is the time to utilize .  It could be reading favorite books / preparing new food recipes /  cleaning your home , creating craft works , drawing etc 

(5) Help in household activities

During a home lock-down , it may be restricted to travel outside their home. This means services may not be available of house maids , cooks etc unless staying in same house . In such conditions , house maintenance activities like cleaning clothes , utensils , dusting , preparing food , gardening , watering plants etc need to be managed by family members. Though in initial days spirits may be high , naturally adds to pressure . Dividing the activities among all family members , helping each other as a team work makes any such work easier and fun.

(6) Keep Learning everyday 

Learning anything new everyday keeps the mind active and vibrant . Setup your mindset to learn something new everyday during   , it could be learning a new skill , a new food recipes , a new book , a new technical course , an online certification , reading a new article , watching documentaries etc . Online Sources like YouTube videos , learning apps etc host thousands of self learning content , so your end up getting further better after lock-down.

(7) Volunteer , Help others in need

Pandemic lock down conditions affects many jobs who may not be able to work from home.  Those who depend on daily wages , small business etc get halted during this period which results in very less or no income to lead and feed their families . Government comes to rescue in such situations helping with essential food supplies. Some may have insufficient funds to buy medicines etc . This is the time when your help as a responsible citizen is needed helping your countrymen fight the crisis. You may volunteer by participating in social works , distributing food to the needy , feeding animals , helping the police , medical staff working on ground , collecting and sharing donations etc

(8) Teach something

Teaching a skill which you know to others may help the community. If you find some free time activities impart your knowledge creating a facebook live program , a youtube video , writing an informative blog , a webinar etc 




(9) Don't get overloaded with news

Those were days when people waited for a daily news update once in morning and evening . Its a feast for media especially nowadays regional television news channels during these situations where they continuously load with news , surveys etc  create unnecessary hypes , repeating the same news .  Lending ears to such news for long times in a day may drain energy. Instead spend some 30 minutes on day's summary bulletins on TV / Radio you trust and act on them. Newspapers if available help in knowing the condition around you. Scan through trusted news websites for a live update instead of repeated updates. Read through how past pandemic situations were handled 

(10) Take good rest

This is the opportunity when you get time for a good rest . Keeping your body and mind cool is very important during these times . Take a oil bath massage at home , sleep for 7 to 8 hours . Practice early to bed , early to rise habit. 

(11) Entertain

Add some fun times , entertain and get entertained watching with family a TV show , movie which you never saw earlier . With social applications like FaceBook , TikTok , WhatsApp etc  - create and post your own videos occasionally - it may be a solo dance step  , with family members , a funny video , creating memes etc time to grow your followers 😀

(12) Be Smart , Groom yourself

Access may not be possible to beauty parlors , saloons during these times . Not maintaining your regular styles for long time may make you feel weird.  Groom yourself , take help of your family members for a minimal hair cut , oiling , trim etc and flaunt in style. 

Work from Home (WFH) - Practical Tips to maintain productivity

During a situation like Corona virus spread we have now , world wide governments implement citizen lock down measures to prevent virus wide spread. Lock-down periods extend from 14 days to almost many months like a 75 days lock-down at Wuhan city , China where the virus spread was initially high.  

In such situations where public are not allowed to go out of their homes , it is quite challenging to continue their regular job activities at normal pace. While non IT companies which are into hardware production , manufacturing sectors etc may be at stand still till such periods , many IT companies choose to continue their operations by allowing employees to work from home. Experts anticipate till vaccine is found many people may find uncomfortable travelling outside and prefer work from home 

Although work may progress in such crisis conditions , there are few technical challenges employees face when working from home dampening the pace of job activities completion. 

• Power disruptions at home with no power backups like Generators , UPS etc
• Internet Connectivity Speed and consistency disruptions
• Access to information which may be not be on cloud storage

While above are inevitable , there are few work conduct challenges which reduces our productivity 

• By human nature , its quite easy to slip our routine time getting lazy 
• Involving in household cores while working 
• Frustration due to inconsistent internet connections
• Going for a shopping , outdoor activities during office timings
• Easily slip from work concentration to browsing social sites , chatting , texting etc
• Not choosing a fixed space at home for work
• Inappropriate dress codes.
• Noise from Television , Radio easily drawing attention
• Untimely interaction with family members 
• Those tempting food odors from kitchen 😀 and the list continues ..

Remember , its easy to get lost in above activities - which impacts not only our productivity , our work routines , but also add to delays to company projects causing an economic impact and indirectly our own pay scales.  So how can we take up this challenge and maintain our  productivity , here are few tips 

(1) Choosing a right work-space

The most important. There may be a location at your home where you feel more cool , comfortable and focused to work for long hours , away from noises due to family , pets etc , comfortable seating posture , access to your stationery , good bright lighting and ventilation. Good background when on video calls.  Make space for your headsets , notepads , calendar , sticky notes etc to make you get that office work hour feel. 

(2) Fix to your regular routine

Set alarms for all activities , Get up early as you did during office hours.  Finish your routine exercises , Bath , breakfast at regular times and report at your work space on time . This will keep you energized throughout the day as you get a sense of sticking to your routine . Have regular  lunch routine.

(3) Activities To-do checklist 

Spend first 30 minutes to plan your day and then work the plan. List down all the activities you want to complete for the day , time it may take to complete that activity from home and prioritize important ones to finish first. This will give you good visibility , a goal to achieve and a sense of confidence and accomplishment when each activity gets closed. Allocate specific time to take breaks.

(4) Take fixed regular breaks

When at office you may have fixed regular relaxing breaks for tea time , snacks , a refreshing walk etc . Stick to same break timings at home . Just like you did interact with office team members , call them over phone / internet . Hold team video calls , chat sessions. 

(5) Login and Logout from work at regular time

There are usually tendencies one may under work or overwork . Activities checklist help to schedule and complete work in hand.  Take a challenge to login to work at same time just like you visited office and logout when you feel work for the day is done. Remember you gain time when working from home spent on travelling etc which may be spent with family. 

(6) Communicate with your family

Communicate openly with your family . Make them understand its not a vacation time and  just a change in work location. Share with them timings when you are available for interactions during the work hours. This will help them greatly understand your commitments and responsibilities during office hours.

(7) Dress appropriately

While its non priority items in the list , dress appropriately which suits to your style and comfort to work for long hours , meeting interactions etc . so that you are always ready and need not change during a emergency video call meet 😉

(8) Enable your work space for less interruptions

When working on major activities from home , an internet disruption , power disruption may cause delays .  Ensure laptops , mobiles are always charged and have good power backups . During the WFH period ensure to have a good speed internet package. Many companies offer reimbursement for internet packages and may be utilized. If permitted have a backup internet in event of connectivity failures. 

WFH only means to contribute through your job working remotely. Above tips may seem bit challenging to follow in initial days , but once practice sets in , it turns as a habit and you will find yourself more productive just like the way you would be during office hours. Wish you a great work from home experience !!

How to run towards a problem - a short story

Have you heard of a saint and dog story anytime? This story has inspired many minds. It has induced strength and also ways to overcome problems.

Once a saint came to Himalayas. He wanted to visit all the temples there and collect information. Not only he visited temples, he used to collect history about the temples. He also had appointed a personal assistant and guider for this activity. Once the saint and his assistant went to a big temple. When the saint approached towards the temple big gates, he observed huge dogs tied to each gate. The dogs were looking like beasts and seem to look like having the strength of tiger. A very strong chain was used to tie them to the gates. The saint looking at the dogs took his steps back. His assistant informed him not to worry as the dogs are tied to the gates.

But the dogs kept barking continuously on seeing them. It started pulling out the chain desperately to get released from the chain. Their red eyes even turned red now. Anyone who would see these dogs would have definitely felt afraid. The assistant replied, “Sir, these are hunting dogs. If these find anyone, these they will encroach and rip them apart. But you don’t worry – they are tied to the gates with strong chains, they will not be able to come out”

The saint and his assistant entered into the temple and started their way towards the temple shrine. They suddenly heard some people voice saying “Oh, Oh my god . be careful , run , run !! “. The saint turned back hearing this and saw the dogs had somehow broke the chains and were running towards them at a rapid pace!! The dogs were sprinting like cheetahs while they headed towards the saint and seemed to encroach in no time.

At this moment, the saint started running. He started running putting his full efforts and strength. He did not run away from the dogs , but instead towards the dogs!! Guess what happened at this moment?

The dogs went by a surprise looking at the saint running towards them and run into confusion. Then went back to the gates where they were tied earlier. The watchman later tied the dogs with chains back to the gates.

The assistant who was seeing all this was astonished and asked the saint why he did like that. The saint replied – “In our life all our problems are like these dogs, if we run from them they will not leave us and be always behind creating issues, but once we face them and start running over them, they go out”

Most of us in our life spend most of our time fearing to something. When problems come, we may fear when we may lose out. Hence we always try to run away from problems. If we realize the above story, we understand the solution is not from running away from problems but instead facing them with full strength!

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