The next couple of months are going to continue to be challenging as we find ourselves cooped up during lockdown. There is no doubt that we are going to need as many tools and coping mechanisms to help us get through this together. Just knowing this too shall pass is for many not going to be enough. So below I have collected the best hacks taken from our team and our wider Towards Utopia community. I hope they help. And please do share your own favourite hacks in the comments below.
- Artificial commute — a journalist who has been working remotely for over 5 years has created his own artificial commute. At the end of the day he puts his computer in his bag, leaves his home, walks around the block and then returns home leaving his bag by the front door. In the morning he will then do the same walk and on returning will pick up his bag from the front door and unpack his computer thus creating a clear delineation between work and home. And these artificial commutes have been proven to have real benefits
- Change your scenery — Think of the headspace you are in after you return from holiday. Changing your scenery and shifting your physical space, also shifts your emotional space. Sites like booking.com have free cancellations and no upfront payment so you can still book a getaway to look forward to. But as you can’t take a holiday, getting outside, especially in nature, can have a hugely restorative effect. Something noticed in Japan where there is a practice called shinrin-yoku, forest bathing, where people take in forests through their senses to restore their well being. Some GPs have even been prescribing doses of nature to improve wellbeing.
- Create your own Belonging Hour — we first launched Belonging Hour after the first lockdown. A very simple concept in which we ask people to send us the song that represents the time that they felt they most belonged and during the hour zoom session we play a minute of each song and then ask all attendees to share their story of belonging. It’s a wonderful way to spend an hour with friends or strangers. I have even used it to celebrate my wife’s birthday party a couple of months ago (people shared the song that most reminded them of her) and she said it was the second best birthday she had ever had. Feel free to join us at our next Belonging Hour on 4th February
- Daily Six — “There are six things I do daily which help me️ — Rest, Nutrition, Exercise, Community, Nature and Learn. I spend a little time each day writing down what I have done to meet these needs and my overall mood. It helps me to see what impact the things I do (or don’t do) have on how I feel.” Check out the Daily Six Notepads HERE
- Finish Earlier — “I’m definitely doing the same amount of work in less time (without the meetings, commute, walking around Pret) so try and finish at 4pm for example and stretch out the evenings (if you can) is my advice!”
- Monk Mode Mornings — Monk mode mornings are a productivity hack found in Bruce Daisley’s ‘The Joy of Work’. They are chunks of time, normally in the morning, blocked out from external interruptions so you can focus on your work. This focus allows so called ‘deep work’ or for individuals to enter a flow state. Psychologist Teresa Amabile has established that people feel satisfied at work when they have made progress on something: not powering through a mountain of email but focusing on a single task. No distractions leads to quiet, quiet leads to flow, flow leads to progress, progress leads to satisfaction.
- Pamper yourself — Create small moments of joy for yourself. One of our Utopians buys herself a massive bunch of flowers from the grocery shop each week while another has bought Cowshed and Neom to make small things like a shower a real pleasure. Though these indulgences don’t have to be expensive either, you can pamper yourself using homemade face masks online made from things most of us are likely to already have in our cupboards.
- Rebrand your living spaces — “I have assigned different places for different types of work and I rebrand them in my mind — the lounge is now my writing room, our local park my place to listen to podcasts, my (very cold and old but light) conservatory is where I hang out to solve problems and have ideas, workshops are from the dining room.”
- Singing break — “I take breaks from the screen to sing my heart out and make myself smile. Great for releasing tension and finding something to laugh about.”
- Schedule in Me Time — Book slots in your diary that are dedicated to looking after you. That could include time for lunch, time to read a book, time for a walk or time to just have a long bath
- Unleash your creativity — “Allocate yourself a creative project that you have to spend time on every day. I’m shooting a video a day and my wife is knitting a 2021 Scarf that will have two rows on it for every day of the year — the colour of the wool will track the temperature and weather on that day. Only issue is that I now have project envy.”
- Walking & Standing Meetings — Quite a few of you recognised the negative impact of sitting at your desk all day and specifically schedule in working or standing meetings. Helen Tupper recommends this for standing meetings
- Wear Shoes — Apparently it puts you in a different headspace. I have tried it the last few days and it certainly has worked for me
- Wear your Work Uniform — “Change your clothes / glasses for work and home mode. Even if you’re working at home, wear a work outfit. Neurologically we need to compartmentalise the different bits of us. I used to be the shirt, waistcoat and big glasses guy ‘professionally’, and that was like my work-mode-me. I obviously haven’t been doing that while working from home… But I have been wearing a Vala t-shirt or jumper + work vs home glasses, and then changing when I finish work. Helps me switch versions.”
- Wim Hof — I’ll be honest I did not know this was a thing. Basically it’s cold showers preceded by breathing exercises which help the body not feel the cold. As Jason Anderson remarked “It’s odd, surprising and very addictive!” You can download the app HERE
Contributors include Alastair Gill, Bruce Daisley, Claire Sambolino, Emma Gannon, Fern Miller, Helen Tupper, Hilary Gallo, Jason Anderson, Roxanne Hobbs, Sarah Ellis, Paul Kemp Robertson, Pete Trainor, Ross Taylor, Wangu Chafuwa and Zoe Gibson Quirk. Thanks
