6 Work At Home Tips For Self-Isolation Lockdown

Self isolation is in right now! Here’s my best tips from the last 10 months I have been in self isolation due to my seizure recovery. The Pandemic of the Coronavirus is creating a world wide wave of self-isolating. Many people are panicking and health concerns are top of the mind these days. I’m a big fan of working from home and have been doing it since 1996 when I became a full-time entrepreneur. I haven’t had an office since.

If you relate to this then you’ll want to read this blog post. We are about to discuss work at home tips for self-isolation and lockdowns.

Work from home doing self-isolation and lockdowns:

Stock up on supplies Setup your distraction-free work environment immediately Set your daily routine Living with someone 24 hrs/day Keep healthy Have fun

I love working from home because it eliminates commute time to work. I’ve been doing it since 1996 and so used to it that I no longer even own a car and just Uber once a week to go out and visit friends and have fun. But, I’ve gone a month in the past without leaving home because it has everything I need.

Stock up on supplies

As soon as I heard that the coronavirus had come to my state I had a huge grocery store run scheduled the next day. Since I don’t have a car my love partner scheduled a driver we use a lot to pick her up and go to our favorite grocery store.

Our fridge is jammed packed and our pantry is full.

Besides the essentials that we always get every week we did get food that won’t spoil for many months just in case. We eat fresh produce a lot so dry and canned goods are not what we normally get.

I live a bit remote and don’t have tap water. Instead, I get bottled water in big jugs. Five bottles are good for us for two weeks. But, because of the coronavirus, we bought a reverse osmosis water filter to filter the water we buy and put in a huge underground water tank.

ready.gov/pandemic – for more details on what you need

Setup your distraction-free work environment immediately

For many years I worked in my place where ever I wanted distraction-free. Back in 2006, I moved in with the love of my life and quickly found out that both of us working on the couch didn’t work very well.

When your partner is in the same room they tend to ask questions while you’re busy in deep thought. I found it incredibly distracting. So much so that it would fracture my brain and I would have to go meditate for at least 20 minutes to 2 hours to get back to being productive.

So I work in the spare bedroom and close the door. She knows that when I’m in my office I am to be undisturbed unless something is on fire or there is a big spider that needs to be relocated outside.

When I’m reading on my Kindle and listening to music with earphones she also knows not to disturb me but will wave at me to see if it’s okay. I typically read on my balcony or the beach in front of our place. I don’t find those interrupts to be all that bad so I don’t mind the interruption. I read a lot and stopping for a nice conversation with my honey is great.

Buy a laptop stand, external keyboard and mouse to use with your laptop since you’ll be at home the entire time and it helps with having correct posture so you don’t screw your neck or back up. I didn’t do this for many years and hurt my neck a lot. I’ve had my chiropractor fix it but it took three months of weekly visits. Don’t make this mistake.

Have a great office chair. Mine is a very comfortable rocking chair that works well for me.

Setup your video conferencing. Your work may already have a system. If it’s just you then you can use Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, Skype or Zoom.

Set your daily routine

The first week I worked from home in the summer of 1996 I tried to plan my day down to the minute. It was very stressful and exhausting. After five days I took the weekend off and rethought things.

I quit using an alarm clock. I am very unproductive if I’m tired. Any work I do when tired I’ll have to fix the next time I’m rested so I don’t bother working if I’m tired. Not only do I not get anything done but my work needs to be corrected. Easier to just get some rest.

So I get up when my body is ready. That’s typically at sunrise but can be an hour or so later if I didn’t sleep well.

I make a coffee or tea and sit on the beach and brainstorm what I’m going to write next. For instance, I wrote this blog post outline this morning while having my coffee and watching the pelicans fly down the coast.

Then, I write. I wrote this blog post.

Once I’m done writing I take an hour or so break. I’ll make lunch and watch some standup comedy while eating.

Then I’ll meditate for at least 20 minutes, but sometimes an hour or more depending on whether I think I need more. Meditating after a work session I find it helpful to recenter myself.

Then I do what else is required of me. I’ll work out by doing some Qigong and I follow a YouTube video I like. Or I’ll do Kundalini Yoga. Sometimes I’ll do this with my love if she’s ready.

If I’m feeling great I may write some more in the afternoon.

I’ll watch the sunset from the beach and then make dinner and watch my current favorite show or movie with my love. We’ll talk about our day and solve the world’s problem before enjoying a rom-com or funny show or movie.

That’s my typical schedule Monday thru Friday. Saturday is heavier in typically getting out of the house and eating out, going to an event or visiting friends, but because of public contagious disease, I’ll still keep to my workday schedule for the most part.

On Sunday I never plan anything. I especially don’t work. It’s just whatever I feel like doing. I usually just want to spend time with my love and just be with her. We’ll play a game or paint. Nothing is scheduled and there are no plans. I find having nothing to do one day a week to be helpful.

Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferris – good read that shows many very successful people’s daily routines

Living with someone 24 hrs/day

I’ve been living with the love of my life since 2006 and over the years I have told people that it isn’t for everyone.

We get along amazingly well. Having her around all the time doesn’t bother me unless I’m interrupted while I’m working, but that was solved a long-time ago.

Having work hours where we both know we are going to be doing what our businesses require is the first step.

Again, work in separate areas where you won’t be tempted to ask questions.

I’ve also found that hiring a maid every week helps tremulously and gets rid of the talk about who cleans what. Now, due to the pandemic, we are not having our maid come every week and we will have to split the chores until it’s safe to have our maid start coming again every Monday.

When our kids still lived with us they were pretty independent, but when they were younger we did have to have one of us supervisor them. We took shifts.

Keep healthy

Stock up with healthy food and keep the snacks to a minimum. Make sure you don’t eat all the snacks in the first two days after your groceries run.

Keep active. Swimming in the ocean and my pool are something that I enjoy that I don’t feel like I’m exercising. I also enjoy Qigong, Tai Chi and Kundalini Yoga which are very easy to do in a confined space. Plus you can do them in your yard or my case the beach.

Don’t forget about your self-care. Just because no one will see you but your partner or roommates doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shower and make yourself presentable. Schedule a video call with friends or co-workers to make sure you keep tidy.

Have fun

Being home all the time and working can lead to working all the time. I use to be very bad at that. Having a separate work area with a door helped me a lot in making sure I don’t overwork. When I’m done working I just leave the room and shut the door.

I’ll read business-related things on my Kindle anywhere, especially the pool.

Have a themed movie night on Netflix. Sci-Fi Friday or RomCom Tuesday.

Share a Netflix TV show, just make sure you don’t watch an episode without everyone else.

Have a puzzle around to work on when you feel like it.

Take up a hobby like painting.

I would recommend a hobby that doesn’t require a computer so you’re not on a computer all the time.

And don’t forget about just enjoying nature. You can still walk on a trail or beach away from people. My beach only occasionally has a person walking by, but they are easy to avoid and keep away 10 feet or more.

I love my AppleTV playing music videos or scenics of faraway places on YouTube to help in not feeling I’m cooped up in my home. I also love my Alexa Echo Dot in my kitchen and master bedroom that gives me access to the Internet but without having to be on a computer all the time.

I love the NeverThink app on my AppleTV and the Calm channel in NeverThink has great scenic videos that I love to let play while I read or work. NeverThink updates each channel they have with new content from YouTube every day. I also love watching the Awww channel at the end of the day to watch my virtual pets.

Conclusion

We live in very interesting times. With the markets and business in such turmoil, I’m very happy that I’m completely digital and can respond very quickly than if I had a job or career that required being in a certain location.

That’s why I’m very passionate about digital business.

I hope these six tips help reduce your stress about your self-isolation and you can enjoy your lockdown in style.

If you have any question please connect with me on twitter.com/chrissherrod.

Above all is love,

Chris

ChristopherSherrod.com