WFH –Seize the day. Keep Corona at bay!

No pressure from colleagues and Partners breathing down my neck, relaxed and restful state of mind, am able to get work done peacefully and efficiently at my own pace. Can you ?

Hold your horses, Do not sue me for traumatizing you :))....my true story today began with washing the vessels as our domestic help also chose to work from home. With all the men domesticated -washing vessels, now there is a water shortage as the water tank has run dry.

Jokes apart, most of us who have tried to work from home have found a myriad of unique set of challenges. First and foremost is maintaining a healthy balanced lifestyle, and the reason I say this is because maintaining your immunity and mental health is the only thing which can help protect you from Corona.

Due to the shroud of uncertainty in the way we work, live and even interact with each other, lawyers can often find it strenuous to draw the line between their work and leisure time. Below are some things that you can do to make your work from home life more healthy and enjoyable.

SET A SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT! 

On the one hand, I see colleagues who believe that working from home is an opportunity to be efficient, ignoring all possible distractions and concentrating solely on churning out as much work as possible. On the other end of the spectrum, I hear about those who are easily distracted by the unlimited temptations they have at home.

Both mindsets are damaging, and are often the result of working without a Clear and Defined Schedule. In order to be efficient and to be able to separate your home and work life successfully, Setting a Strict Schedule can be useful. The key lies in putting aside enough time to do work as well as enjoy your personal free time.

RELAX BUT DO NOT GO TO EXTREMES!

Some Lawyers often take a work hard-binge hard mentality where they work hard through the day to be on top of their client deliverables, & post work, binge watch Netflix along with junk food, before waking up the next day and doing it all over again. This can be physically exhausting and mentally draining. As such, it would be preferable to schedule regular breaks during working hours to gradually enjoy throughout your day(Washing your hands during breaks is great to ward off the C virus!).

STRENGTHEN YOUR IMMUNITY TO FIGHT OFF THE C VIRUS.

As per leading Health Guru Eefa Shroff, Keeping your immune system in top condition is the most important thing we can do right now!

1) Eat a diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables – Target to consume 8 servings of fruit or vegetables during the day to ensure your daily supply of antioxidants. At the minimum, take an anti - oxidant supplement

2) Make sure that you have a clean gut as it is the main switch to a clean immune system – If you are prone to constipation or diarrheoa, take some natural laxatives or herbal supplements as advised by a reliable doctor/nutritionist.

3) Take some Pre or probiotics which will ensure that your gut will stay naturally rich in all the good bacteria that really help your immune system.

4) Exercise– a) Brisk Walking 20 minutes a day to make sure that your cardiovascular system is in good shape and is apt to fight off a respiratory infection. b) Lifting some weights or Climbing some stairs, depending on your state of health and what you can safely access – this will ensure that your heart is really strong and is able to pump huge amounts of blood into different parts of the body. This is a very important part of our system and we want to make sure that we use it to our advantage.

5) Practice yoga – This is one of the best ways to strengthen your immune system – However, if you do not know how to do yoga, Please DO NOT jump on to the bandwagon and start doing Headstands:)). For people trained in yoga, Ending your YOGA practice with an inversion (headstand, shoulder stand…) is a great way to make your immune system stronger.

6)LAST and THE MOST IMPORTANT – Train your subconscious mind to be healthy and to have a strong immune system. Easiest way to do that is positive self talk. Humble request to all – Please stop spreading panic. I firmly believe that the world is NOT going to end. For a minute, even if we believe that the world is going to end and you are going to die, SPREADING PANIC is surely not the way you wanna go right?? When you have thoughts which are POSITIVE and EMPOWERING, Your immune system responds to it.

LET YOUR PARTNERS & CLIENTS KNOW YOUR WORKING HOURS

While building and maintaining a good relationship with your clients is crucial, it is still necessary to consider your personal time off and prioritize your hygiene downtime. Let them know your hours and if they try to contact you anyway, they at least know that you may not reply during your off time.

SHOWER POWER: REBOOT YOUR DAY WHEN THINGS GO BAD

When you have a bad day while working from home, its very easy to sink into a funk in the confinement of your home, than at office near compassionate colleagues.

Whenever this happens, I find that it helps to just reset my day and start all over again. For instance, I take advantage of the fact that you are at home and hop into the shower. There’s something about going through the process of starting your day all over again, physically washing off the stress, putting on some new clothes and sitting down for a second time that can help get a bad work taste out of your mouth. 

"The material expressed above is exclusively my own and does not express the views of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas"