We all know that the next few weeks are going to be difficult. Isolated at home, with our Family, Friends or Partner (if possible) or even alone. Some are out there and fighting against the Virus und trying to keep the system running as good as possible. Yesterday the Austrian Government announced that nobody should leave their homes, if it’s not absolutely necessary (necessary in this case only means work, buying groceries, or medical stuff). So please stay the fuck home.

I know it will be hard for many of us to have a regular life in the next weeks, so I thought I’d share some tips I have for staying at home for a longer time 🙂

1. Routines, Routines, Routines:

One of the most important things for me is having a daily routine.
How I do it: I have a bullet list full of things I am going to do every day. It’s an excellent opportunity to not getting lost in the situation of not leaving your home. …and I live on 40 sqm together with my Hubby, so trust me 🙂

So that's my list of things i am going to do from Mo-Fr to have a kind of routine and stay motivated! And don't forget: when work is over, it's over. Close your laptop, shut everything down and try to distance yourself from it - that's important to not get crazy and work more than you should!

2. Keep your work motivation:

It can be hard to work from home alone. We all know that nobody is watching us and actually we can do whatever we want. But that's not the right thing to do. Remember that somebody is waiting for tasks to be finished in order to start working on his to-do-list and that you're one part that keeps your company running.

What also helps me to stay motivated is to wear work-related clothes, it brings you in a different mood than working in your pyjamas. Or just wear something that makes you happy. What can also be helpful is to have a separated room in which you work, ideally a room in which you don't spend a lot of your free time.

In my case it's not possible, as I have mentioned, because we live on 40sqm. So in this case, try to make the place you're working at beautiful and bright, but not too cosy 🙂

P.s.: Stay hydrated, do some stretching and get up during work. Don't forget to let some air fresh air into your workplace, it will definitely help you to stay concentrated.

3. Isolate yourself…

… but care about your relations. In times of a wild spreading virus out there it's our responsibility to stay at home. Still, we shouldn't forget about social activities. Just a few tips to get over loneliness that helped me during my first year in Vienna (link here).

• Organise social gatherings through Skype, Messenger, Hangouts, etc.: Just make a theme party, dinner night or something else. Connect with a few people via video and have a great evening with them.

• Instead of calling your co-workers, make a video conference: It's way more natural and simpler to understand things when you see each other. Another benefit: it's great to see your co-workers from time to time <3

• Use the time to get back to people you haven't talked to in a long time.

4. Learn something new:

With all that free time there come a lot of new possibilities. Try to learn something new with thousands of crazy YouTube tutorials or try to get into Yoga or just stretching (what is also helpful, when you sit a lot during work). You could also finally read that one book you got for your birthday or try to learn a new language. There are various possibilities.

I took the chance to get into Linocut and it’s such a great thing when you don't have any excuses to start something new. It's also the same thing with writing for me. I love it to share my thoughts and feelings, but there's always something more important in my “normal” life. Now I'm not able to run away from that anymore and so I’m using my extra free time to do new things and step out of my comfort zone.

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5. Mental Health:

I know that all the news, new pieces of information, fake news and media in general can be very overwhelming. Every hour something is changing or happening and the situation looks horrible…

If you feel like you’re getting mind blown from all the news crashing down on you, put away your mobile, deactivate notifications and take time for yourself. Try to meditate, read a book, listen to a podcast, write something down and try to escape the cycle of fear (that's how I call it when I get stuck in media).

For myself, drawing and meditation is the thing that calms me down the most. Just do it! Don't start overthinking it. Also, the guided meditations from Headspace (No Advertising/Personal Recommendation) are an excellent possibility to escape and get back to a more relaxed mood. Or have a look at the happy broadcast, for more positive News!

6. Don't Panic…

…but better be safe than sorry. Stay at home, listen just to messages that come straight from your Government and don't buy shitloads of toilet paper or food. And when you need to buy groceries, try to support locals, buy vouchers or make gifts to others, support the small ones who aren't able to earn any money at the moment.

We have to act now in order to keep the spreading of the virus at the lowest form possible. But everything will be better soon. We have to stay strong and have to be strong together, humanity will get over this. We have a great time to be in isolation, we have messengers, the ability to see people through our smartphones, we have streaming services, books etc. I hope I was able to help some of you to start the week a little bit better and more motivated.

Big bear hugs, if you have read the whole text and a happy week, spread the love but stay at home 😉