2020 has certainly been a strange year, there is no-one who will have not been touched by the effect of COVID-19. Now more than ever our homes are having to work harder as we all spend more time at home trying to juggle a work-life balance. All this and taking care of our families, is there even anything left for taking care of ourselves!
As we spend more time at home with all the family together, we need to make the best possible use of all our space. Our homes need to become multi-functional. Many of us are having to create an extra workspace, but it is also important to create calm spaces to relax in.
When we are working from home it can be hard to put in boundaries between work and home life and it can feel like we never get to focus on just one role anymore.
Here are my tips for creating a calm home and taking care of it:
Declutter - by getting rid of the stuff that is cluttering your space will reduce the overwhelm and clutter in your head, helping you to feel more relaxed and making it easier to look at how you can best use the space you have.
Organise - your workspace, so that is easy to use and easy to tidy at the end of a day. Organise your bedrooms so that they are a calm space that promotes good sleep. Organise your kitchen so this becomes a great family hub, to be together.
Systems - having robust systems and routines around household activities like shopping, cooking, and laundry will reduce the clutter in your mind.
Schedule - when you put something in your diary it becomes a task, that seems to hold more value. If you are trying to juggle a home life balance, you need to try and schedule your time at work, when you are taking a break, and even the tasks you need to do at home. This will help you to not try to do it all at once. It can feel tempting to try and do a few home things but this often ends up causing stress and a feeling of overwhelm.
Share the home with your family, and I don’t just mean the space, I mean taking care of it! Everyone in the home can have a job or area they take care of, even children. Just make sure it's age-appropriate and remember to let them do it their way! It can be hard to let go of how we like things to be, but once you let go, it will feel great.
Boundaries - for many of us the commute was how and when we switched over from work to home. This gave us time to look at our phones, read a book or listen to music. Now we walk from the sitting room to the kitchen, often at the last minute, still in work mood trying to think about what to cook while answering 20 questions from the family. Try to end the day with time to do something, like a 10-minute mediation, read a chapter of a book, do some stretching or go for a run. Having a break between work and home life helps us to switch into our new role and the same applies in the morning when switching from home to work.
Remember to add to your schedule what and when you are going to take care of you. You can not support others if you are not taking care of you! I do three things each week scheduled in the diary, so I don’t forget or overlook them. I value this time for me, it makes me feel calmer and happier and I believe they support me to have all the tools and energy I need to take care of others.
I see my PT (Personal trainer) the fabulous Alice from Boost Studio once a week in term-time. After all a healthy body supports a healthy mind. Alice is delivering her PT session online and offers classes.
Every Wednesday I do an on-line meditation with Abi from Align Wellbeing, it is the one evening I don’t go back and do work after I put my little girl to bed. When I first started doing this I was not sure how I would enjoy meditation online but I love it. It is so relaxing and I sleep so well on a Wednesday night
Every Sunday I go for a long walk on my own and get lost in my thoughts and dreams. I get my step counts up and spend time in some beautiful countryside.
Start thinking and scheduling what you can do to take care of you and your home.
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