We like to think that every cloud has a silver lining. Like many of you, COVID-19 has forced us to work from home. Sure, we miss seeing each other in the office every day (and the coffee), but working from home has its benefits. Time and money are being saved. There’s less commuting and we’re all a lot more comfortable now that pants are fully optional during video conference meetings. (Note from HR - we didn’t approve this.)
At the same time, navigating work life balance becomes a lot more complicated when your office is your home. With nothing much to do and nowhere to go, it feels like there’s no legitimate excuse for being unavailable.
While productivity may seem to increase because of this, it won’t be long before signs of burnout start to show. It is important to integrate healthy habits into your life to stay on track. Here at BitBakery, we’re trying lots of new things to take a step back from work and put the life back into work life balance.
Take breaks
Working from home can turn your day into one big blur. Keep control by scheduling breaks for yourself just like you would at the office. “I have scheduled walk times four times a day, in the same way that people would take 10 minutes for a coffee” said our CEO, Wes Worsfold. “Try to focus on just getting out and going for a walk.”
Try something new
Bored in the house, and in the house bored? Try something new to shake things up. Diana Valdes, our Product Manager and Software QA Engineer, is taking being a BitBaker to the next level by becoming an actual baker. She’s started tackling challenges beyond just banana bread. “It’s always scary the first time around, but turns out it’s not too bad!” said Valdes, when describing her experience baking some gorgeous loaves of bread.
Maintain pieces of normalcy
Having hobbies is always important. They’re great sources of creativity. But what if your hobby involves entertaining large groups of people in close proximity? Attila Schmidt, our Director of UX, said he misses his weekly Saturday night gig DJing at Starlight, a local club in Uptown Waterloo.
How does he keep up with it? “Now that live music is not an option, I have a live Twitch stream setup. There’s something different about knowing someone other than me is listening, it helps me focus, and keep that part of my life going,” said Schmidt. (Or should we say, @AttilaTheSpun)
Take some time to reflect
Reflection is an important process of exploring and examining our perspectives and experiences. It helps us gain insight and see how to move forward. “I’ve been trying to take walks at night especially, said Pablo Morales, one of our developers. “The silence is interesting to hear the difference from the day, it’s a nice somber time to think to myself,” he said.
Start small
Many have mapped out plans to fill time taking up new hobbies–like learning a foreign language or getting into the best shape of their lives. But big goals can sometimes make you feel overworked, stressed and disappointed. Our advice? Start small. “I picked up guitar years ago, played a little and never got good at it,” said Joe Reda, our CTO. “Now, being stuck at home, I’ve picked it up again, and I’m trying to practice a little bit nightly.”
Get outside
To the extent that it's allowed and safe where you are during the lockdown, get out of the house at least once a day. Your body needs to move. Plus, the fresh air and natural light will do you good! “We’ve been trying to enjoy the outdoors a bit,” said Ryan Sweney, our Director of Application Development, “it’s something we’ve always enjoyed as a family, and since we haven’t been able to travel we’ve been exploring local trails.”
Work life balance will mean different things to different people because, after all, we all have different life commitments. In our always-on world, balance is key. Only you can decide the lifestyle that suits you best. How are you putting the life in work life balance?
Want to see more of how the BitBakers are keeping busy? Check out this video on BitBakery’s Instagram page, and make sure to follow us for more updates!
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
