Working From Home Doesn’t Come Without It’s Challenges – Twitch.tv’s ChumpaChum takes A Look At How He Keeps Chumping On While In Lockdown…
Working from home is something I’m already familiar with; but, since becoming a lot more involved in the streaming community however; I’m at home a hell of a lot more than I previously was. I’m by no means a ‘full time streamer’ but the majority of my free time is now spent within the Twitch.tv space.
What originally started out as simply ‘catching up with old mates via World of Warcraft: Classic’, eventually turned into Andy (the bread and butter behind Lumos; and a VERY close friend of mine; dating back many moons) as well as a few other close buddies, suggesting I give streaming a try; due to the vast amount of nonsense I talk on a daily basis!
I have become very passionate about streaming via Twitch.tv ever since I gave it a go; which has subsequently resulted in a lot of my time being devoted into this sphere of the internet (and I couldn’t be happier with it! I’ve met some truly amazing people and had an overwhelmingly good experience with streaming and the communities involved within it!).
With that being said – this also involves A LOT of time being indoors; which can drive anybody bonkers if there’s too much isolation! Also, at the time of this post – this is something we are all experiencing due to this pesky virus that’s going around! Buuuuut we know enough about the virus side of things already; this is specifically about working from home, people! – check CNN if you want news on the other thing! So, we’re gonna jump in and talk about some aspects of working from home that could be of benefit to you!
Mental Health
Your mental health is a key aspect in regards to all of this; it’s the ‘be all and end all’ of anything in life, when you think about it – how are you going to accomplish anything if you’re not in the right frame of mind?
I want to highlight how GODDAMN IMPORTANT it is to make sure your living environment is clean; a cluttered and messy household can actually really screw with your productivity! Something I’ve been guilty of and learnt from my own experiences; if my house / workspace is an absolute tip; then I won’t really be getting much done, as well as generally feeling not that great – a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind! Getting outside for a bit and whacking the phone on airplane mode is a necessity; time away from the screen is important. It is also critical to be aware of when you feel like you genuinely need a break from the screen; away time from the laptop is also vital.
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Time Management
Time management is KEY. You’re at home all day whilst being surrounded by constant distractions; most likely doing your work/studying/relaxing all in the same part of the house (that’s the case on my side; I’m sure it’s the same for a lot of you reading this).
It’s down to YOU to figure out where your crutches lie. I set a rule a long time ago for myself; due to my history with procrastination – Netflix is only acceptable after 9pm, for around 60-90 minutes max – accompanied by vast amounts of ice cream; this is how I unwind for the day and have done so for the past year or so – prior to setting this rule for myself; I wasn’t getting much done – we all know what the Netflix rabbit hole feels like! Plus; touching back on that – setting time aside to unwind for the day and review what you’ve done/need to do, is also worth noting.
I am human; so it’s not like I stick to this ‘code’ all of the time; but having a set of rules and some sort of schedule in general will give you guidance to get back on track when you’ve gone off the rails with procrastination!
So, for some time management advice; go grab a pen and some paper (no, I did not say type it on Microsoft Word and forget about it for all eternity); PEN AND PAPER PEOPLE!
Get a rough plan written up for how your days are currently going and how the 24 hours are being spent each day – the only way to really realise where you’re wasting time is to record the data and analyse! From there you can then asses where you can free up time, juggle things around or even create more time for yourself! For example; you’re making 4-5 individual trips out with your car each day – is there any way you can combine some of those trips, down to 2-3 outings in the motor? You still get all of the tasks done AND you’ve created some extra time for yourself, instead of chewing on your steering wheel whilst stuck in traffic.
Change up the work environment.
Figuring out how to balance your work time and personal time is critical; I used to talk bad about people who would bring their laptop to a coffee shop and work away at their own stuff; that was the younger, smaller minded Chumpa. Present Chumpa has now realised how beneficial this can be – mix up your working environment! If you’re work relies on an internet connection for its base; there’s nothing stopping you heading out to get that 2 hours of online work in a coffee shop, instead of being tucked away in your room; forgetting what the sun looks like. Plus; seeing others getting on with their work is great for motivation – if they’re doing it… why aren’t you?
Fitness
Another area that needs some attention. I think we all know that daily exercise is generally recommended; but it’s easy to let that fall onto the backburner. Briefly looking back to scheduling, if you’ve freed up some time within your daily schedule; get that free time turned into some productive energy exertion!
Whilst being great for overall health and wellbeing; a bit of fitness can do wonders for your mental health. The endorphin rush is REAL. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve woken up with brain-fog and no motivation of any kind. Once I’ve gotten a workout in; the daily perspective changes and I’m ready to go! It’s a good place to switch off from any external stressors that you may be dealing with too; stressed out? Use the gym to channel that stress into something positive! Sounds corny I know… but it works! Set aside time to get some exercise done each week; at the very minimum, get a walk in each day and aim for them 10,000 steps. Anything to get your NEAT up!!! (NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, this is any physical exertion OUTSIDE of your general exercise).
A few ways to increase your NEAT:
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
Walking instead of driving/catching the bus
Even little things like parking further away from the Supermarket; try and think of ways you can get a bit of easy NEAT in!
Chumpa’s Endgame
So; as much as I could try and fluff this out a bit more – I won’t. We’ll stick to these 4 snippets. These are all things that have helped me personally when it comes to productivity output. Try giving a few of these tips a go (if you aren’t already doing a similar version of them yourself) and see if it changes anything – for better or for worse; the only way we can find out the result of something is – to try!
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