Maintaining a sense of normalcy while routines stay disrupted

With the roll-out of the vaccine taking place slowly, it may be awhile longer before life returns completely to normal. However, if you have been working remotely, it may be a good idea to reincorporate some elements of your regular routine into your schedule now.

Not only will maintaining a sense of normalcy help you to feel more productive and more like yourself again, it could also help make the transition to the workplace smoother when it does occur. Here are a few ways to go about it:

• Rise and shine: Have you let your morning schedule slide into chaos during the pandemic? Now is the time to get back to your regular hours. Get to sleep each week night at your pre-pandemic bedtime and set your alarm for your regular wake hour. With no commute, you may find yourself with some extra time in the morning. Use it to get organized for the day, exercise or check items off your to-do list.

• Get dressed: Dress as though you are heading into the workplace. Wear pants that don’t have an elastic waistband, do your hair and wear accessories. Regain your sense of style and feel good about how you look.

• Structure your day: When working remotely, it’s easy to feel like the workday has no clear beginning or end. For better work-life balance, try to structure your day as you once did, setting regular business hours. Be sure to include breaks, so you don’t experience burnout. And, if your weekdays once included time for socializing with colleagues, make time for it now. Set up a virtual coffee meeting, lunch or happy hour.

• Use tech tools: Stay accountable to your new schedule as well as your fashion goals with wearable tech, such as the Casio Edifice Watch. With full-time Smartphone Link technology, this timepiece enables you to stay up-to-date and on time. When paired to a compatible smartphone via Bluetooth, you can access the correct time in your current location and for up to 300 cities worldwide, as well as your calendar, receiving notifications for tasks, meetings and events. Featuring five alarms, a stopwatch, countdown timer and a two-year battery life, this water-resistant timepiece can be a highly functional tool as you transition back to a regular schedule.

If working from home long-term has you feeling sluggish and unproductive, get back to your regular schedule. Maintaining a sense of normalcy can help get you out of the rut.

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