Covid-19 pandemic has brought in a massive change to our daily lives and how we function. The city life has been affected adversely with changes to daily routine that people are finding difficult to cope with. One in three workers in the UK are working from home. According to a survey amongst 800 workers by HuntsOffice, one of the renowned services providers for office workspace requirements, it says that 69% of commuters miss their commute to and from their workplaces. Though, it seems to be a petty issue when thousands of lives are at risk owing to virus transmission, people are finding themselves to be stressed, less motivated and difficult to wind down by the day finishes.
Missing Commute to Work- What Are We Missing Out?
Commuting to work or from work via driving, public transport, cycling or sharing a cab has always involved a lot of “me” time. This has been the time, especially, for millennials and GenZ to charge themselves up, think about planning for the day or day after and enjoying the time to themselves. Being a millennial myself, I find this time very ideal to rejuvenate my mind and prepare myself to get ready for a productive day.
Also, listening to music while buying our own breakfast or coffee seems to be a dream now as we all are mostly working from home. Half of the commuters have complained about back pain as they continue to work from home due to lack of proper office furniture in place. Also, for a major share of people, commuting to work meant socialising with other people in public transport , chatting about their daily lives or exchanging information. Not commuting has taken a toll on people’s emotional health. Surveys by HuntOffice says that 19% of commuters feel more stressed and 42% of people say they are less motivated to wake up as they do not have to travel to work.
What are the Solutions? Fake Commute to Work!
While Covid restrictions mostly eased in and around the UK, commuting to work is not encouraged. Some of the way out to reap benefits by not commuting to work are as follows-
- Take some time for yourself : It is very important to take some time out for yourself to relax and be alone immersed in your thoughts. A good way to do is to create a fake commute (#MyFakeCommute) before you start your day. You can always take a walk, a run , then take a shower, get into work clothes and prepare coffee before you start your day ahead. This way it would give you some alone time to refresh your mind before the start of your work hours.
- Learn a new skill: Why not utilise your commute time to learn a new language, bake a muffin or some interesting DIYs to rejuvenate your bedroom? Survey by HuntOffice says that 9% of commuters learn a new thing every day while they commute to work and socialise on their way. So, make time to learn a new skill after your work hours or maybe while you sip your cup of morning coffee out in the sun.
- Don’t forget to listen to music: Time and again, research and studies have confirmed that relaxing music helps the mind and body together. Make time to listen to relaxing music as you work from home or go jogging or even stretch out in the sun early morning.
Researches have confirmed that music hs always shown a positive effect on the cognitive functions resulting in great performance in the day ahead. So, do not forget to take some time out for listening to music as you start your day. - Go for ideal office furniture: If you are having back pain while working from your workstation at home, do take some time out to go for an office chair and table or buy that rolling chair that you used to have in your office corner. Sometimes, including one or two office furniture at home can make you motivated and give you the comfort you have been looking for.
These are some of the ways through which you can always motivate yourself while you start your day at work. Though it might seem uncomfortable and difficult in the beginning, gradually adapting to these practices can be rewarding as companies will tend to follow a hybrid work approach of both work in office and from home in the new future for their employees.