Managing Your State While Working From Home

Following the COVID-19 outbreak there has been a large number of people working from home. This is a new situation for many and those who already work from home will unlikely have experienced it for such a long period of time. This can have some interesting effects on our ability to concentrate and keep good focus while at work. I thought I would pull together three quick tips on how to manage your state and mind while working from home.

When we talk about state we are referring to your current way of being, it's made up of your emotions and thought processes. In coaching we talk about two types of state, resourceful and unresourceful. 

Resourceful states help you with what you are trying to achieve. Unresourceful states can stop you achieving, or at least make it much more difficult. For example, if you are working on an important financial report, a resourceful state could include feeling calm, being focused and having clear thoughts. On the other hand, an unresourceful state could be stressed and worried about why the kids have suddenly stopped making all that noise. 

One of the great things about state is that it can be influenced and here are a few ways you can manage your state while working from home. 

The fastest way to change your emotional state is to move your body. Try this for one moment, hold your body as if you are the happiest you have ever been and while holding this try and feel sad, you will find it challenging. This is because your body language shape your emotional state. If you find yourself entering an unresourceful state while trying to work check your body language, are you slouching? Are you tense? 

Sometimes you can literally shake off an unresourceful state by standing up and shaking your body to loosen the muscles. You can also use your body language to get into a more resourceful state, Amy Cuddy is the master at this so I recommend checking out her Ted talk below where she explains how you can use power poses to improve performance.

Just as much as your body language can influence your state, so can your location. Home should be the place you go when you have finished work, somewhere to relax and enjoy your free time. This makes managing your site difficult while working from home because you might not have a place for you to get into the zone. It is also equally important that you have somewhere to leave this state behind so you can relax and recharge yourself for the next day. 

Places can be anchors for state, this means that places can make you feel a certain way. While working from home you should find yourself a place that is just for work, this helps you to get into a resourceful state for work in the same way that going to the office can. 

I have two places in my home where I work, the sofa in my living room or my office which is in the spare bedroom. I find that when working from the living room I can still do my job, but what I find tough is leaving the job behind. If I have had a bad day at the office this stays with me. However if I use the office I have a place to leave this state behind, I am also able to focus better because I am not in my relaxing place. 

If you do not have the space for an office, try working from somewhere you would not normally spend your day, sit on the opposite side of the sofa, use the dining table or even your garden or balcony. This way you have a space you can focus that you can leave at the end of your day to relax and recharge. 

Your thinking is a key driver for your state. Working from home gives an interesting challenge as there is so much to distract you. I often find myself trying to work and a random thought pops into my head like the coat rack I have been meaning to put up for years. 

These thoughts can be intrusive and interfere with your focus, the best thing to do is get them out of your head and onto something else. Writing these down helps take the thought out of your mind, you can be safe knowing you will not forget it so you can let the thought go until you have finished work.