Written by Alexia Heist
2020… what a year it has been. It’s crazy to think that in some form or fashion every single person in the world has been impacted this year due to Covid-19 and numerous other events and movements that have occurred over the last nine months.
Although adjusting to a new normal in many different ways has not been easy, learning and working from home may be one of the biggest and most difficult adjustments for many. Today, we are going to walk through six things that you can do that will allow you to be more productive while you navigate learning and working from home this fall.
- Plan Out Your Day Before It Happens
You are never too young to learn time management! I’ve been planning out my day the night before since high school and I can not tell you how much it helps me. There’s just something about being able to look at a plan and execute rather than making it up as you go.
Everyone’s daily routine looks different, but here is an example of what my day looked like just last week:
7:00am wake up
7:10am make coffee
7:30am – 8am read check emails
8am – 8:30am plan my to-do list
9am workout (walk, run, yoga, or pilates)
10am – 12pm work
12pm – 12:30pm lunch
12:30pm – 3:30pm work
3:30pm – 4pm movement of some kind (walk, run, yoga, or pilates)
4pm – 5:30pm work
5:45pm make dinner
2. Have A Clean & Happy Workspace
I don’t know about you, but a clean workspace makes me feel calmer and allows me to be more productive throughout my day. If you don’t have one already, I encourage you to have a designated workspace, and no, it can’t be in your bed! Make sure that it’s a place where you feel comfortable and you feel like you can be successful.
One of my favorite parts of my workspace is my DoTerra diffuser. I am a big fan of essential oils. They make my workspace smell great and I think they also help calm me down when I’m feeling a little stressed out.
I linked the diffuser that I have (and love) and I have also linked my three favorite oils:
DoTerra Diffuser: https://www.amazon.com/doTERRA-Petal-Diffuser/dp/B077D4HB47/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=doterra+diffuser&qid=1600718350&sr=8-6
Breathe Essential Oil: https://www.amazon.com/doTERRA-Breathe-Essential-Respiratory-Blend/dp/B004O2916O/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=breathe+essential+oil&qid=1600718396&sr=8-7
Lavender Essential Oil: https://www.amazon.com/doTERRA-Lavender-Essential-Oil-Relaxation/dp/B004O25R8A/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=lavender+essential+oil+doterra&qid=1600718437&sr=8-5
3. Movement Is Key
For many, learning and working from home has had an impact on fitness levels. Regardless of if you love to workout or not, I encourage you to block out some time to get up and move! It can be a quick 5 minute stretch, a walk around your neighborhood, or a virtual workout. Whatever you can fit into your day I encourage you to do it. I promise you will feel better and be more productive.
My workouts look a little different these days since I am no longer a competitive athlete, so here are some virtual workout options that I love and recommend:
Melissa Wood Health – Yoga & Pilates based workouts
If you are an athlete or would like to train like an athlete, I recommend APEC (https://www.teamapec.com/), they have so many training options for you to choose from!
4. Just Breathe
I am a big believer in using your own breath to guide you through your day. There are different frustrations and challenges that we are all facing right now, and if you just let it all build up inside of you, you’re eventually going to break down and it’s not going to be good.
Here is a very simple breathing exercise that I have many of my clients do when they feel stressed out or overwhelmed:
Get in either a seated or standing position where you feel comfortable and relaxed.
Slowly close your eyes and focus on relaxing all of the muscles in your body (specifically jaw, hands, and neck) and then begin the breathing exercise.
- Inhale through your nose for a count of 5
- Hold at the top for a count of 1
- Exhale through your nose for a count of 5
- Hold at the bottom for a count of 1
Repeat 5 times.
5. Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate!
I can not stress enough how important it is to stay hydrated. Drinking enough water aids in preventing infections, delivering nutrients to cells, keeping organs functioning properly, and it also improves sleep quality, cognition, and mood.
To be 100% honest with you, I don’t love drinking water so if you’re like me, here are some tips:
• Make yourself drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning and drink it all before you drink anything else. It’s not my favorite thing to do, but it’s a great way to start your day.
• Flavor it – I like to add lemon or lime to my water, you can add cucumber or mint as well!
• Drink tea! Green tea, black tea, citrus tea… this makes drinking water a little more fun and the options are endless.
• Keep a water bottle handy. Here are two water bottles that I love:
Gatorade Squeeze Water Bottle:
HydroMate Glass Water Bottle:
6. Keep Healthy Snacks Handy
If you keep unhealthy snacks out and about in your kitchen and house, they will get eaten. Same goes for healthy snacks! If you keep veggies or fruit out, I promise you, you will eat more of it. My mom has always done such a wonderful job at providing my sisters and I with healthy snack options and I think that’s a big reason why we all love veggies and fruit to this day.
My go to snacks right now are:
• Apples with crunchy peanut butter
• Bananas
• Avocado toast
• Carrots and Celery
• Boiled eggs with Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel seasoning
Alexia Heist
Alexia Heist was born and raised in El Paso, Texas and found her way to Fort Worth because of TCU, where she played indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, and golf. After college she worked for the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company in their marketing department for nearly a year, and after that stint, she worked for Teleos Marketing, a local marketing agency. Alexia lives in Fort Worth and has her own mental performance training company (Heist Academy) and marketing company (Heist Marketing Co.). In her free time you can find her cheering on the Frogs, cooking, running, golfing, and trying new restaurants all around Fort Worth.
