Like many of our clients and partners, Ocean is following government advice and our people are working from home. But #OceanIsOpen and the message is it’s business as usual.

This means implementing new working practices and routines. Virtual meetings are now being scheduled on video platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. There’s no reason not to do business even if we can’t meet you in person. It’s about making communication between each other as easy as possible – and to do that we’re learning new things all the time.

I’m conscious though that working from home isn’t familiar for all of us. It requires discipline and a good routine to keep us focused on the job at hand, but also to manage our personal wellbeing.

It is more important than ever that we eat well, exercise, go out for a walk (in keeping with the government’s most recent guidelines and advice) and get a good amount of sleep. Anyone read Why We Sleep? It’s a great book and highlights the importance of getting rest.

This is also a great time to put aside an hour a day for reading, listening to a podcast or learning something new. I’d love it if you could all share with us anything interesting you’ve read and learnt.

I’ve received some great tips that I wanted to share with you to help cope with self-distancing:

• Take back the time you would normally commute. Do those things you always wanted to do to set yourself up for a good day.
• Get dressed like you’re going into the office. Psychologically this really helps. Even if you’re suited up on the top half and in your shorts on your bottom half, it helps to get out of your PJs.
• Set up your home office space, ideally not in your bedroom if you can for some separation. Even if you don’t, have a separate desk and set it up so you can work comfortably.
• Make sure you take regular breaks. This is imperative. It’s natural at home to forget without your colleagues to make tea for. It’s just as important when working at home to avoid eye fatigue and keep your body moving. So every 25 minutes, get up and stretch and remember to drink plenty of water.
• Minimise distractions. Prioritise your jobs and do the big tasks first. This will give you a sense of achievement and boost you through the afternoon lull.
• Be social. While we are isolated from each other physically, we need to keep connected. Use Zoom. Seeing each other will really help ward off the loneliness that can come from home working. One tip I love – get yourself a virtual desk buddy. Keep Skype running in the background while you work. You can share and bounce ideas off each other and have a tea break together. If one of you has a call, just mute.
• Get out of the house once a day, exercise those muscles and breathe in that fresh air. The latest advice from the government is that we can still undertake one form of exercise a day, such as a run, walk or cycle. This should be done alone or only with people you live with – ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.
• Food and nutrition. Try batch cooking for the week. Include healthy snacks otherwise you’ll eat all the chocolate.
• Check in with one another. Ask how people are. Life is messy right now and we need to embrace the change and make it really work for us.

Some other resources you might like to draw upon:

• Live Like Louise offers 16 live workouts for £20 Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30am and 7pm.  All money goes back to this small business.
• Working from home with the kids now they’re off school? I have some resources from someone who home schools her children which might help. Get in touch for a copy.
• Check out these free Open Culture Online Courses
• EdX This site allows you to explore any topic, subject, or even school in just seconds. It has a smart search bar and free online education from exclusive universities worldwide.
• Alison has customised courses to improve your skills in a certain field. Reputable materials are accessible to make you more effective in the office.
• Microsoft Virtual Academy Learn personal computing in your own time via this website. It has explanations about stuff on the internet, information technology and cloud computing.

Stay well everyone and please keep sharing things with us and each other.

#TheArtofIndoor

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