One of the main stressors in modern life is not having enough hours in the day. Trying to juggle working from home and remote learning for those of us in lockdown magnifies the problem. It stirs up the background noise of stress around getting things done at all (let alone on time).

How’s your email inbox looking?

What about your bills?

How are you juggling remote schooling?

I find the biggest time bandits in my day are common to most people:

* Distraction (including constant interruptions)

* Procrastination (including social media)

* Perfectionism (not getting anything finished unless it’s “good enough”, or not starting because it “can’t” be good enough)

* Overwhelm (too much to do, no idea where to start)

What to do?

Use apps to simplify your day AND remove any apps from your line of sight that will interrupt your flow

* Electronic shopping lists

* Voice messaging and voice-to-text apps

* “Hide” interrupting apps (social media, email, etc) off the front page of your phone (in a folder is best) … even better, remove them from your phone completely if you’re brave

* Use Google plug-ins like the Facebook “newsfeed eradicator” so you can’t doom scroll when you’re working

* Pomodoro apps like “Focus” to keep you focused (cos there’s nothing like a deadline, right!)

Structure your week into blocks so you can be focussed on certain things on certain days (this is my absolute sanity saver). Make sure you add uninterruptible time. I have a day each week where nothing is allowed to be booked in, so I’m free to think, plan, focus, or even (gasp) take a day off.

Take control of your time in simple ways to feel organised and less overwhelmed. This will help you balance your time at work and at home … even in lockdown!

Best wishes,

Tess x

p.s. If you need help with your mental health, my team at The Crawley Clinic (Melbourne and Launceston) can help - www.thecrawleyclinic.com.au - as can our colleagues at Crawley House - www.crawleyhouse.com.au