Learn why leading HR professionals trust ekincare! Explore Now

Webinar - How To Manage Lockdown Fatigue

People all around the world are on lockdown with suddenly fewer commitments on their calendars than they ever had before. Freed from all the traveling to work and back, from rushing out to meet other people at restaurants or sporting events, and from doing all those errands that are no longer possible because so many places are closed, many of us should be feeling especially energetic these days. But that’s not what seems to be happening. All over social media, people are reporting that they are feeling inexplicably tired. 

In this webinar - 'How To Manage Lockdown Fatigue' by ekincare, speaker Ms. Priyanka Roy, a Clinical and Counseling Psychologist discussed a few concerns in today's life:

  1. Overcoming lockdown fatigue
  2. Dealing with uncertainty and also procrastination in the lockdown
  3. Balancing the sense of productivity and how self-care is important for you

Overcoming lockdown fatigue

Are you feeling more tired than usual? Do you feel like you are any less motivated? Is your sleep pattern disrupted

If your answer to any of this or all of this is yes, then you might be experiencing lockdown fatigue. But why lockdown fatigue has become so common, even when people are at home and can take care of things from the comfort of their home? Initially, lockdown seemed like a much-needed vacation but, soon people started doing multiple things at the same time where there was not really any segregation of the time or the physical space. Unlike when people are working in an office setup where a certain number of hours are for their office work, and then they come back home and are dissociating them from their personal responsibilities. 

Now, all that people used to do in terms of unwinding have come into the same domain of being at home. So there are very lesser distinctions between where their routine actually falls into the professional realm and the personal journey. That is why one of the major problems that people are dealing with right now is the sense of fatigue. The reason why this is happening is because of the reduced exposure to sunlight. Now the government guidelines don't really allow anyone to step out and have that sort of public interaction, or probably stepping out just to have some amount of sunlight or the daylight that we used to experience while traveling to work. Instead, people are spending long hours in front of the computer and are being overly tired of being in front of the zoom call. Now, in times like this, it becomes very important for everyone to:

  • Keep a calm mind and create an effective balance between work and home. 
  • Limit the time in front of the computer, as much as possible. 
  • Learn how to dissociate from the current situation and try to take a break. 
  • Create a clear structure for the day and maintain a routine
  • Make sure the workspace is absolutely clutter-free to avoid getting distracted. 

Dealing with uncertainty

Can dueling your tasks and demeanor sense of routine helps you organize your day in a manner that is more structured and makes you feel productive as well. While this sense of productivity also brings about the question of uncertainty, this brings us to the point that to control the sense of uncertainty, it is very important to focus on things that are in your control. 

Now, what are these things that are in your control? Controlling your behavior and your actions can help you be safe. Like if you are staying at home, you are not only safeguarding yourself but also safeguarding people around you. 

Also, when you are taking care of yourself, you are not thinking about the negatives of the situation, but instead, on the areas of life that you can take control of and have a certain sense of assertiveness. All you need to do is keep a track of your activities so that there's no uncertainty in terms of at least your productivity. 

Another major challenge that people are facing is procrastination. Well, nothing is as fatiguing as knowing that you have to get something done, but not being able to do it. And now with this lockdown, coming over, procrastination has become something that is so common that it's almost become a part of our day to day life. And we are procrastinating much more than ever after all. It's not your fault. We are all confined in the limit of these four walls. 

So there are a couple of things that we can try doing, like:

  • Breaking up that task into smaller tasks and give yourself an adequate amount of breaks in the middle of it. 
  • Creating an environment that's conducive to your work is extremely important. 
  • Staying away from your phone and social media as much as possible.

While the biggest problem with procrastination in our life is to actually take that first step but once you've taken the first step, we all know we're all driven to get the task done. 

Balancing the sense of productivity and self-care

Self-care is not just about relaxing and unwinding, but also keeping a balance between your personal and professional goals. While many people don't realize but taking care of ourselves is extremely simple. 

  • Just work with full passion, but then when you're done with your day, put your laptop aside, keep your work phone away. 
  • Meditation is something that works for a lot of people. Now, the thing about meditation is that it takes an amount of focus and concentration. Instead, I believe in a much easier practice. Like we call it mindfulness practices. Now mindfulness is nothing but being in sync with your present environment and making yourself aware of your surroundings. 
  • Listen to calming music. Everyone has that little bit of connection with music that invokes positive memories that helps them calm down and also creates an environment that's very soothing. 
  • Pick up a few books to read before going to bed.
  • Invest your time in a hobby, spend time with your loved ones, because that is what is so important for us to keep your near and dear ones close to you.
  • Although there is no physical proximity, connect with people via video codes, make a phone call, and just catch up on those good memories that you have with them. 

Also, exercising is a useful tool. Going for a walk or doing an online exercise class can make you feel physically tired but in the longer-term, it will reduce feelings of fatigue as your sleep quality improves.

Last but not the least, being optimistic about the future and having things to look forward to can also help reduce anxiety and reduce fatigue.

Prachi Bharadwaj is an experienced Marketing Communications Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the health tech & higher education industries.