You greet each fresh, new day with a rock solid case of bedhead and a cup of coffee big enough to transport injured sea turtles in. You, the unsung hero of the digital workplace, meet every challenge with a smile, and laugh in the face of deadlines. But working from home isn’t always a picnic.
When your only connection to the 9–5 world is a tenuous digital lifeline, even the pluckiest can sometimes feel the pressures unique to those who work alone at home. And of all the industrial hazards of the home-bound worker, none is more feared than virtual cabin fever.
You might be suffering and not even know it.
The Symptoms Of Virtual Cabin Fever
Talking to yourself. Sure, we all do it, but if it escalates into extended, complex argumentation you’re in trouble. Yes, Precious, trouble.
Dilbertian Utopia. When Dilbert stops being biting satire and appears as a lost golden age of face-to-face collaboration and camaraderie, you need help.
Emotional bond with machines. If you stay up all night nursing your computer through a virus, or shout ‘no man left behind’ when someone suggests upgrading to a new laptop, it’s time to start worrying.
Scurvy. Come on, man does not live on pizza and Oreos alone.
Making Google voodoo dolls. No one blames you, but thinking the latest algorithm change is personally directed at you is just paranoid.
Variety Is The Spice Of Life
Coping with a bad bout of cabin fever is really all about adding variety to your routine. By making room for the spontaneous or setting rewarding goals for your work day, you can ensure that working from home is satisfying psychologically, as well as being productive. Here are a few ways you can keep cabin fever at bay.
Challenge yourself. Setting a personal goal for your day or week can be a refreshing means of approaching your work routine. A creative way to do this is to set yourself the task of incorporating a word or phrase a dozen times in your work in the course of a day. Anyone can use ‘ROI,’ ‘proactive,’ or ‘enterprise.’ But it takes a sharp mind to slip in ‘viscose,’ ‘asparagus,’ ‘diatomaceous,’ and ‘tuberculosis.’ It’s all about the craftsmanship.
Steal office supplies. Just like they do in real, honest-to-goodness offices. It doesn’t matter that you’re stealing from yourself—it’s the thrill of the thing. Just don’t get caught.
Exercise. Who needs a gym or a home exercise program—besides, you can’t work while using that abdominator. Instead look for ways to meld working and working out into a smoothly functioning, streamlined unity. During your next virtual meeting, try doing tai chi or classical ballet. Or sumo moves. Webcams are awesome!
Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you have to miss the spontaneity and variety that come with working in a conventional office environment. Using tools like Sococo’s virtual office can help you connect with coworkers. With a little creativity, and help from Sococo, you can keep virtual cabin fever at bay.
