Shift your mindset back into a routine by starting your dayright. Establish a structured morning routine that works for youand starts your day on the right foot. If you are a planner, planyour outfit, a nutritious breakfast, and set the coffee maker thenight before. If not, leave yourself time in the morning for selfcare.Practice a morning meditation or set intentions for the day.Think positive. According to neuroscience, the brain createsneural pathways based on our habits and behaviors. Whennegative thinking becomes the norm, it becomes our defaultpattern. With positive thinking and repeated new behaviors, wetrain our brains to create new neural pathways. As the pathwaysbecome stronger, positive thinking can become the new normal.Practice gratitude and acceptance. Gratitude is a choice. I’veseen unhappy people with great financial prosperity and happypeople who practice gratitude with very little. Gratitude can helppositively reframe negative situations. Positive reframing is atechnique where you try to reconsider things in a positive light totransform your thinking.Manage your sleep. Set a notification one hour before youroptimal bedtime. Use the next 30 minutes to wrap up what youare doing and then put away your device for the night. Use thenext 30 minutes to read, journal, take a hot lavender bath, or doa guided meditation.Don’t ditch the workout. Establish a workout routine byputting it on your calendar and then visualize yourself doing it.Make it a realistic routine so you aren’t setting yourself up forfailure.Dress the part. Working from home gave us an opportunity toloosen up that professional look. Now that you are going back tothe office, make sure your clothes fit and you feel comfortable inthem and you are looking your best.Reintegrate the commute time. One of the biggest perks ofworking from home was the zero commute time. You can getthat time back by commuting to work with friends or co-workersor listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or music during yourcommute. Use this time to reinvigorate yourself.Plan for healthy meal prep throughout the week. Sundays area good day for meal planning for the entire week. If you don’thave time, consider meal-kit providers like Hello Fresh thatdeliver healthy prepped food to your doorstep.Manage your dependents. Maybe you were able to eliminatechildcare costs or pet sitter costs because you worked from home.Be grateful for the money you saved. Now, take time to researchthe most convenient, dependable and affordable options for you.Introduce daily self-care practices at work. Pack a self-care kitfor work including healthy snacks, teas, hand lotions, essentialoils, sneakers to go for a walk during lunch. Consider anythingelse that will make you comfortable or give you a refreshthroughout the day.Recalibrate expectations to zero. Before heading back to work,mentally scan for any expectations you may have, mindfully letthem go, and cultivate an attitude of openness and receptivity.You might be surprised by the results.Delegate and access support. Maybe you’ve taken on moreresponsibilities while working at home. Before you jump backin, create a to-do list and ask yourself, “Am I the best person todo this? Am I the only person who can do this? Do I enjoy doingthis? Is this worth my time?” Outsource tasks you don’t enjoy,when possible. Identify where you need help and ask for it.Embrace mindfulness. Mindfulness is especially useful as itfacilitates creativity, flexibility, and adaptability which enhancesdecision-making and financial outcomes. Recording yourmindfulness practices in an app or journal can keep you on track.The reality is change is hard especially when it disrupts aroutine. At first, working from home might have sounded toogood to be true. No more commute time or traffic jams? Butwhat about the intrusion of work into your home life?A recent study looked at the impact of working from homeduring the pandemic. Negatives included family-work conflictand social isolation which caused unwanted stress. Meanwhile,self-leadership and autonomy were positively related. There’sno doubt returning to work will require adjustments. Whilein the office you no longer need to worry and apologize aboutbackground noise from your pets, kids, or your neighbormowing the lawn. However, it may take some time to get used todistractions and noise from coworkers.To cope with change, set some boundaries with yourself andothers. A study showed working at home during the pandemicblurred lines between work and leisure time. Maybe you didhousehold chores or ran some errands throughout the day.Perhaps you regularly responded to emails after hours or on theweekend because of the proximity of your work computer toyour living room. Now’s the time to set new boundaries.Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, shares some wisewords, “Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy.” Keep thisphilosophy in mind when managing your transition back tothe office.About The AuthorJOYCE MARTERJoyce Marter is a licensed psychotherapist, entrepreneur, nationalpublic speaker, and a mental health thought leader. She is thefounder of Urban Balance and the author of The Financial MindsetFix: A Mental Fitness Program for an Abundant Life.To Learn More Visit:www.JoyceMarter.com
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