How important is time off in this ‘virtual’ world?
By: Bala Priya C
Tags: Work From Home, Women Who Code, Self Improvement, Work Life Balance, Wellbeing

How important is time off in this ‘virtual’ world?

Wading your way through tough times gracefully

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

These are testing times, certainly. The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the whole world ! Have you ever felt that the past few months have been different with paradigm shift to ‘virtual’? Almost everything has gone virtual; Work from Home, Flagship events of organizations, celebrated conferences, classes in grad school and the list goes on! That’s quite a bit!

In this shift to Work From Home setting, managing calls with team during the usual work hours, looking to fill the gaps that result from the missing in person communication, working late hours to get work done and a lot of other constraints, it becomes rather difficult to maintain the celebrated ‘work life balance’ as the fine line between work and life becomes almost indiscernible!

I got more insights on how people are coping up in the virtual era in Women Who Code Silicon Valley’s ‘Virtual Happy Hour’ this month where members of the community met to informally discuss the all things work and life.

Virtual Happy Hour on 24th September

Has work been any different?

From the views shared by the members of the community, In the present times, as people are trying their best to adapt themselves to WFH, it’s often difficult. Interaction with colleagues and friends at work over calls on zoom, MS Teams etc. often fail to match the bonding shared at work place. With many calls scheduled in a day, such as weekly team meetings, follow-up calls for work, calls with friends and teammates are invariably meant to go over a few things formally followed by a quick sign-off. Casual chit chats with friends over a cup of coffee and hanging out with them are greatly missed.

Amidst the chaos, a few virtual events such as a virtual birthday bash

and virtual baby showers proved all the more memorable with memories to cherish and to enjoy a sense of belonging & connectedness even though they were just an hour long 🎊🎊

Finding solace and achieving mental well-being 😌

Taking time off for self reflection and rejuvenation is absolutely important to avoid both emotional and physical drain. Regardless of how implausible the deadlines are, how demanding the work is, it’s necessary to take time for hobbies and relax sufficiently to avoid exhaustion, which in the long run would adversely impact health.

Exercising regularly is a great way to keep things going. Jogging or walking outdoors or exercising indoor regularly if there’s a limitation on venturing outside, would be of great help. Spending time with pets, exploring a new hobby like gardening, starting your own little kitchen garden could be refreshing. If you’re fond of reading, then there’s no better companion than a good book. You might as well consider turning on your favorite playlist, playing your favorite musical instrument… the list is never-ending.

Over the weekend, camping outdoors, visit to a beach can be rejuvenating making us fighting fit to tackle the week ahead!