Peng took 30-minute online gym classes with her 3-year-old daughter. “We use Keep, a Chinese fitness app. While most people were at home, they designed online class for parents and kids. The activities are as simple as situps or very basics for boxing, gymnastics, with music, of course.”
Ferreira Marques instituted a strict schedule that ensured everyone getting out and exercising at least three times a day: “Morning, lunchtime, and evening,” she says. “Otherwise the lethargy takes over.” For her that meant dog walks, football, frisbee, cricket in the park—“and on the weekend, get out into nature as much as you can.”
And if you need to, take a nap. “Japan is one of the countries where people aren’t getting enough sleep,” says Marika Katanuma, 27, digital news editor in Tokyo. A short 15- to 30-minute nap on your lunch break can boost your productivity and keep you focused over a longer day. “It’s a bit like starting a new day.”
Embrace Unexpected Dividends
Working from home might bring fresh stresses—but with them, fresh rewards. You can listen to your own music, cuddle a cat to relieve stress, and get additional sleep. And if you need a second monitor for your computer, it might be the perfect excuse to upgrade your living room TV.
“The irritations of WFH are a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things,” says Rachel Chang, a healthcare and consumer news editor in Hong Kong.
Plus, “now that you’re not commuting, you’ve got extra time to do all the things that build up,” says Millson, who’s using his to run three times a week and spend more time playing games with daughters aged 4 and 5.
“Compile a big to do list, and as soon as you log off, plow through it,” he adds.
Moreover, there’s camaraderie, even outside your company: Everyone understands the challenges right now. “There’s nothing that beats the experience of calling a source and having your toddler crawling toward you because he hears your voice and wants to play with you while the source can hear him playing, or shouting, or crying at times,” says Manuel Baigorri, a deal reporter based in Hong Kong. He finds spending more time with his wife and kid an indisputable upside of working from home.
“Being able to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with them, play during breaks with my kid, and just seeing them around the house and being able to talk to them during the day is priceless.”
--With assistance from Alyssa McDonald.