What are the strategies you guys follow to keep your mind peaceful during this busy life? 4

[Bettyrichard]

Hey there,

I hope you guys are having a great time. I'm a software engineer by profession. Due to Covid, I'm having WFH and is really tiring. It's stressful, and at times I feel like quitting the job. I needed to find some means to relax, and I asked some of my friends for suggestions. They suggested undergoing a body spa treatment in the clinic nearby. But I'm not sure about which spa treatment I should choose. I have fixed a meeting with them to discuss in detail.

I would like to know how you guys manage your job and life. What are the strategies you guys follow to keep your mind peaceful?

Thanks!

 

[LittleInch]

But seriously I try and get out at least once a day and do some walking or cycling under trees / parks / away from the noise of the city.

Then realise that you need to turn yourself away from the unrelenting news / twitter streams of mainly shitty news and shut down / go off grid for a couple of hours before you go to sleep.

Start reading again or some other thing you stopped doing when you got to 18 and started drinking....

If ever there is an opportunity to get involved in some hobby or project or community action now is the time.

Apparently sales of model trains have increased significantly....

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[JNieman]

So we're back in the office nowadays. We just built a new building to move into, so we have about 2x the space (at least) we'd require, so spreading out is quite easy for us!

However, we were at home for over 6 months. What I found to be the best was to keep my routines. Wake up at the right time, get a shower, get dressed (no pajamas, but not necessarily the same I'd wear to the office), take a lunch break when you normally would, and get away from the desk. My favorite was to go eat lunch on the porch. Disallow distractions. Have a separate space for your work area. Don't mix personal and workspace/items as much as possible. We have more family board game nights, collaborative Lego building (Saturn V, International Space Station... such awesome designs)

I started to slack on that after a while. Things sucked. I went back to my routine and things were mentally much more satisfying and clear.

Other parts of my routine were exercise (no gym, so I had to run/jog, instead, I suck at weight lifting at home. hate it. I took up yoga... that... is harder than it looks. It's actually been really good for some of my weight lifting soreness and occasional mild injuries)

My main hobbies, though, are hiking/camping/kayaking outdoorsing type stuff so that was also pretty easy to maintain...

I think overall it was "don't act like the world is changing just because a few things have". Overall I don't find the change in work setting or the wearing of a mask to be that big of a deal at all, when I don't treat it as a big deal.

 

[moon161]

I've returned to martial arts practice and study after a big gap, and buddhist practice and study after a smaller gap. Luckily both have been accessible to me online by zoom.

The writing and sword art of Miyamoto Musashi are both presented by the Sei Do Kai dojo online, link for online classes too. (

http://www.sedokai.ca

I think)


I've found Thich Nhat Hanh's work really accessible and relevant:

Peace is Every Step - very practical application of mindfulness and wisdom, free on audible if you have a subscription.
Taming the Tiger Within- same, more about being angry, also free.
Both are non-sectarian presentations.

Old Path White Clouds is a really compelling presentation of the historical Buddha's life and teaching.

Otherwise, make sure you get enough sleep, and because I eat a vegetarian diet I take a B12 supplement.

 

[TheTick]

I was never any good at sight-reading music. Now I practice every day. I'm still not very good, but I found it seems to put my mind in a better place. More peaceful; more connected; more aware.

 

[phamENG]

Nice advertisement?

 

[moon161]

Yes, I wondered about that. I yield to cynicism less than I used to though. How are you doing Phameng?

 

[phamENG]

Fantastic, actually. I feel for those negatively impacted by the pandemic, but thus far my immediate family and I have been quite fortunate. Sent home to work remotely, I gained 2.5+ hours/day by not commuting. I applied that to starting my own consultancy, which grew too fast to keep up with and allowed me to leave my employer. Now I work from home full time, get to see my kids and wife for all three meals, and stay busy doing work I (mostly and usually) love to do. Inner peace hasn't been an issue for me.

Hopefully our scientific brethren in the pharmaceutical and MD worlds can get this stuff figured out and get things back to something closer to normal - or at least to a place where more people can find an even keel.

I try not to be a cynic, but when somebody posts a link to a business's website with no clear reason why but to get people to click on it, it feels a LOT like an ad.

 

[JNieman]

I didn't particularly notice it until it was pointed out, but yes, it feels a bit spammy.

 

[fel3]

Bettyrichard...

I sympathize with you. Working from home has been a pain for me and lots of others as well, although I have not suffered from reduced hours like some people (including my wife, who has been working about 16-20 hours per week instead of 24-28). Fortunately, I was able to go back to the office on the 12th and my wife goes back next week. I am now working Mon-Thu in the office. I am working from home on Fridays because that's the day my wife watches a couple of our grandkids (at their house) and we sometimes get grocery deliveries on Fridays. Getting back to the office has refreshed me and I am more productive as well. Now work is at work (mostly) and home is home again (mostly).

For my wife and me, our best diversions from the stress of working at home have been more regular time spent with our kids and grandkids (six, ranging from 12 down to 6 months), more time spent pursuing our hobbies, and a few long weekend trips. Our hobbies include photography, astronomy (a relaxing night in the foothills or in the mountains under the stars with our telescopes is a nice antidote to working at home), genealogy, and a couple more. A few weeks ago we joined a small group of friends for a long weekend photo trip to the Eastern Sierra. We were looking for fall color, but we were ahead of the peak by about a week and we had to deal with smoke from the Creek Fire in Fresno and Madera Counties. Still, it was a fun time away from work and working from home. I like to wander around our local zoo with camera in hand and I may do that this weekend. It's a lot more fun than doing yard work. We will probably go to Yosemite in a couple weeks (we typically visit 4 to 6 times per year). The lockdown has made us more deliberate in finding ways to amuse ourselves.

I hope this little story helps and maybe gives you some ideas on how to cope.

Fred

============
"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
--Winston S. Churchill

 

[LittleInch]

Whilst interesting, I think the OP is a one time wonder (literally).

One log in on, one post and nothing else. SO maybe just a fancy way to get in a link to the spa she owns....

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[moon161]

I think so too LI, but this seems like a good thread anyways.

Edit yeah, If I frequented spa's I'd be staying out for a while.

 

[bridgebuster]

I've been WFH since 3/17; so much for beating COVID in two weeks. At first it was nice but it's gotten old.

It's not that I miss seeing my co-workers; I stay in touch with some by phone, so there is a sense of normalcy. My three pet peeves, if you will: 1) Our IT system is horrible (I work for one of the largest engineering companies in the world; it's not easy to get things done quickly if I need to access our network. 2) When I need someone to assist me with something, it's not always easy to find someone. In the office, I just get up and find someone. 3)Some people think because you WFH you're available 24/7.Before COVID I was probably in the office 50 hours per week. We went on a reduced work week from April to September, which was nice. But now, I find myself working working 50 hours/week again - it's very annoying - because people call at all hours.

Our office is open; everyone has 2 assigned days and an alternate Friday. I don't go in; although I miss having three monitors. I can compensate by using 3 computers at home but it's not the same. No sense going in. Out of 300 people, we seem to average about 15 people per day in the office.

Two things that have helped me cope: I bicycle everyday for a little over an hour, weather permitting. I do 12 miles a day; not bad for an old guy. When I can't go out I use my elliptical for 45 minutes. Exercise does help. I do oil painting as a hobby. For the past few years I didn't have much time for it. This year I was able to get back into things; experimenting and practicing different techniques. I rediscovered The Joy of Painting.

 

[271828]

I've been exercising more. Mostly conditioning workouts with bodyweight exercises. Exercise provides reliable endorphin and dopamine hits. There have been times over the last year or two that I think I might've lost it without these.

 

[IRstuff]

Nothing's really changed, other than moving to a different floor to be isolated with my team. Fewer people at work, so fewer interruptions.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

 

[23and1]

I've returned to the office since September, but it looks like I may end up going back home with the sudden spike of new cases. Outside of exercising and baking (the former to ward off the consequences of the latter), I've been watching space documentaries and trying to keep up with all of NASA's current ventures. I've got some books to read, but haven't quite started yet. To keep me productive, I've been thinking about reviewing my thesis on Aluminum-based thermal barrier coatings from my master's program and seeing if I can't expand upon it or find some new white papers and other theses involving it. It's been a year and a half, but I already feel like I've forgotten too much regarding it.

 

[CWB1]

Life has been normal here in Michigan since we reopened in May. I go to work and leave it there every day. After work I hit the gym, work in my home shop, socialize at various car club and veteran events, fish, camp, and enjoy my life otherwise. In the past I have worked for international mega-corps and occasionally struggled to keep folks working on the other side of the world via early/late meetings and calls. Now I'm happy working for a mid-size (6k? employee) firm that's almost completely US based.

 

[ctopher]

Bettyrichard,
You are not alone. A lot of us are going thru the same this year.
I picked up house reno projects and do cycling on weekends to get out.

ctopher, CSWP
SolidWorks '17
ctophers home
SolidWorks Legion