Summary

The web content provides guidance on developing productive and creative habits while working from home during a coronavirus lockdown, emphasizing personalized routines, reflective exercises, and activities to enhance well-being and productivity.

Abstract

The article "Coronavirus Lockdown: How will you cultivate productive and creative habits at home?" offers a comprehensive approach to maintaining productivity and fostering creativity while confined to home. It suggests that individuals should tailor their work habits to their unique circumstances, skills, and interests. The piece encourages self-reflection through a series of questions aimed at identifying personal work preferences, challenges, and sources of inspiration. It advocates for the establishment of morning routines, including writing morning pages to increase self-awareness and plan the day effectively. The article also stresses the importance of physical exercise, even in small doses, and engaging in activities that enrich daily life. It highlights the benefits of cultivating positive habits, such as strengthening personal relationships, cooking at home, and continuous learning. The author, Fahri Karakas, shares personal experiences, such as the positive impact of doodling on creativity and productivity, which led to the creation of his book "Self-Making Studio."

Opinions

The author believes in the power of personalization for productivity and creativity, suggesting that individuals find their own path that aligns with their unique needs and strengths.
Writing morning pages is recommended as a therapeutic and planning exercise to clear the mind and set the tone for a productive day.
Regular physical exercise, even in short bursts, is considered essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system and overall well-being.
Engaging in daily activities that bring joy and creativity, such as doodling, is seen as a way to enhance happiness and productivity.
The article emphasizes the importance of strengthening moral, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional aspects during lockdown through activities like reading, writing, and reflecting.
Building and maintaining relationships is highlighted as a crucial aspect of lockdown life, advocating for quality time spent with loved ones without electronic distractions.
The author shares his personal success story with doodling, suggesting that simple, consistent creative practices can lead to significant personal achievements.

Coronavirus Lockdown

How will you cultivate productive and creative habits at home?

Reflective questions, exercises, ideas

In this short piece, I will share some suggestions and exercises on how to cultivate more creative and productive habits at home.

Find and create your own path

Decide what works best for your situation. You have your unique needs, skills, strengths, and interests. You need to find your own path that works for you. So, become your own mentor and design your own workday.

Please respond to the following questions to start your thinking:

When and where do you work best?

Which methods work better for you?

What blocks or prevents you? Reflect and write down your top challenges.

What are you anxious about? Write down your list of fears, anxieties, and things that stress you out.

What are the things that you need to get better at?

What are your top favourite things and hobbies you want to work on?

How and when do you get inspired and achieve flow? Can you re-create similar conditions?

Remember your best and worst days at home. What differentiates them? How can you transform your bad days into good days?

How can you develop more effective morning habits? What are the activities that you can take up in the morning that will make you more productive?

Write morning pages

Julia Cameron, in her masterclass book “The Artist’s Way” recommends that you write in your diary or journal first thing in the morning.

You will write whatever comes to your mind, in no particular order. It will be a record of your stream of consciousness. It is meant for your eyes only.

It is a great way to record your reflections, warm up your brain, put down your anxieties, and move towards your zone for the new day ahead of you.

The act of writing down your goals and reflecting on your dreams and emotions improves your self-awareness, well-being and productivity.

You can also use this writing opportunity to plan and design your day.

Where will you be going?

What do you want to achieve today?

What is your one big goal?

Writing will help you prioritise and find your focus.

You will then start with a small action. A tiny action which is easy to accomplish. This will help you get some momentum.

Exercise at home

Start with small movements.

Even micro-exercises that continue for one or two minutes are amazing. Do just 5 push-ups — that’s it.

How are you moving your body today?

Can you do a little dance or jumping?

Can you take a walk or a ride a bike for half an hour?

Can you get in nature and move your body? Sunshine and fresh air will help your nervous system.

Can you find an activity for adrenaline rush? Try to accelerate your heart and get your blood pump faster.

Can you spend some time in the balcony or in the garden?

Find activities that will enrich your day

Here is an exercise below.

Look at the monthly matrix below.

Choose 1 activity that you think will enrich your day every day.

Which activity can you do each day?

Of course, some of the activities will need to be done virtually, as you need to adapt them for home.

Doodle Poster titled “Enrich Your Life — One Month a Time”

Cultivate positive habits

Cultivate your inner strength. Please try to strengthen yourself morally, intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally.

Whenever you are overwhelmed, write down in your diary. Put all your anxieties, stress, and fears on paper.

Whenever you write things down, you will feel more powerful and liberated.

Use this time to work on your relationships. Work on connecting with your beloved ones. Turn off electronics, and be present. Spend high-quality time with one another.

Cook at home. Eat healthy. Slow down. Read, write, and reflect at home. Pick up your favorite books. You can choose to finish that book you have been putting off.

You can choose to learn new skills and knowledge. Choose online courses you can finish under lockdown. Learn something new every day.

Which activities and hobbies could increase your happiness and creativity? Writing, reading, creating artwork, blogging, gardening, knitting, solving puzzles? Or else?

For example, I prefer doodling to increase my happiness and creativity. I try to doodle every day — it helps me to soothe down and slow down. Doodling has become an automatic activity for me. It does not require much time or resources. Just a pencil, a notebook, and 15 minutes are all you need. So, I have incorporated doodling a feature of my daily life. Before I knew it, I realized that a book has emerged from my doodles. Now, this book, Self-Making Studio is sold in 14 countries.

I hope these ideas will help you have more creative and productive days at home.

Sincerely;

Fahri

Fahri Karakas is the author of Self-making Studio.

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