Since a few weeks Blogzine is working closely with Ellen Van den Branden on a fantastic new project, Time2Reconnect. As of today Ellen shares her top hints every week for better mental health, how to reconnect with yourself and of course to get a better work-life balance.

1. No more baggy sweaters and pyjama pants

Clothing has a big impact on your mood. Studies have shown that clothing has a great psychological power. Your outfit can not only make you feel great, but also very unmotivated, uninspired or just plain bad. So get rid of that lazy sweater and pyjama pants. Give yourself an outfit in which you feel confident.

2. Close the door behind you, even if only for a moment

If you would go to the office, you take the car/train/bicycle/your feet to get there. Working from home means you skip this important step, so that line between private and professional life becomes very vague. It is important for your mindset to keep that routine and literally get out of the house in the morning. Take a step outside and get some fresh air for at least 20 minutes, before you get settled in behind your workstation. You will start your “day@work” full of positive energy.

3. Start with that elephant

The multitask era is over, especially in times of teleworking. Start your day hunting elephants and don’t get distracted by rabbits jumping around. Most of us start the working day right in the rabbit hutch: the mailbox. Wrong! Start your day with that elephant and during the first two hours, when you’re still completely fresh in your head, take on that tricky and difficult task. After that there is time to freerun and indeed attack that mailbox.

4. Plan that coffee chit chat

Make a schedule every day: elephant of the day, zoom meetings, lunch, rabbits jumping around, coffee break, … Stick to it too, so you don’t spend useless hours at your computer. Make sure you take that well-deserved coffee break on time. While refilling that cup, call a colleague to see how they’re doing. In this way, you’ll be able to keep that cosy coffee chit chat going, if only ‘virtually’.

5. Do not touch the dope

It has long been known that technological developments addict our brains. Dangerous… Especially now that we are all even more trapped behind our screens than ‘normal’. Our smartphones, too, have become a kind of digital drug. Research has shown that smartphone use and social media produce overkill dopamine in our brains. Push notifications, WhatsApp messages, news flashes about the yet again increase of COVID in our country. Help, it’s getting too much! You don’t have to put your cell phone in the trash right now, but putting it on airplane mode once in a while during the day will help you a lot.

Time2Reconnect is a wellbeing journey organized by Ellen Van den Branden in the heart of the Belgian Ardennes. Selfcare is the new healthcare. Give yourself this gift.