Many of us with chronic conditions struggle to work with consistency. Inspired by an Instagram post of mine, I thought to extend it to a longer explanation catered squarely at us, the chronic warrior spoonie community that does their best to work from home. So here goes…
But, as usual, before I begin, here’s a bit on my circumstances (in brief) and how I learnt to work better from home.
I was 11 when endometriosis and PCOS struck.
As I entered my 20s, endometriosis made sure that I wasn’t able to create a consistent professional life. I acted in TV commercials and that required regular auditions, looking fresh, waiting for hours – but I loved the work, yet I was losing energy very quickly.
Fatigue was proving to be a huge challenge.
(Here’s a clip from one of my TV commercials – it was dubbed in Tamil for Comfort Fabric Softener:)
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But what endometriosis and chronic fatigue slowly taught me was, how to be more efficient with the energy I do have by working from home.
Read Here For:
- My Endometriosis Story | How I Was Diagnosed with Endometriosis
- The Relation Between Endometriosis / EDS and Chronic Fatigue
I became a tarot reader and for many years did tarot readings over emails, had select clients come home for their readings and I even wrote regularly for various publications.
It was in October 2015 when my legs were struck by a massive Ehlers-Danlos syndrome attack and I was on a wheelchair for a year, that I had to stop work and focus on literally getting back on my feet.
It was during this time, when stuck in bed that I got onto Instagram and started my account: Footprints, No Boundaries – the idea was to create new experiences for myself without any restrictions – tough to do when in bed, but I still tried and today I share my health and life experiences there.
I also got involved in a couple of sports websites with a friend – this started to bring some work discipline back into my life which has helped me today to start this website where I try to churn out well thought out, researched and resourceful content.
Here’s what I have learnt over the last 15 years about working from home.
O’ I also have a video version of this post on my YouTube Channel, which I’ll link here, but if you prefer reading, then just scroll past the video 🙂
The following tips have come through quite a bit of trial and error…
Work from Home Tips if You Have a Chronic Illness
I’ve divided these tips into three sections, because as a spoonie, I realise how tough it can be to keep going, so hopefully the following sections will make it somewhat easier…
1. Prepare Well
Plan & Prepare Meals / Snacks Beforehand
The gap between most of our main meals can be anywhere from three to four hours – sometimes longer too (especially between lunch and dinner).
This means I need to snack so that I can help maintain my sugar and blood pressure levels.
I also need to snack healthy and this requires some planning and incorporating these preparations in my routine is essential if I want to have better work focus.
For example, here’s what I do:
– I tend to make a fresh batch of my favourite chocolate chia seed pudding every other day. It takes 10 minutes of my time and I do this while making my breakfast so as I wait around in the kitchen, I can use my time wisely by getting this done too.
– I make a large bowl full of a sago with vegetable patty mixture and store it in the fridge for the week and whenever I have this for my evening snack, I just shape them into small round patties, heat them on the pan and have them with some rice cakes and beetroot.
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– I also keep some vegetables cut in the fridge, like carrots, cucumbers and beetroot to dip into homemade hummus, which I make a batch of that lasts around two weeks, which can easily be mixed up with some left-over quinoa to make into a salad too.
– Other than prepping snacks myself, I also have rice cakes made of organic brown rice and quinoa at home in case I need something quick.
– Then there’s my favourite mint tea and ginger-turmeric tea from Bushwick Tea that I love (if you wish to get this tea, then they give all my readers a 10% discount with the checkout code: ATE10)
– And if it’s the winter season, I keep a bowl of seeds and nuts ready to munch on, otherwise there’s always some fruit at home.
Whether it’s making my chia seed pudding, or making a sago patty mixture and keeping in the fridge, I try to think this through and see what ingredients I need and what I need to prepare.
If there’s a lot to prepare that week, then I tend to spread it across two days – but again this varies. I don’t push my body to levels where I will struggle unnecessarily and further kill my work productively.
Also, very important: I section out my meds for the week in those pill boxes marked by days of the week and timings – keeping it next to me to make sure I don’t miss out on any medicines. Along with that, I keep a bottle of water so that I don’t forget to hydrate throughout the day.
Read Here For:
My Diet for Endometriosis & Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Create a Comfortable Space
Where you sit and how you sit is important.
– Whether I sit in bed and work, or whether it’s on the couch – I make sure it’s a place that is comfortable for me. I add extra cushions to help prop up my arm in line with laptop, I prop up my legs, add extra support for the back as well so I sit up straight and I keep my laptop at a level that works best for me.
I basically do everything possible to make sure I can sustain working without causing too much strain – frankly, there will always be some strain but by changing my setup and listening to what my body needs that day helps me.
Another essential is…
– Pain can really diminish our resolve to work, there is only so much of a threshold we all have, so to help reduce the intensity of pain, while I work, I keep a hot water bag (wrapped in a towel to save my skin) on areas of pain.
It could be my stomach, lower back, legs… anywhere – and if I’m sore in more places than one, then I use two hot water bags and move them around.
This reduces the spasms I’m going through and allows me to work better.
If you prefer cold compressions then you can do the same with cold packs as well.
– Also, if you like certain scents, then maybe light a candle that you like or play some music in the background that helps you work.
Read Here For:
Natural Pain Relief For Endometriosis & Adenomyosis
Create a List
– Every evening, after dinner, I write a to-do list for the following day.
Whether it’s a home chore or the work I need to do, but what’s important for me is to keep my to-do list simple.
If I add too much, I overwhelm myself and when I don’t end up completing most of what I had written, it can be a tad demoralising, which is why I break down each task even further to help make it even more bitesize.
I know with a chronic condition there will be sudden flareups, which is why being realistic is important – I give myself that time and if for any reason I cannot accomplish what I set out to do that day, I don’t beat myself about it.
I have to always remember to work with my body and respect it for what it is.
Create a Routine
– For me, creating a routine helps.
I prefer to wake up at similar times everyday, give my body time to stand which I follow up with a short visit to the balcony to see my plants and flowers.
I don’t take too long before I go for my shower, after which I sit, rest a while before I make my breakfast. Once I’m done eating, I look at my to-do list for the day and work on that.
Now all that is the ideal start, but it doesn’t always happen that way, somedays I cannot work and I allow that. But overall, knowing that I have a plan, a routine, my body gets used to it – it knows what’s coming.
Surprise chores or anything else that’s unexpected throws my body into confusion and can add to my pain, so to help me, I like to have a routine.
Here’s a brief idea of what my routine looks like:
- 8am: wake up and take my time to stand which can take anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes.
- 10.30am to 1pm: I work, then have lunch followed by rest till 4pm.
- 4pm: tea time – then work till 6pm
- 6pm: snack time – I work a little but focus more on meditation, my exercises and my skincare routine. This is all done by 8pm.
- 8pm: dinner time – after which I get started on my night routine, read a book and hopefully sleep.
Whether it’s 1pm, 4pm, 6pm or 8pm – each of these timings tell my body what time is rest time, what timings I will try to work with focus and what time is food time.
I probably sound like a harsh disciplinarian, but personally, if I don’t do this then I cannot help maintain work consistency.
I also cannot truthfully say that all work is productive – when I’m tired of typing, I’ll give my fingers and mind a rest, play some music and close my eyes for some time. But these timings are my guide.
The point here is, a routine should help bring work consistency and even if we put work aside, it should contribute to stabilising the body and mind too.
Freshen Up
– I did mention having a shower in the routine section above, but I wish to emphasise how nice it is to freshen up. If it’s a day when you know you have limited spoons (spoons = energy) and you want to save them for something else, then just changing your clothes and washing your face is so helpful.
Somedays, I have a very quick shower in the morning, but prefer to have a longer shower at night where I take my time – this also helps to relax my muscles before sleeping.
But freshening up is also time with your body – it’s also showing love and care towards your body that is working so hard to fight the things you’re going through, so for me this time of showing respect is important, whether it happens in the morning, afternoon or night.
2. Pace Yourself
Understand that You Need to Rest
– When you’re having a decent day, it can be easy to get into the flow of work and lose track of time, but that’s also when we invite flareups, therefore we need to understand the importance of the following and do two things.
1. Taking regular TIMED breaks: standup or stretch where you are for a bit, take a washroom break, splash some water on your face, walk around, or just close your eyes and take time out to breathe deeply.
I stressed upon ‘timed’ because we don’t want to drift off and lose time because we’re being lazy rather than actually fighting an issue like fatigue. I think we all quietly know when we’re struggling because of health or we’re being lazy, so sticking to timings allows us to be productive.
2. Don’t ignore stiffness, pain or any form of discomfort: For example, for me right now, my fingers are beginning to feel stiff and I won’t be ignoring it (what timing!). I’ll now take a break, massage my hands to get the circulation going and be back.
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All done.
I closed my eyes, did some deep breathing too and took a break for 15 minutes because that’s what I felt I needed, if I needed more, or if I felt I couldn’t go on for the day, then I wouldn’t have but I also have the luxury to work on this at my own pace, sometimes we don’t.
Sometimes we have a deadline from a client and if that’s the case then you definitely should take regular breaks, trust me, it’ll make you more efficient when you’re actually working because the break has rejuvenated you – or maybe you can put technology to good use here… and that takes me to my next part…
Before we go to the next part, the bottom line here is, listen to your body.
3. Work Smart
Tackle What’s Most Important
– Here’s what I do to try and be a smarter worker.
I look to tackle the toughest action on my to-do list first.
If you don’t know which one that is, then this is usually the one we avoid doing.
Many of us like doing all the small easy tasks and run away from what will actually help us most not just with moving our work forward but with the way we mentally feel.
So tackle the tough but most important thing first and like I said earlier, break down that one task into further smaller tasks and tackle it one at a time rather than being overwhelmed by the bigger picture.
For example, this post – I wrote down my thoughts as bullet points and then wrote about each bullet point one at a time – focussed on just that one paragraph.
Believe it or not, I actually dislike writing, I love the creative part of taking photos and designing stuff, but writing I dislike, but it’s the written content that’s most crucial to help me grow this website, which is why, as explained above, I divide my writing work into smaller sections and I let myself write like I want to and somehow, it’s working out well for me.
What’s most magical is when I’m all done and I look at what I have written, I am amazed that I managed to write so much – which is why focusing on the task at hand is necessary – that too, the one that is toughest yet most important.
I hope that made sense.
Use Technology
– Using voice typing apps: I’m quite bad at this because I struggle to say out loud what I am thinking and wish to type, but for many the use voice typing apps really help – it takes the strain off the fingers, wrists, arms.
Even the use of virtual assistants like Google assistant can be helpful when wanting to research.
Don’t Get Distracted by Social Media
– It’s great to use different tools that help us, but we also need to be aware of the things that keep us from using our time well, such as social media and chatting apps like WhatsApp.
I do two things to help me:
1. I set time limit alerts on my phone and I only look at it during my breaks.
2. I have turned off all phone and web notifications. Other than the phone’s call ringer, I get no alerts making noise on my phone.
On my laptop, no social media app is open unless I am doing some work on it, even then I keep reminding myself to remain focussed on the task at hand and how I can come back to it during my break which I take plenty of.
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Look to Maintain Consistency
– My final, but most important point.
Consistency is most important but also the biggest challenge for all us chronic illness warriors. But it’s also what sees us getting results – following all that has been mentioned so far for just a few days and then giving up will not work and a routine is necessary to help us get out of a mental rut.
You can even work to incorporate a routine slowly, rather than throwing yourself into the deep-end right away – do it however it works best for you, because we’re all different.
But, at the end of it, I want all of us to do well because I know how tough it is, which is why if we 1. prepare well, 2. pace ourselves and 3. work smarter we could give ourselves a better chance.
Just to give you some perspective…
While writing this piece I took 19 breaks, gently stretched 7 times, did deep breathing 3 times, had 11 meals, 8 snack breaks, multiple hydration breaks, had 6 flare-ups, gave myself 1 scalp massage, 1 whole body scrub, 1 hair wash, 5 showers, read 18 pages of a book, took my afternoon rest 2 times, went for 1 doctor’s appointment,… etc etc etc… all over the course of 3.5 days.
But all of these things listed were essential to me and if you can see, I paced myself while writing this, which is why it took me 3.5 days to write this, because at no point did I want to trouble my body and add to my health issues. I didn’t compromise on my health.
The thing is, being a regular freelancer or work-from-home person isn’t easy with multiple home related responsibilities and distractions around you, but it becomes even tougher when you’re suffering from a chronic condition.
Which is why we need to create a program for ourselves, a healthy routine for ourselves – we need to figure what works for us because only we know how it feels, so respect that and work with what you have and be honest about what you can manage without hurting your health.
Your personal program, your personal consciously thought out routine is your guide, be flexible with it when you need to, but still, try not to loiter too far from it that it becomes tougher to comeback to something that was helping you.
I hope what I have tried to explain in such detail has made sense, and if you have made it to the end of the post then thank you!
If you have your own tips and suggestions, then I’m always eager to know, so please do share in the comments section below.
Thank you & have a good day!! 😀
If you’re a social media person, then you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube.
I have a podcast too. You can check them out here along with their transcripts or if you don’t wanna read them then they’re available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts too.
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am a patient and have created this platform to share my experiences. This is all purely informative and in no way am I providing medical advice. Please consult a medical professional.
You are such a strong, resilient woman, Shruti. Thank you for sharing what you do to live your best life. I am learning a lot from you:)
Thank you Katie – I love how we all share our challenges, our experiences and what we’ve learnt from it. Thank you for being so supportive. 🙂
Thanks Shruti – this was a very insightful read. I’ve found that establishing skillful habits and minimizing the unskillful ones is very hard work at the start, but it gets easier with time! I loved reading about the self-care you provided for yourself while writing this post. I always feel like I should be accomplishing more and often push myself too hard as a result. I’m inspired to take more breaks after reading this 🙂
O’ yes Jason, breaks are so essential. I think it’s nice when we give ourselves targets too, that helps to keep us going and in a direction we’d like to go in, but not taking breaks and adding to our ‘discomfort’ we also reduce the joy we have of putting our work together. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this post.