We have all had them. Days and weeks where we feel absolutely drained, unmotivated, anxious, and/or depressed, but where we have to get up and go to work.

But what is new for a lot of people now due to coronavirus is that they have to try working from home, isolated, and things seem pretty bleak.

After years of battling with mental illness and working remotely, I have learned a few tips for dealing with depression/anxiety and getting back on track.

If you are feeling overwhelmed hopefully these 10 tips will help you.

1. Make a list

It is easy to lose the run of things in isolation and just let time drift by, but then things get worse, and nothing gets done.

At night try to sit back and write down a few things you would like the accomplish the following day. They can be anything but try to achieve as many as you can, even if it is just one as simple as going to the shops.

Try not to beat yourself up if you don't accomplish what you wanted to do, but follow up on it the next day. It is like working out, you start off slow, but then you build up to be able to do more and more.

Check out A 5 Star To Do List by Productivity Coach Niamh Brady for better use of lists.

2. Wake up early

Usually, when people are depressed or are suffering from anxiety they hate waking up, but the earlier you wake up, the more time you have, and things are calmer and not rushed.

Start by gradually getting up an hour or two earlier than usual until you are getting up between 5-6 a.m.

3. Clean your room

A messy room or workspace reflects a messy mind. If you start by making your bed in the morning, you are starting off the day on a good track of completing tasks.

The world is messy, and there is not much you can do about that, but you can have control over your own personal space and workspace, and you will feel better for it.

If you have the space try to keep your workplace just for work.

4. Try this activity log

I was recently given an activity log similar to this one by a kind front-line worker. Simply fill in what you have done during the day and rate your mood after each thing. You can then focus more on the good and less on the bad.

Click here to download

5. Watch your information diet

According to this Forbes article, the average daily time spent consuming digital content is now six hours and 59 minutes.

Increases in screen time have shown to harm mental health, and just like a diet of junk can lead to health trouble, consuming too many bad calories of information can also compromise your mental health.

Try limit how much negative media and propaganda you consume, and increase positive media such as tutorials related to your work and self-help material.

6. Take cold showers

Cold shower hydrotherapy has numerous health benefits such as treating anxiety and depression and increasing concentration and focus.

Cold showers place a small amount of stress on your body each time you take one. Your body builds tolerance and resistance over time, and you are then able to deal with stressful situations with more ease. Cold showers also help your body to release endorphins and reduce the ‘stress hormone’, cortisol.

Read more about the benefits of cold showers here.

7. Get dressed for work

Make an effort to get dressed each day as not doing so could harm your productivity and mental health.

Getting dressed helps you feel more productive because it signals to you that you’re in work mode.

8. Outsource

I have never outsourced, but if you're struggling to get the work done that you need to and you have some money to spend, there are multiple sites where you can pay people to help for reasonable prices.

Check out www.fiverr.com and www.upwork.com.

9. Learn from others

There's always people who have gone through the same situation you're going through, or more skilled in your skillset. It's pretty easy to find videos on these on YouTube.

If you're looking to build an online project that generates revenue you can learn from people doing the same on IndieHackers.com.

If you're looking to upskill there's tons of detailed video lectures, on a wide range of skills over at LinkedIn Learning. It's a paid platform, but worth it in my opinion.

I also built a website linking to some material I find pretty interesting and helpful, you can check it out at TimeIn.ie.

10. Be persistent

Whether you are stressing about bills being overdue, deadlines approaching, family/friends betraying you, stuck somewhere you hate, grief, there is always a way out and things you can do to overcome it. Keep going, you got this. Stay safe, stay well.

© Copyright Mick Fitzpatrick 2020. All rights reserved.