Isolation as an Apprentice
Starting Off staff have been working from home for two weeks now. As their Apprentice Recruitment Administrator, this is starting to feel like the new normal! I have learnt that the best thing to do is to make sure that I have a routine to follow each day to keep my mind off the situation that we are currently in.
My day starts at 7:30 am when I get up and jump straight in the shower. I make sure that I then make myself some breakfast, because I am usually hungry by 8 am, haha. Just before I'm due to start work I get myself dressed- realistically I'm only putting on some joggers and a jumper, but I make sure that I get dressed to make it feel more ‘normal’ and I'm ready to work. Just before I start work I quickly do my skincare routine, as at the moment my skin seems to hate me.
By 9 am I'm ready to start my workday. The morning is started by a team meeting, this is where we discuss with each other our plans for the day and how we can help each other out. We do this using software called Teams. I usually then work until about 11:am when I just have a walk around the house and pop outside for some fresh air. I have made sure that I am giving myself regular breaks to step away from my laptop. Usually, when I am in the office we all get up to make drinks and speak to our colleagues. After that, I then continue to work.
About 12:30 I take my lunch break, this is usually when I go for a walk to clear my head and get out of the house for a bit. If I don’t feel like going out at lunch I make sure that I do some exercise instead.
My day then carries on as normal. I go back to work until 5:30pm. In the afternoon I also make sure at around half three I go for a walk around the house and usually ask my mum what’s for dinner after work! I'm keeping my normal work routines of four days of work. I also ensure that I do the work that I would usually do in the training room as well as my other tasks to build my knowledge. At the moment I am keeping my Fridays free to do this.
The biggest challenge for me is to stay positive and to carry on as normal. To make sure I'm doing this I am keeping a journal of how I am feeling, creating a scrapbook of my favourite memories and making sure that I am going on walks every day. This is an unusual time for everyone just now - so keeping a routine and trying to remain positive is how I am getting through this. We will return to ‘normal’ soon, but until then I have adapted my routine and behaviour to working from home.