This is what our team's daily WFH routine looks like right now

We’re day (15?) into social distancing, but already we’ve got a few crucial takeaways.

Let’s face it, working from bed in your pyjamas all day long is not sustainable.

For productivity, it’s beneficial to get up and move to a designated workstation — whether that’s currently your kitchen table or the sofa.

Drafting a rough schedule, including time slots for a lunch break and exercise, helps your workday feel more structured. It also means you won’t be thinking, “When is self-isolation going to an end?” throughout the entire day.

As we continue to make little adjustments to our routine at home, we thought it was high time to show you what our team’s WFH schedule looks like right now. So, we’ve teamed up with Paytm Canada to help inspire the design of your remote workday.

Jodie Lavery, Graphic Design

Jodie is Daily Hive’s graphic designer, who normally works out of our Vancouver HQ with her adorable dog Maisie (pictured). Here’s a look at her new WFH routine:

• 8 am: Wake up, stretch, and drink a big glass of water (if I don’t right away, I’ll probably forget). Walk the dog.
• 8:45 am: Put the kettle on and spend a few minutes getting “ready” for the day. I try to do something little, like slapping on some mascara or putting on an outfit other than sweatpants.
• 10 am: Daily meeting with the team via video chat (video is KEY to feeling like you’re not alone all day).
• 12:30 pm: Break time. This is usually my first meal of the day, as I’m not hungry in the mornings. Also, probably time for a second cup of coffee. I’ll take the dog out for a quick walk too.
• 1:30 pm: Back to work.
• 3 pm: Quick stretch and a snack. It’s crucial to get your butt off your seat. If you need to, set an alarm to remind yourself to do this!
• 4:45 pm: Winding down work for the day. Send final notes and messages to the team, and perhaps some funny gifs.
• 5 pm: Work out! I feel like most people prefer to do this in the morning, but for some reason, I’m loving doing my workouts right after work. There are so many awesome workouts online and on Instagram these days — if you can, don’t forget to donate to the amazing trainers out there who are posting exercises for us!
• 7:30 pm: This time of day changes all the time. Things I’ve been doing to stay busy are: working on freelance design projects, painting, doing puzzles, downloading new music, calling my friends and family, practicing the guitar, and working on my stick-and-poke skills. I try to save movies, social media, and video games for the weekend because that way, they feel all the more relaxing and special.

Tyler Jadah, Editorial

Tyler is Daily Hive’s staff writer for Montreal (yes, he lives there too!). He says his quarantine days have fallen into a routine that takes a very similar shape to this:

• 8:05 am: Max out on pushups.
• 8:15 am: Get dressed, brush my teeth, and check breaking news.
• 8:20 am: Sign into Slack and drink lukewarm water with lemon.
• 8:30 – 10:30 am: Pitch, write, edit, and share national and city-local articles.
• 10:35 am: Take the pooch out for a walk, grab a coffee/tea/fresh bagels.
• 12:30 pm: Daily meeting with the editorial staff.
• 1:30 pm: Walk number two with poochie.
• 2 – 4:30 pm: Cover “less breaking” news stories.
• 5 pm: Sign out of work (if no news is breaking).
• 5:20 pm: Head into the basement for skip rope and P90X3 online workouts.
• 6 pm: Shower up and contemplate what to make for supper.
• 6:15 pm: Magically cook up something spectacular for supper.
• 7:30 pm: Decide what to watch on Netflix with my wife and dog by my side.
• 8:30 pm: Decide “nothing is on,” and each watch our respective shows.
• 9:30 pm: Take poochie out for a nighttime stroll.
• 10 pm: Non-work/social media hobbies (Duolingo, NYT crossword, or blog writing). Later I read a book, and keep my phone as far away from my bed as humanly possible.
• 12 am: Fall asleep.

Alex Sherwood, Marketing

Alex is Daily Hive’s social media manager, who works out of our Vancouver HQ (oftentimes with her Shiba Inu Oscar). She feels it’s incredibly important to maintain a routine to stay productive and energized while under quarantine.

• 7 am: Wake up. I start my day by walking my dog around the park.
• 7:30 am: Get a workout in. I have been enjoying the YYOGA at Home app.
• 8:30 am: Shower and get dressed. Then I’ll make a cup of coffee and try to eat a decent breakfast. I’ll set up my diffuser and sometimes light a candle.
• 9 am: Log into Slack. Go through emails and Google Calendar to see what’s on my plate for the day. Send a message to my team to check in with them.
• 9:30 am: Go through DH’s recent posts and get the appropriate posts on Facebook and LinkedIn. Start planning Montreal’s daily digest for Instagram stories. Ensure all posts are scheduled for the day, respond to comments and DMs on our Instagram accounts, fill in weekly reports, and work with our Dished Editor.
• 12:00 pm: Remember to take a break and get some lunch, perhaps join our daily team lunch on Zoom.
• 12:30 pm: Post Montreal’s daily Instagram stories. Check the DH site again to post any new content to social, work with our designer on graphic asks, and touch base with other team members for larger-scale projects.
• 2 pm: Start planning Vancouver’s daily Instagram stories; touch base with our Vancouver City Editor. Curate a backlog of content for our Instagram accounts; upload photos to Sked, write captions and schedule them as appropriate for the next few days. Answer any emails.
• 2 or 3 pm: Have any virtual meetings scheduled for the day.
• 4 pm: Post Vancouver’s and Dished Vancouver’s daily Instagram stories, and check the DH site again for new social content.
• 6 pm: Take the dog for another walk. When I come back, I start making dinner and maybe have a drink to unwind. On Thursdays, I have an online UI Design course with BrainStation from 6:30 to 9:30 pm.
• 7 pm: Time to try and fully unwind and relax from the day. For me, this is a great opportunity to watch some Netflix, chat with my husband about our days, water all my plants, read a book, do some watercolour painting, or do some deep cleaning of my house.
• 8 pm: Scrolling through Facebook and Instagram for personal use inevitably blurs into checking all our DH Facebook and Instagram feeds to make sure everything is running smoothly.
• 10 pm: Head to bed! My anxiety often keeps me up for hours, but I try to fall asleep by 10 or 11 because I know it’s going to make it easier to get up the next day and stick to my routine.

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If you’re interested in paying it forward and helping local businesses and brands keep the lights on while you’re at home, now’s the time to join Paytm.

The platform rewards you for paying your bills. Every time you make a transaction with the app, you collect Paytm Points which can be redeemed for gift cards for brands like Tim Hortons, Instacart, UberEats and more.

Simply download the Paytm app available on the App Store or Google Play to get started.