How to organize your intense
lifestyle during war
& stay productive?
Today we are sharing advice from our talented HR, who is also an experienced psychotherapist Tori. In our national self-consciousness, Ukrainians have always been hardworking people. But our daily routine and lifestyle during war has changed dramatically with the full-scale invasion. And now more and more people are looking for the opportunity to bring themselves to work. They try to fight the occupiers while supporting their families, the economy, working, volunteering, and building their lives in new realities.
Our body can not withstand this state of constant productivity for a long time. Everyone has their limits when the rest can no longer be simply put aside. For some, these limits are low; for others high, but they definitely exist for everyone.
So, how to organize your intense lifestyle during the war and stay productive?
First of all, you need to know that you have the right to rest even during a war.
And you have to exercise this right because otherwise productive work for a long time is impossible. The guilt your might feel while resting is an irrational reaction of the psychics. It is provoked by our humanity and sympathy for people who do not have the opportunity to rest now. Also, it arises because of our desire to change the situation as soon as possible. We want to win the war by contributing our own resources - both physical and mental. But objectively, the military situation will not change from the fact that you are limiting yourself intentionally from enough food or sleep if being relatively in safe conditions.
Secondly, creating a schedule for your life will help a lot.
Living in the realities of war can manifest in various mental phenomena that a person may never have encountered before. For example, your time perception might change. Under stress and distress, internal perception of time can slow down or speed up. It may seem that the weeks have turned into one single day, but at the same time, hours may seem to be passing at an incredible rate.
In order to navigate time in such a situation, create a pre-arranged schedule. It is helpful to use hourly planning for all affairs. This way, you will be less likely to fail in time and find yourself in the evening with half the work undone. You will be able to reduce the number of planning tasks for yourself, as you’ll only need to check what is next on the schedule. And do not forget to add rest time to the schedule during the working day, as well as enough night sleep and time for emotions. Now you need to let yourself cry, mourn or grieve - all this is also possible and should be planned, as you should not try to get rid of these experiences for your phycological wellness. You need to be able to give your emotions a way out.
The third pillar is communication.
Make sure you socialize enough, including both your significant people and small talk with strangers. Any contact with a person will be a micro-holiday for the mind from work. It will consider this as a nice change of activity. If you feel able to communicate - communicate, discuss the situation, and do not be alone.
And most importantly - ask for help. In a military crisis, even professional communication can no longer exist in its ‘strictly business’ form because people try to help each other. A colleague may help with housing, or the work team will raise funds to help. But for it to happen, you need to tell about your situation and ask for help.
Do not forget to take care of yourself. Because by taking care of your lifestyle during war - you take care of your loved ones and your country.
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