We’re approaching a year (though it feels like 10) since COVID-19 has halted our normal daily activities. Who knew we’d miss our morning commutes, water cooler convos, and favorite work pants as much as we do? With every day feeling like casual Friday, it can be easy to fall into a rather dreary daily pattern. That’s why in this blog, Purecane™ is outlining a work-from-home refresh to benefit your brain, heart, body, and soul, so you can get back to kicking butt and taking names from Monday through Friday.

1. Clean Your Workspace

Here’s to you, Swiffer and Clorox! If you have a dedicated office or nook where you work from home, it’s likely time to (literally) dust off your monitor, wires, and desk drawers. A physically clean space is proven to motivate you, keep you stimulated throughout your work day, and reduce daily sneezes. The new year is the perfect time to also clean out your work computer! Organize those folders, ditch papers and files you won’t need in 2021, and load everything onto a server you’ll likely never touch again to create some space for this year’s new projects.

2. Start Your Day with a Cup o’ Joe

Whether you rely on caffeine to wake up each morning or are a decaf superhero, starting your day with a morning ritual like drinking coffee or tea can be a meditative experience. Rather than quickly brew your first cup as you catch up on emails, hop out of bed a few minutes earlier so you can sip slowly and start your day on a calm (and tasty) note, sans emails. If you’re looking to reduce your sugar intake or substitute sugar with something equally as sweet, our all natural and zero-calorie Purecane™ Packets are the perfect addition to your morning routine.

If caffeine isn’t your thing, maybe smoothies are! Check out the delicious Healthy Green Smoothie recipe by @purelykaylie on our recipe page. We recommend sprinkling in the sweetener from our Purecane™ Spoonable Canister when making these delicious treats.

3. Switch It Up

Tired of looking at the same wall all day long, wondering when you’ll get around to paint over that one random stain? Enter feng-shui, the best way to create a creative, motivational, and inspiring home office. The first step is to fill your office space with inspiring decor. These could be wall decor with quotes or images that inspire you, surrounding your desk with photos of loved ones and furry friends, or colorful pen holders and folders that scream “I can do this!”.

Second, bring in air and light where possible. Position your desk so that you have access to natural light and open up those curtains and blinds (and dust off those windowsills). If you’re in a location where opening the windows would literally cause you to freeze, consider bringing in a few new plants and positioning them in areas of light. Plants can bring in fresh oxygen into your workspace, which will then in turn boost your energy.

4. Meal Prep with Muffins

Ease your Sunday scaries (and improve your Monday mornings) with some easy and therapeutic baking! We recommend trying our pal @ktleo’s recipe for Sugar-Free Pumpkin Muffins that you can enjoy all week long either as breakfast or a snack. The best part is, with Purecane™ Baking Sweetener, they’ll taste as yummy as they would if there was sugar in them. Doing little things each day to reduce your sugar intake can stabilize your mood and energy levels...especially when that 3pm slump hits!

5. Find *That* Playlist or Podcast

Even if you don’t technically work in a creative field, when you have the time and ability to get completely lost in your work without any distractions, you’ve achieved a creative flow. This is a state with little self awareness (or judgement); it’s when your instincts and subconscious take over, often leading to the best creative work you can offer. For some, achieving this means sitting in complete silence, while others find inspiration from podcasts or playlists that have the ability to transport them to that peaceful mindset to get things done. We won’t be settling the Apple Music vs. Spotify debate today, but whatever platform you listen to music on, we invite you to do some light research into content that can help promote creativity and calmness.

Do you have any additional recommendations for improving people’s work-from-home experiences? We’d love to hear from you! Please find us on Facebook and Instagram ar @Purecane.