Hybrid work is the future, but thriving in it requires a mindset shift. Psychologist Elke Geraerts shares essential principles in her book The Mental Reset to help you navigate this flexibly with control and ease.
Hybrid setups let you switch seamlessly between home and office, giving employees unprecedented autonomy. Yet for many, blurred home-work boundaries and digital interactions bring challenges. Geraerts, a Belgian psychologist, explains how the pandemic can spark lasting positive change in our personal and professional lives. "I hope that after this crisis we will have enough reflection as an individual, as a family and as an organization to proactively make the right choices and take ownership of our own lives," she writes. It's not about bouncing back, but building back better.
Hybrid Working Essentials
Whether you're a hybrid pro or struggling with productivity and well-being, adopt these three brain-friendly principles backed by research and Geraerts' expertise.
Schedule Daily Focus Time
Science shows brains aren't wired for multitasking—multitaskers are 40% less productive. Distractions take 25 minutes to recover from. Identify 'big' and 'small' tasks, then block distraction-free focus sessions for high-priority work to dive deep and perform at your best.
Embrace Unreachability
Office life offered micro-breaks—like commuting or coffee chats—for mental resets. At home, hours of screen time keep brains in constant work mode. Intentional breaks are vital for 'resets' to sustain relaxed productivity. Schedule them deliberately so your brain can go offline.
Build Rituals
Rituals provide structure amid change, signaling shifts between work and life. Geraerts uses specific music for focus tasks. Swap commutes for walks, switch rooms, or change playlists between activities to ease transitions effortlessly.
By: Emma Verweij
Want More Insights?
Explore The Mental Reset: How Hybrid Working and Living Boost Your Resilience by Elke Geraerts.
