I have recently, during a coaching workshop by #WBECS, heard some advice for working from home during these times of restricted mobility and I suddenly remembered our life and challenges while crossing the Atlantic in a sailing boat. I believe most of the rules we used then, apply to today’s situation of confinement, but I leave it up to you to decide and adapt.
Being confined in a small living surface is the norm for the long-distance sailors. For the most seasoned it becomes second nature, for first-time ocean sailors like us it was an adventure into the unknown. We had weeks or months to prepare and eventually we settled on the following rules:
Set daily routines and stick to them. We had a pretty regular and disciplined schedule throughout the day. Check the deck, running rigging, engine in the morning, get the weather forecast at 11 am, mark the boat position on a paper chart at noon, etc. The watch schedule makes it easier on a boat.
Plan your meals and household activities. We planned the meals, food provisioning and cooking tasks. It is possible to have provisions for weeks even very with limited storage.
Design clear procedures. Setup and test procedures regarding communication, first aid, emergency situations and also about things outside the boat: financial, failure of communication, etc. We also had a good friend to keep an eye on us from the (distant) shore ready to intervene if needed (e.g. call the coast guard).
Have a backup person for each key activity. Each member of the crew could act as backup for some of the day to day activities according to skills: maintenance, navigation, cooking, etc
Keep some of the habits you had before leaving port. We kept some of the habits at home. E.g. shave if you used to do this on land or if you plan to grow a beard, that’s fine as long as it’s conscious and purposed decision, etc. We also celebrated weekends: our son got some small surprise toy; we got a glass of wine.
Be aware that living in small space will increase tensions. Dynamics between crew members, even if they are family, change drastically, especially in the first days, therefore arm yourself with patience, a let go attitude and resilience. We had a rule that each of us should use some quiet times for reading, blogging, etc or just to be by himself.
Have some activities for the kids. We sailed with a four-year child and prepared in advance various kits for DIY puppets, board games, etc. Intellectual exercising is as important as the physical.
Be prepared for the trip to be longer than expected!