Under the current circumstances, working from home is a reality for more people than ever. Some find ways to thrive in this scenario, while others have a difficult time adapting to this arrangement.
Working remotely has its pros and cons. The following tips will help you get the most out of it while maintaining your emotional balance and establishing clear division between work and personal life.
Stick to a Routine
Working from home blurs the line between your personal and professional lives. Your efforts should be focused on enforcing this separation, and one of the best ways to do this is by sticking to a routine. Establish specific hours for work and respect them. Clear divisions of time will help you create a sense of normalcy.
Furthermore, maintaining a routine helps you with other aspects that may represent a problem for those working from home for the first time. Leaving your old routine can be stressful, and finding a new one almost immediately may reduce that stress.
Schedule Breaks
As a part of your routine, schedule breaks and enforce them. They’re essential for your mental and emotional wellbeing. A good guideline is the Pomodoro Technique. This time management strategy advises to divide work in 25-minutes segments. Each time you finish a segment, take a 5-minute break, and take a longer break (15-30 minutes) every time you complete four segments. You can tweak these intervals to adapt them to the specific needs of your job.
Try to Have a Social Life
Social life is a basic need of every human being. Nevertheless, nurturing this side of our nature is difficult when you work from home. Try to find substitutes for the watercooler chat you have with your colleagues at work. Strive to maintain and strengthen those relationships; it would be beneficial for all parties involved.
When Communicating, Err on the Side of Caution
Working remotely is the end result of remarkable advances in technology. However, when you work from home some important aspects are lost, compared to face-to-face communication. Body language is not as effective through video chat, and many nuances can be lost in writing. Make sure to make up for this loss of information by “overcommunicating”, stressing the key points of your messages to make sure they’re being properly understood.
Dress Professionally
Neglecting yourself is one of the main risks when you work from home, especially under stressful circumstances. When you plan your routine (see point number 1), set apart time to dress before starting to work. Try to dress as you would if you were going to your usual workplace. Dressing professionally and then changing clothes when you finish your work is another way or establishing a clear division between your professional and personal time.