15 Effective Rituals to Eliminate the Downsides of Working From Home

Working from home is great for work and life balance. But it might turn you into a potato bag unless you take some measures.

Last year, I landed a new leadership job that enables me to work again from home after a few years working in manufacturing plants. Even though, working from home (WFH) is great to establish a better work and life balance, it might turn me into a potato bag unless I have taken the measures below.

I will share these measures with you and would be happy to hear back from you about your tactics too so that I can learn from your valuable experiences.

Let`s first take a look at the cons of WFH. I will not spend time describing the obvious positive effects on work & life balance.

I will review it considering 4 of the 5 main aspects of our lives —?physical, mental, social, and emotional.

PHYSICAL

• When the kids see me at home working remotely, the little one considers me available at all times for play.
• I save driving time driving to and from work for me now but I might find myself working longer hours unless I have control over my time and my life.
• Working at my desk in a working room at home might end up with less physical activity.
• I might skip meals or rush them, resulting in unhealthy eating habits.

MENTAL

• Working alone at home might keep me focused on business only, resulting in losing focus on non-business learning opportunities.
• WFH could stress me and risk my work and life balance and thus spending no time in activities to realize my life purpose.

SOCIAL

• Working in a single room without face-to-face interaction might result in a lack of socialization opportunities with colleagues at work.
• Working remotely might cut me off from calling my friend as I used to do that while driving to and from home.
• Working remotely could prevent socializing at work.

EMOTIONAL

• The lack of socialization opportunities with colleagues at work might impact my morale negatively.
• I could get bored, working in a single room during the day.
• I could get bored at home if I do not get out every day.
• I might end up with less visibility to the leadership within the new company
• I might end up with emotional eating if I am stressed WFH and gain weight.

This list above could be longer but I guess we all got the idea. So, here is the list of measures I have implemented from the day. I call them my?Work From Home Rituals.

1. First things first. I need to be?successful?in my new job so I fully dedicate my time from 8 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 6 pm every day at work and do not let anything distract me. That means I have a?dedicated working room?for myself and told my family that working at home does not mean I am available whenever they need me. They have to think of me as if I am working outside in an office outside the home.
2. I organized my working room with an?ergonomic table?that is height adjustable which gives me the opportunity to work while standing.?This way, I do not have to sit in front of my desk all day long.
3. I placed a?bar fix bar?at the entrance of my door and do it every time I enter my working room.
4. I give a?break every hour to stand up. Working remotely requires many online meetings and I either stand up from my chair and work standing or stand up and exercise for 5 minutes with the?dumbbells. I use the dumbbells when I join online calls without losing my focus.
5. I drink 2–3 liters of water every day to keep my body hydrated. I do not use a big mug but a small one so that I have a reason to stand up and refill it as needed during the day. That makes me?walk?downstairs, refill it, and walk back upstairs and I end up exercising.
6. To avoid getting bored working in the same room, I set up a secondary working area in the basement. Scientific research has shown that?changing places?to work triggers creativity in the mind and boosts performance. I change places a few times during the day.
7. I had an unused?rowing machine?in the basement. I placed it next to my secondary working place in the basement and during the online meetings when I am not active a lot, I place my laptop in front of me and join the call as I row for 15–20 minutes. That keeps my body working as well as my body.
8. I make sure that?all the windows are open?from morning to late noon to maximize the fresh air at home so that my mind can work better and better.
9. I open up joyful Mediterranean?music?at a low volume during the day unless I have meetings. Music is proven to boost morale and productivity by modern research on neuroscience.
10. I use lunchtime (12–1 pm) for myself unless I have a real business priority. I mean it. A real business urgency means a real one — not an arbitrary rush my mind or ego created for me. I go out to?take a walk?and take fresh air, to feel the gratitude in my every cell for the things life has given me, and to?call a few friends?in the US and my home country which is 7 hours ahead by time zone. I eat a light lunch when I am back home.
11. I am implementing?intermittent fasting?which means eating within a time frame of 8 hours and fasting for the next 16 hours. That helps my body burn the fat faster and go through?a cellular process of regenerative destruction, meaning that the body cleanses itself at the cellular level. That is, I eat breakfast at 6–7 am and then lunch at 12–1 pm, then I do not eat anything for 16 hours but only drink a lot of water and 2 glasses of orange juice.
12. I end the day at 6 pm unless I have a real business priority. That acts like a?mental border?for me to start my outside work hours and I take the time to either?run or ride my bike?for 45 minutes or practice?Asthanga Yoga?(I try to stick to 3 practices a week). If I have to catch up with unfinished business, I can do that after the kids go to bed — that is I do not lose my business flexibility as needed by ending the day at 6 pm.
13. I am alone in the summer while my family is back in my home country visiting our parents, so I?shop in small quantities?which makes me go to the grocery more frequently so that I walk more and get to see people. I sometimes do not even go by car but instead, ride my bike to the store to keep my body moving.
14. My?family?is at the center of my life. I spend quality time with them after work.
15. I know my?life mission and purpose?and try to live by it every day. My mission is to learn from life in every breath and help others find their meaning and purpose for a happier and better world. In this respect, I wake up early and use the morning before I start working to catch up with?news?and work on my?new book?or write a?new blog. At night, I?read every day?regardless before I go to sleep.

With these 15 rituals…

• I exercise my body and keep my mind strong because exercise helps the body secrete happy hormones — D.O.S.E dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphin.?(PHYSICAL ASPECT)
• I change places frequently during the day to keep my mind away from getting bored.?(MENTAL ASPECT)
• I engage myself with the community we are in and with my family and friends despite my busy work schedule.?(SOCIAL ASPECT)
• Focus 100% on my job at home and enjoy working.?(PHYSICAL ASPECT)
• Thus, I feel happy, engaged, and fulfilled to achieve my business goals and to realize my life purpose every day.?(EMOTIONAL ASPECT)
• All these above help the 5th aspect of my life —?the spiritual aspect.?Happiness, engagement, and fulfillment?help with?gratitude, tolerance, patience, acceptance, and forgiveness. Then, I can better become a?silent witness and lifelong student of life, self-observe, and improve myself.

Working from home is a blessing if you can reap its benefits. I have seen and read of many others who have been a victim of WFH due to many factors they could not control. The elements impacting our lives will change and this is a?VUCA world — volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Our job is to adapt to the VUCA environment and?develop the skills, tools, methods, and techniques?to overcome them so that we can?rise above the circumstances and conditions we are surrounded with.

The list above is not a recommendation but one that could help you think differently to best optimize your use of time if you also work from home.

Please share your best practices and great ideas with a comment so that we can all learn from you.

With love,

Kenan

Take a look at my?published books?and?watch my esoteric videos?to support my life purpose of "helping people reach their essence and full potential for a better world".

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