5 Steps to Avoiding Burnout When Working Remotely

We all want to have highly productive days, whether we work in the office or at home, however the challenges for achieving this goal are greater than ever.? Years ago, there was a clear line between work and home, and then one day, we were given smartphones, which gave us the ability to check work messages while at home.? These devices blurred that line.? Two years ago, most people started working 100% from home, erasing the line between work and home completely.

At the Engineering Management Institute, we have been a remote company since inception with a distributed team across various time zones, so we have had to learn how to work effectively and not burn each other out.? The following are 5 steps that I have found to be extremely helpful in creating separation between work and other areas of your life, and how to remain highly productive without burning out yourself or your team.

I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions based on your experience in the comments below this article.

Step 1 - Build a Strict Routine and Stick to It

Having a routine in all aspects of your life can be very beneficial. Some people feel that routines make life too robotic, but for me, I feel that having a routine ensures that I focus on what’s important and avoid being distracted by less important things.

Open up your calendar and block off periods of time for all of the types of tasks you need to accomplish, and start with immovable appointments.? For example, if you have a staff meeting every Monday morning, put it on your calendar first. If you like to send your client project updates, do so at the same date and time every week. Maybe you run project financial reports weekly to ensure your projects are on track.? In building this routine, ensure that all of your important tasks have a designated time to be executed.

Step 2 - Engage in Physical Activity

When we all worked in offices, there were reasons to get up and move around.? We might go get a drink, or go to the bathroom, or visit with a colleague about a project, or even walk to a printer down the hall to retrieve plans. At home, we can sit down at a desk for hours without movement.? In fact, I was with a friend over the weekend, and he told me he sat at his desk from 7 am to 1 pm this past Friday without getting up.? This is not good.

Your body is not built for long periods of sitting. You need to move around to stretch your muscles and ensure proper blood flow.? Set a time for yourself to get up, or even better try to incorporate exercise sessions throughout the day, and build them into your routine.? These could be 15 to 20 minute walks, outside preferably, every few hours. This allows you to move your body, get fresh air, and get the vitamin D we need from the sun.? If you feel stressed about doing this, use the time to either make some phone calls, or dictate emails or letters that you will have to write later on.? I have found that the days that I move more, the quality of my work is much higher than when I don’t, even though my work time is slightly reduced.? In fact, I didn’t write this article in one sitting!

Step 3 - Prioritize and Organize Your Tasks

No two tasks are created equal.? For some reason, most professionals put all of their tasks into one list and attack them, without prioritizing them. By doing this, you could work on 5 low impact tasks before even getting to one that truly makes a difference.? While this might feel good because you got a lot ‘done.’ Did you really?

At EMI, we use the task management tool asana, which allows us to organize our tasks, and share them with other team members.? It also has a calendar view so we can see everyone’s workload by day of the week.

For me, a big gamechanger in my routine was utilizing the 80/20 Chart (see below) from Richard Koch’s book Living the 80/20 Way.? This chart allows you to organize your tasks into quadrants based on the relationship between effort and impact.? Ideally, you want to focus on the high impact tasks first.? I usually organize my tasks into this chart on Mondays and then prioritize the higher impact tasks for earlier in the week.

Step 4 - Create Pockets of Undisturbed Work Time

This may seem impossible, but may be the most important step in this process.? When you build your routine, try to have at least two 90-minute blocks each day, where you can focus on work without distractions.? Maybe that means putting your devices in Do Not Disturb mode, or going into a conference room and shutting the door.??

Engineers and technical professionals need to do deep work (a term used often by popular productivity author Cal Newport).? You must give yourself time to focus deeply on tasks, and then ideally you can work on the high impact tasks during this time.? This ensures you are getting important work done.

Step 5 - Set Strict Limits

You must set limits to your workday.? If you don’t work, they will follow you wherever you go and that’s not healthy for anyone.? Cal Newport recommends having a shut down routine each day, where you do one last review of emails or instant messages, and then literally shut your computer off.? More than anything, this is a physiological process to signal that the work day is done, and you will get back to work in the morning.

Take Action Today

Whether you take all or some of these steps, I do believe they can help you improve your productivity and prevent burnout.? We’re not built to sit at a desk all day (and night), please be intentional about creating a workday that is best for you physically and mentally.

To your success,

Anthony Fasano, P.E.

Engineering Management Institute | 800-920-4007 | www.EngineeringManagementInstitute.org

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