Improving Your Work-Life Balance When Working From Home

Working from home can result in quite a distinct change in your usual work agenda, especially if this is your first time with this kind of setup. You may find yourself one day when both your work and your personal life are so meshed together. You need to avoid this, and maintain a work-life balance that will help you successfully manage both your career and your personal life.

How can you improve work-life balance?

Having a good work-life balance can result in better productivity, less stress levels, less possibility of burnouts and altogether a positive impact on your mind and body. You can achieve this while you work from home.

Here are a few tips that will help you: 

Get ready for work in the same way

Remote working means more flexibility for you. There’s no need to rush into the bathroom, get ready, and drive or commute to work, and yet, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wake up and prepare like you normally do. Get ready for the day in the same way when you’re going to the office. This creates or maintains the normalcy in your schedule. At the same time, this will give you more moments to prepare and enjoy your mornings, making you feel more at ease and ready to be productive.

Work in a designated space

Working from home can be very distracting, that’s for sure. If you work in your own room or the living room, you might be distracted by the TV or your personal things. If you work in the kitchen, there might be too much clutter for you. What you need to do is choose a space that’s distinct from your usual spaces.

Stick to your schedule

Just because you’re working remotely does not mean you can abandon your proper work schedule. It’s best to stick to your regular work hours. This will help you keep your focus and attention all throughout the day, and help you separate work and personal endeavours.

Communicate effectively

Effective communication is needed more than ever when it comes to remote working. You need to communicate with your team or your manager/s in case there are any problems, progress, or updates with your work. Make use of your messaging apps for quick messages and utilise Teams when working from home. The more you communicate effectively with your co-workers, the more you’ll be able to work seamlessly as a team.

Eat properly

Working from home can make you lose your sense of time, especially when you live alone. With no co-workers to remind you to have lunch or take breaks, you may end up not eating properly. Set up alarms or calendar reminders so you can have the time to properly eat and take a break. Cook a meal and take the time to nourish yourself before going back to work.

Do errands when taking breaks

You can use your breaks to be more productive at home as well. One way to do this is by doing simple personal errands when taking breaks. You can do a simple exercise, cook a meal, clean the room, read a book, and more. This allows you to keep being productive and manage personal life little by little.

Make plans for after-work hours

After work, what will you be doing next? Will you cook dinner? Watch new episodes of your current favourite series on Netflix? Call your parents or friends to catch up? Bond with your family? You can do anything now that you have more time at home since you won’t have to drive or commute from work. This is the perfect time to unwind and spend time either with your family or yourself.

Pay attention to your work-life balance and try to improve it in these trying times. You’ll find that the more you try to improve it, the more you can achieve better health and happiness.