You may be wondering if working from home is truly a blessing. You may be struggling with managing the home front and delivering effectively at work.
Separating your work life from your family life is indeed harder when you are working from home. Nonetheless, you can do it. You definitely need to put other measures in place while working remotely, if you want to maintain your peace.
Here is how you can achieve this.
- Take breaks
There’s a high chance that you spend most of your work hours in front of your laptop screen without getting up. It doesn’t help that you are at home and have everything you need within your reach.
Working non-stop for prolonged periods can have adverse effects on your mental health. You may find yourself irritated, short-tempered, and even anxious. Your productivity also tends to dip over time. To avoid these, schedule short breaks at regular intervals and spend them away from your workspace. Take a stroll and bask in the daylight or interact with your family members or neighbors to give yourself a change in scenery.
- Set Boundaries
Switching between work-mode and family mode can be demanding It can also affect your output.
To solve this, you need to set clear boundaries. Set up a workstation and tell everyone to stay away unless necessary.
You can also paste notes on the back of your laptop or device when you are in meetings to notify those around you.
Also, you need to find ways to keep your children if you have any, occupied. Computer games, books, and online classes are good ways to do this.
- Have Video Meetings
Sometimes, the loneliness of working from home can be overwhelming, especially if you live alone. You could have more video meetings so you get to see the faces of your colleagues, and feel less lonely.
Video meetings are great for effective communication too because you get to pick up non-verbal cues you would not notice during voice calls.
- Schedule Zoom Parties
Everyone knows that Friday heralds the weekend, a good time to destress. You may not be able to hang out with your friends as usual, thanks to COVID-19. However, the unwinding that Friday brings (which does a lot of good for your mental health anyway) does not have to end. You can schedule and attend Zoom parties or game nights with your friends.
- Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a way of maintaining awareness of what you are sensing and feeling. It helps you in regulating your emotions, managing anxiety, and dealing with pressure. Mindfulness helps you with coping with intense and overwhelming moments. We are living in uncertain times, so there is a lot of anxiety.
Here’s how to start:
- Take note of your surroundings, and what you are feeling
- Acknowledge your feelings, don’t try to control them, just let them exist, then let them go.
- Focus on taking deep breaths, and observing your emotions and the sensations around your body.
- Mindfulness is about awareness, and it can be useful in highly charged situations.
- Plan Your Day
Start your day with a To-Do List. Making a daily schedule helps you to prioritize your work and stay productive.
Ticking off items from your list can also leave you with a sense of accomplishment. Lists are great for tracking and managing your progress.
A bonus point for you is to learn to say no and stick to official work hours as much as possible. There’s an assumption that you are less busy because you are working from home, and most of your colleagues operate on this premise.
You have to draw the line and say ‘No’.
By Dr. Okonkwor Oyor C.
