Separate Work from Life : 6 Tips For Remote Workers

Well, it’s been a year!  A year since COVID thrust the entire world into quarantine and chaos.  Many of us transitioned to working from home and many still are working from home.  It seems that working from home might continue indefinitely, since many jobs can be done virtually for some or all of the time.  Since you might be working from home for quite a while, I wanted to take a moment and share some ideas for you to consider to create a work/life balance when you are working from home.

It might be unsettling to “commute” from your bedroom to your kitchen table to work if you were previously used to leaving your house and driving 15 minute to your place of employment.  Since many of us do not have that “commute” time anymore, it’s even more important to make sure you are creating boundaries between your work and home life.

Tips For Remote Workers to Separate Work From Life:

1.     Designate a work space.  If you can do this in a spare bedroom, a place you can close the door to when you aren’t working, even better.  Keeping your work items in one place, and only looking at it when it’s working hours can help you to separate work from home.  Only do work in your work space, and don’t do work elsewhere in your house.

2.     Have a good morning routine.  Don’t just hop out of bed and hop onto your computer to start working.  Take your time to wake up, perhaps do a workout or a daily meditation.  Take time to have breakfast, or coffee, or read.  Take a shower.  Get ready for the day as if you would be leaving the house.

3.     Change into work clothes. Yes, change into work clothes even though you might not be leaving the house.  The clothing we wear affects our mood, so dress as if you were going into the office.  And, at the conclusion of your work day, change out of your work clothes.

4.     Eat your lunch outside.  Especially now that it’s getting warmer as spring approaches, sitting outside to eat lunch can help break up your day and get you out of the house.  Don’t eat at your desk, hunched over while working.  Give yourself a definitive lunch time.

5.     Take a walk at the conclusion of your work day.  Think of it as your evening commute – change out of your professional clothes and take a walk around the block.  The fresh air, sunlight, and being in nature will all help to lift your mood, but it will also serve as a reset for when you walk back in the door home for the evening.

6.     Do work during work hours only.  You wouldn’t into the office on a Saturday morning, so why check your email and do work from home now?  Set work hours and stick to them.  We often are more productive when working from home so take that into account.  Focus on work tasks completed rather than just X amount of hours per day or per week.

What else have you found to be helpful with maintaining a good work/life balance?  Please share with us!

Also, perhaps you are working to transition back into the office, even on a part time basis. Please keep in mind that this transition might be difficult too! Self care is always important, but even more so when we are in periods of transition. Check out our blogs on Dealing With Uncertainty and this blog on Self Care.

The mental health therapists at our office offer counseling for a variety of issues including trauma using EMDR, depression, anxiety, grief, and couples counseling. We work with teens, adults, and couples. We also offer online counseling services which can be great for people with busy schedules or for people who live in parts of Pennsylvania with limited counseling options. You can check out our website to see the full list of counseling services that we offer. Or, Request An Appointment here.