With teams working remotely and with nowhere to go, how do you create a sense of work-life balance? And what does time management look like when you’re working from home?
The reality is that when your home office is your full-time office, it can be hard to manage day-to-day. This is why both leaders and teams should work on creating healthy boundaries at home. Just because your work is always with you, it does not mean that you always have to be working. It’s important to take breaks and treat yourself with the same respect as you would if you were in the office.
And you can keep each other accountable, as a team, when it comes to creating a healthy work-life balance while working from home. Even if it seems like there is no real separation between work life and home life right now, it is possible to create one.
Here are 5 tips to show you how to create and manage a work-life balance (from home):
1. Dedicated workspace
It may not seem like it, but the environment you surround yourself with matters. Is it cluttered? Is it organized? If you’ve been feeling stressed, one thing you can try doing is decluttering your workspace. Get rid of unimportant papers and file away the important ones. Keep items on your desk that make you happy. Treat your desk space as you would if you were in the office. Add family pictures and things that remind you why it’s important to unplug at the end of the day.
And for those who don’t have a home office, find an area of your home that you can make your own. You don’t need to have a door to create a personal space that should be respected.
2. Time block your days
If you always feel like there are a million things to do and constant fires to put out, it may be time to block off your days. Work requires your full attention, but that doesn’t mean you should be pulled in different directions. Certain tasks need your focus at certain times, so schedule those times out. Use your calendar to structure your days strategically.
One way to do this is to block out specific days for meetings. You can also block out days for admin work, which allows you to take a step back, breathe, and catch up. If you want to take a lunch break or have an afternoon walk, schedule it on your calendar so that time is yours.
3. Schedule days off
Too many people are working around the clock, especially while working from home, leading to burnout. It’s why it’s so important that you take the necessary time you need to rest and recharge. The work will still be there when you get back.
Taking dedicated days off doesn’t just mean waiting until the weekend to catch a break. Just as if you were in the office, take personal days if you need them. Make sure to meet your project deadlines before taking that time, but it’s still your time to use. Just because you may already be home working, it doesn’t mean that you can’t take some designated time for you. It will only help you to reset and get back to work, feeling more productive than you were before.
4. Practice “commuting”
This may not seem logical, but it’s something to consider. Now that many of us are working remotely, we might find that we’re not as physically active as when we had a commute to the office. Waking up, getting dressed, and racing out the door to get where you need to go has been replaced by getting up and walking to your home work station. Not only can a practice commute help you get moving again, but it can also help you feel focused and energized.
It can break up the monotony of the day-to-day and help you set boundaries with your work. If you walk to your desk as soon as you get up, you may be stuck there checking emails for the next hour. So take that time you have in the morning and afternoon to step away and recharge.
5. Get dressed
It seems straightforward and easy, but it’s not always. Getting up and getting dressed in the morning when you have nowhere to go can be difficult. It requires time, energy, and motivation. But setting a daily routine to wake up and get dressed for the day not only makes you feel rejuvenated, but it also helps you look forward to what’s coming. Again, if you simply wake up and go straight to your desk, you may find yourself looking up at 3 o’clock, and you’re still in your pajamas. To create that balance you need, take the time to get dressed for work.
Separating work from home is no easy task, but by implementing a few simple tips into your day-to-day routine, it can happen. And it will also help you feel less stressed, more productive, and it will enhance your team’s overall well-being.
Looking for more ways to support your remote team? We can help.
Your employees will thank you!
Comments