The Covid-19 outbreak affected all parts of our lives, forcing us to adapt to these tectonic shifts while trying to stay safe and healthy. Millions of people around the world started working from home, discovering numerous benefits of this work model. People mostly enjoyed the extra time they got to spend with their families and friends.
Combine this with no need to deal with commuting and traffic jams, and you’ll get a win-win situation. So it’s not surprising that 77% of Americans want to continue working from home now that the pandemic is under control.
However, one of the downsides that people needed to tackle when working from home was the disrupted work-life balance. Many employees struggled to draw the line between the “work” time and “life” time.
It’s hard to transfer those office hours and discipline to your home. You may either tend to work overtime or slack and fall behind tempted by numerous distractions around you. Furthermore, staying at home all day, working may make you feel lonely and isolated, leaving negative effects on your mental health and work performance.
For all these reasons maintaining a work-life balance and staying productive must be your top priority. Here are some tips on how to achieve that much-needed balance and still be highly productive while working remotely.
Stay Productive by Making Strict Schedule and Sticking to It
Do you tend to immerse yourself in work, losing track of time? Or you get easily distracted and don’t get the job done? If your answer is yes, you desperately need a strict schedule to get you back on track.
This is where productivity monitoring software may come in handy, helping you organize your time better and be more productive.
Namely, you can use productivity and time tracking software to log in during your usual office hours and log out when they end. More importantly, data collected via this effective software may show you when your productivity peaks during the day, helping you prioritize tasks efficiently. For example, knowing that you are most productive in the morning, you’ll tackle demanding tasks during these hours, leaving meetings for later.
By doing this you’ll increase productivity without the fear of burnout within scheduled work hours.
Give Yourself a Break
Literally, and many of them too. Moving quickly from task to task, depriving yourself of short breaks is the worst thing you can do while working from home. Your brain needs time to process one activity before moving to the other otherwise, it won’t work optimally.
Give yourself time to think about different tasks you tackle during working hours. Take a 10-minute walk around the block after a meeting to process all information and clear your head. Also, getting fresh air may make you more productive because a study showed that fresh air can improve your decision-making and information-processing abilities.
Stay Away From News Websites and Social Media
We know that being well-informed is crucial, especially in these insecure times. However, hopping on various news sites every now and then will keep you away from your work and undermine your productivity. Furthermore, an array of negative news can make you feel stressed and anxious, keeping your focus off the job that needs to be done.
Staying away from Instagram or Facebook may be really hard when you work from home. Social media seems to be one of the major distractors, stealing your time and disrupting your work-life balance. Try to resist social media appeal and check Facebook or Instagram feeds only during breaks.
Dedicate Some Time to Self-Care
This may sound corny, but you need to put yourself first. Including effective self-care practices in your day will bring that much-needed balance. You can develop a morning routine packed with things you like to do. You may exercise, do yoga, or just have your first cup of coffee in complete silence. Do whatever makes you happy and brings you joy. This way, you’ll start your workday energized and motivated.
Also, make sure that nothing disrupts your peace after you clock out from the “office.” Once your working hours are over, you shouldn’t be available for any additional work. Setting clear boundaries is crucial for achieving a work-life balance while working remotely.
Final Words
It seems that this altered normalcy we all have to adjust to brings both benefits and challenges we need to tackle. Besides, these changes are here to stay, as the work-from-home model has already become a permanent solution for so many people.
So, try some of these tips to create a balance between work and life, remaining highly productive while working from home.