Office workers are now working from home, called ‘remote working’ due to the coronavirus pandemic. Whether you’ve had to move your office to your home and are working for the same employer, or you’ve started your own online business from home, working from home can be challenging for many reasons.
When you first start working from home, it can be challenging to balance your work and personal lives. Sometimes your personal life gets in the way of your work, making it nearly impossible to get things done. However, for some people, their work-life has taken over and left them with no personal life. Both options are not healthy.
The ideal is to balance your work and home lives when remote working. This article discusses tips on balancing remote working so you can get the best of both worlds.
Create a Dedicated Office Space
One of the most important things to do to balance remote working is to create a dedicated office space that will separate your office life from your family life. Separating your family and business is nearly impossible if you are forced to work out of your living or dining room.
If you're working in a shared room, you're not going to be able to get much work done, and you're not going to be able to pay attention to your family. More often than not, trying to do more than one thing at once results in nothing getting done.
Therefore, create a dedicated office space where you can 100% focus on your work. This also means that you should not concentrate on work when you're in your family space. Striking a balance like this is extremely important, and it all starts with having a dedicated office space where people will not bother you while working.
Start the Day the Right Way
Another thing is to start your day off the right way – start your day in a way you enjoy. It's great if you can start the day with things you like doing; if you start off with work as soon as you get out of bed, the day’s likely to be stressful.
Work can usually wait at least until you've had breakfast and have done your morning routine. The balance between work and home life starts at the beginning of your day. We can't tell you exactly how to start your day because, for some people, this means taking a hot shower; for others, it means a run, and for some, it’s having a good breakfast. Some people also take their supplements, such as probiotics for women in the morning.
Whatever the case may be, the fact is that you need to start your day off right with enjoyable things that relax you. If you start your day with work, it will continue to cause stress. An enjoyable morning routine can make the difference between spending your day happy and motivated and spending all day feeling tired and grumpy.
Maintain a Solid Remote Work Schedule
If you plan on balancing your remote work life, you need a solid work routine and schedule; you need a start and an end time for your work.
There is only so much work you can do before you start to get stressed out. You need to incorporate free time in your schedule, time that is not dedicated to work. Therefore, give yourself a time limit – let's say 8 hours every day for work.
This can mean that you start at 8:00 a.m., work till noon, take a one-hour lunch break and then keep working until 5:00 p.m. Stick to your time limits and schedule. If it's not yet 8:00 a.m. or it's past 5 p.m., don't even think about work. You need free time for your family and your pets.
If you still happen to have work to be done at 5:00 p.m., save it for the next day; there is always one more thing to do, and if you always do one more thing, before you know it, it will be the following day. Set time limits and stick to them.
Don’t Have Fun in Your Office
Your office needs to be reserved for work and nothing else. Even if you have a fabulous computer in your office that you can use for gaming, don't be in the office if it's not work time.
The only thing you will accomplish by being in your office during your off time is being reminded about work every time you see a post-it note or a piece of paper.
This means that you're not really able to enjoy your free time. Your work office should be just for work and absolutely nothing else. You don't need to be reminded of work when you're trying to relax.
Remember to Eat
One of the most significant issues that face many people who work from home is that they forget to eat. You wake up in the morning, and the first thing you do is think about work. So, you think, ‘Well, I'm just going to do a couple things, and then I'll have breakfast.’ Before you know it, it's 11:00 a.m., and you haven't eaten.
You say yourself, ‘Well, just one more thing and then lunch.’ And before you know it, it's 4:00 p.m., and you still haven't eaten.
Food is essential when it comes to being successful as a business owner, and this is because of energy. Your body needs calories for fuel. So if you don't eat, you don't get any calories, you won't have fuel, and you won't have any energy.
It has been shown that people are much more productive when they take regular breaks. So take your lunch break, go sit on your patio, and enjoy 30 minutes of freedom. Don't forget to eat your meals because they allow you to take a break while also refueling your body.
Remember to Exercise
Another thing people who work from home seem to forget is to exercise. Of course, when you have a million things to do so your business doesn't go under, finding the time to exercise can be difficult. If you are constantly thinking about work, thinking about your next 4 pushups is not realistic.
Set aside 30 or even 60 minutes per day for exercise. Exercise is vital for online business owners because it provides your body with many benefits, including increased concentration and focus, better rational thinking, improved problem-solving skills, better memory, and more.
Of course, exercise also helps you lose weight, feel more confident, and have more energy. These are all things that can benefit you as an online business owner. Therefore, you must incorporate exercise into your daily life.
Plan Post-Work Activities
Especially during this trying time, we all need something to look forward to. Therefore, as someone working from home, you should plan things to do at the end of each workday that you can really look forward to – things that make you want to finish work faster.
Finding the motivation and energy to work for 8 or 10 hours will be much easier if you have something to look forward to at the end of the day. For example, you could plan a trip to the gym. You could go for a bike ride, or you could just sit back and watch Netflix.
The point is that life becomes easier and more enjoyable when you have something good to look forward to at the end of each day. This doesn't have to be anything over the top or super special, just something you can enjoy doing. If that's just a hot bubble bath with some meditative music, go for it!
Be Flexible with Your Routine
Everybody will tell you that having a solid routine when you work from home is essential. This is true to a certain extent because we are creatures of routine. Our bodies and brains get used to doing specific things at specific times, and when things change, we have a difficult time dealing with it.
However, when it comes to working remotely, the story is not always the same. You also need to account for unforeseen circumstances, especially if you have pets and kids.
Pets and kids require attention and care, and more often than not, unforeseen things happen.
If you expect to balance your work and home lives when working remotely, you need to remain flexible. Sometimes issues that you need to take care of right away will arise. Finding a balance often means being able to find the balance at the moment. You can't plan for unforeseen eventualities. You need to be prepared for the unpreparable, so to speak.
FAQ
How Can I Improve My Remote Working?
Things you can do to improve your remote working are:
- Acquire a reliable internet service provider
- Developing clear schedules
- Assigning tasks and delegating responsibilities
- Using screen-sharing software and collaborative teamwork software
- Try to streamline procedures
How Do I Know if Remote Employees Are Working?
You can try setting measurable goals, use collaborative software, speak with other employees, use monitoring software, and do regular check-ins.
What are the Highest Paying Remote Jobs?
The highest-paying remote jobs include tutor, travel agent, graphic designer, freelance writer, accountant, translator, and digital marketing.
Conclusion
We have just scratched the surface in terms of tips for balancing your remote work life. That said, we have provided you with the most valuable and practical suggestions, and we hope you can find a balance that works for you.
