One of the joys of the modern work era is the ability to work from home. No more busy, time-consuming commutes or office distractions. The convenience of staying in your comfortable home can actually lead to an amazingly productive work day. Surprisingly, if you don’t do it right, it can also lead to non-productiveness, long hours, fights with your family, slacking off, unprofessionalism, etc….who knew? So learning to have work life balance when working from home is something you really have to work at getting good at. After working for 20 years from home in a corporate role, here are some tips that I found have worked well.
Common challenges when working from home
- Overworking
- Too much slacking off and lacking self discipline to work
- Difficulty focusing
- Feelings of social isolation
- Trouble separating from your family during worktime
- Getting distracted by things around the house you need to do
- Separating your home life from your work life
The key to work life balance when working from home is to set boundaries. These are boundaries with your home, your family, your work, your time and ultimately with your self. Another key, is to be organized and plan ahead. What meetings to you have and at what time? When can you schedule your breaks and lunch? When will you start and stop work?
Here are tips on how to have work life balance when working from home
Maintain a regular work schedule
Just like going into a physical office, start and end your day at designated work times. Don’t turn your work from home day into one big work day where you work around the clock. Similarly, don’t let your break time turn into 6 hours and a vacation day. Preplan your day, noting your meetings, breaks, lunch and work activities.
Get dressed for work
You know that at night, if you put on your pajamas, it starts putting you in a relaxed state in preparation for sleep. In the same way, when you are getting ready to work from home, actually take the time to get dressed. Don’t stay in your pajamas or night clothes. It is important to send a signal to your brain that it is work time. You can still be comfortable, but change your clothes so that your brain knows it is time for work. Depending on what is in your work schedule, you can get dressed accordingly. Such as if you have a teleconference you may need to dress differently than if you are going to be working on the computer all day. Read my blog on How to comfortably dress for working from home.
Create a designated work from home office area
This may be easy if you have a physical office in your home where you have a desk and can close the door. However, many of us live in small spaces where this is a challenge and we need to share common areas. However, still designate a office area in your home and only work from this area. I work at the end of my dining room. Half of the table is a makeshift office area. Maybe you have a desk set up in a living room, or hallway. Avoid working in places that double as relaxation areas, such as your bed or couch. As tempting as it is, it will be more productive to go to that designated office area. It will be easier to wind down after work when you are able to step away from it.
Set boundaries with your family, lovingly
It can be important to let family know that you are working and that is different from when you are just a regular family member engaging with them. They want to support you, yet It can be hard for them. If not, handled tactfully, it can be easy to get feelings hurt. Let them know, when you are working and if you have meetings, so they can help to support you by being quiet or not interrupting.
If you have an office, consider closing the door or posting a sign ‘in meeting’. If you share a common area, let them know when you have work activities in advance. For example, my office is in a dining area connected to our kitchen. If I have a meeting at 9 am, I let my husband know so he can eat breakfast before then. If my mother is visiting and in the guest room next to my office, she supports me in keeping the tv down when I have a work call. Also, try to respond to calls and texts with family and friends outside of work hours. That helps to set their expectations. On really important calls, my husband will actually stay off the wi-fi, just so I can have premium bandwidth. Now, he is a definite keeper:)
Take advantage of your lunch and breaks
This is the best part about working home, in that your breaks can actually be at home! You can do things you enjoy or need to do during these times, like watch tv, cook, run errands, work out, play with your kids, take a walk with your spouse. However, do take these breaks and actually eat lunch. When you are working from home, make sure to have some occasional social time, like eating lunch with your friends. Working from home is more isolating so you will have to make sure you take extra care to have social time with people. You may want to schedule time after work to do a fun social activity or sport. However, definitely schedule these things and don’t forgo them because there is too much on your work plate. Or you will be sure to burn out.
If you have flexibility, use it wisely
You may be in a position like customer service, where you need to stay planted at your desk during set times. Or you may have a position, where you just have certain goals or milestones to meet and you do it as your schedule sees fit. If this is the case, set daily achievable goals for yourself. So if you have an 8 hour day, what can you comfortably do in 6 hours? That way you have time for emails, interruptions.
You may be able to schedule your ‘personal break’ activities with your work goal in mind. Maybe there is a yoga class you love at 11 am. Work until then, use the class as your break, and then come back and work. Sometime, I put a load of laundry in before work, and use my break to put things in the dryer. It is great, because it is good idea every hour, especially if you do computer work, to let your eye focus elsewhere and for your body to move around.
Get child care as needed
If you were working in an office, you would see that your kids were in school or at some type of child care. This is no different if you work from home. Don’t feel guilty about getting child care if needed so you can focus on meetings and work. However, the beauty of working from home, is that you may be able to have some leeway in this. For example, maybe your little one sleeps in the afternoon, allowing you to focus on work. Perhaps, you can pick your kids up from school during your break, and they can do their homework while you catch up on emails. Use good judgement here, knowing your kids, your work, and your ability to be flexible.
Take a half day to do work tasks that are not your main job
One of the keys to productivity is to designate a time to do things like expense reports, compliance and job training, planning the week ahead, even cleaning your desk. I like to do it in a chunk like a Friday afternoon, but you could also do something like the last hour every day. Even in a regular day, if you are able to designate some time to read work related materials, or training, it is a good habit. I like to do this at the end of the day. It also helps to transition out of the work day.
Schedule vacation and time off
Sometimes, there is a tendency to think “I work from home, I don’t need to take any time off”. Instead, actually, request your days off. Don’t check your email or phone. Avoid taking your work laptop and learn to unplug. If you check email and take work calls through your vacation, you are just asking for burn out later. Taking a vacation and getting rest is an investment in your company and you. You will be more productive in the long run. The best days off are the occasional day where you can just completely disconnect from all work devices and recharge your own battery!
Enjoy the fact that you get to work from home – I love my comfy home. I honestly feel, that I am more productive here as I have many more opportunities to focus, be comfortable, and save commute time. Hopefully, you do too! You can invest that energy in your job and your time off of work. Make a conscious effort to have work life balance when working from home and reap the rewards of a life filled with joy.
