While we have the joy of working from our comfortable home, it is possible to feel lonely at times. If you let this go too far it can greatly impact your productivity and your emotional well-being. Believe it or not, the secret to great work, is actually not working all the time 🙂 Here I propose strategies and ideas for how to stay social when you work from home.
You need to make it a priority to stay social so you live a well-balanced life. If you are busy at work, it can be hard to get social time in. The key is to plan spaced out social events on your calendar. This way you stay in touch with actual human beings. You also always have something to look forward to.
What leads to isolation when we work from home
- Working too much
- Lack of meetings online or in-person with other colleagues
- Lack of work-life balance
- Not enough work leading to boredom or anxiety
- Not planning social or fun activities you enjoy doing
- Lack of communication from your workplace or clients
- Not pursuing personal goals
- Not spending enough time with friends or family members that you love being with
How to stay social when you work from home
Plan social events in advance so you always have something to look forward to. Plan with friends, family, your spouse or significant other. Here are some ideas:
Lunch with a friend
Date night with your husband
Go to the the park with your kids
Go to places that have people around
Go to the gym, the grocery store the mall, the nail salon. This way you have the flexibility to go when you want. You can go by yourself but still be in the presence of others. If you go to a workout class at the same time each week, you are bound to have people that you run into repeatedly to even have some social chit-chat with. Extra credit for striking up a friendly conversation with people at these places.
Take advantage of work events
Even though you may work from home, there may be work related events you can still attend. Are you in the same city as an office? If so, go in for company meetings, happy hours, lunches, Holiday parties. Are there sales meetings or user group meetings your company sponsors in your area? Maybe you can visit customers with a sales person if it pertains to your job. Are there other colleagues you could invite to lunch?
Does your company allow you to travel to a home office for training or meetings? If you are self-employed can you occasionally meet with your clients or others that you work with? Could you travel periodically just to meet customers in person? Just do remember to do these occasionally, not all of the time.
Look for networking events in your industry
Are there in-person networking events in your trade or industry? Make a point to periodically put one on the calendar. These are great ways to get out of your home office and actually develop your social skills and possibly advance your career. Check LinkedIn or your industry associations for listings.
Go to community events in your area
I have always belonged to the Junior League which is a women’s leadership development group that does work in the community. They have chapters in many cities. There is also Rotary Club as well as other civic minded organizations. Sign up to volunteer at a non-profit that aligns with your passions and interest. If you are religious, go to church or faith based socials. There are many ways that you can be social while doing good in the community.
Sign-up for recurring events
Sign up for that once a month book club. Does your Pickleball group have an open play scheduled every Thursday? Do you have a charity meeting that is the first Wednesday of the month? Sporting events, women’s groups, hobby get togethers, networking events, etc. that have a repeating schedule are great because they are automatically scheduled. Your brain remembers easier that you have this in a periodic way so it is easier for you to plan your work life.
Make personal goals and stick to them
When I was early in my career, I knew I wanted to get married. So I had to make it a point to take time to date. This also involved getting out to meet people. I made it a priority to get out at least one weekend night. (now that I’m married, we tend to sit on the couch on weekends – LOL). What personal goals do you have? Maybe run a marathon, or take a trip to Paris, or buy a home. Prioritize those goals and use them as a way to get out and be social.
Call your Mom
Call a relative such as your Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, Aunt, etc. Maybe call old friends. Even hearing someone’s voice on the telephone is great.
Strategies for being social when working from home
Plan Ahead
Think about your work load, meetings, and schedule. Think about your family and personal events. Then incorporate social events into your calendar. Space them out, and don’t overload.
Don’t overcommit to social events
Space out social events on your calendar. Don’t have so many that it causes stress and upsets your work-life balance. Maybe start with Monthly or weekly. Don’t socialize so much that it impacts the quality of the work that you do.
Plan some events during your breaks, after work, or lunch
This gives you something to break up the work day. Also, sometimes, I am inspired and work harder, knowing I have a fun lunch with a friend mid-day. I even feel inspired knowing I can run out to a quick errand at a local store.
Consider on-line connections
I prefer suggesting meeting in person first since many work from home jobs involve being at a computer all day. However, there maybe situations where it isn’t always possible. Consider connecting with others on Zoom meetings, through social media, etc.
Don’t overwork and then forget to socialize
Always monitor your work-life balance. Overworking and not taking time for yourself or to socialize is a recipe for isolation and loneliness.
Meet with people you enjoy
Don’t be social just to do it if you are with others you don’t enjoy being around. Seek out the people that are positive and energize you. A deep conversation with a good friend is true rejuvenation for me.
What if you are really introverted and don’t like to socialize? Each one of us has a different amount of how much of a dose of socializing we need. For me that is about 25% of the time. You know yourself best, so play with different amounts of socializing to see how much makes you feel fulfilled.
The key to being social when you work from home, is really planning ahead. When you are a great worker you always consider your work-life balance. Surprisingly, being more productive at work has a lot to do with actually getting away from it….in a balanced and manageable way. I always do my best work when I have had a healthy does of socializing. This really is the key to joy and productivity.
