In light of the pandemic, countries around the world are encouraging self-isolation, asking employees to work from home or closing schools. For many, this means an uncomfortable merge of work and home life. As someone whose mood is heavily influenced by their surroundings and environment, I take great lengths to make my home a calming and grounding space. A place of escape, separate from my working life. So with the prospect of prolonged home working on the horizon, I have started preparations to make this invasion on my ‘zen’ space and work/life balance a little less overwhelming.
Find my 10 top tips below, tried and tested, to make home working less impactful on your mental health and work/life balance.
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on my recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra. All opinions are my own. For more details see my disclosure policy and privacy policy.*
1. Create a separate working space
Not everyone will have the luxury of a home office, so it is important to try and set boundaries between your work hours and your own time. Sitting with your laptop all day on the sofa which you then proceed to sit on for the majority of the evening will make home working become extremely dull very quickly.
Limited on space, I purchased a Wall Mounted Leaf Desk from Ikea to mount to the wall in our second bedroom. Without any room in the house to place a desk long-term, this clever desk can be propped up for home working, and quickly put down to free up much needed space after. I also tried a basic fold away chair, but after a few days this gave me pretty uncomfortable back ache. So I recommend using a chair which provides sufficient back support from day 1 if possible.
Ideally, this dedicated work space should be away from the area you spend most of your free time and away from your bedroom, if possible. If you house share and only have a bedroom, a desk is hugely preferable to working from your bed! Having a separate working space will help you to mentally switch off at the end of the day, and slip into that ‘home time’ mentality.
2. Get your equipment ready
There are a few questions to ask to make sure working from home isn’t going to be a complete headache. Is your internet sufficient? Is your employer providing a laptop? Do you have plugs near your desk space? Does your laptop/computer have a camera/microphone for video calls if needed? If working from a laptop, should you get a separate mouse and keyboard for ease?
Check you have all the software you will need to continue working from home. Can you access your folders remotely? Can you access your emails and calendar remotely? Simple questions, but one step forgotten could make your new workplace work free!
3. Create a structured daily routine
Ok so now you have your work space and equipment ready to go, you can physically work from home – but what about the mental barriers? The late starts and finishes, the missed meals, the unproductive mornings are all easy habits to slip into which can make working from home both unsustainable and a toll on your mental health.
Whilst it often requires a lot of self control and restraint, following the same routine as if you were at the office can be hugely beneficial. Get up at the same time, get dressed, have breakfast and log into your laptop for 9am sharp (or whenever you start work). Getting dressed might seem like a simple step, but seriously, when you are cosy in your pyjamas and unlikely to see another human all day, it is incredibly tempting to stay in them. But don’t do it. Working in your pyjamas feels great at first, but it changes your mindset and mental attitude away from ‘work mode’ and into ‘relax mode’. Not conducive of a productive work day. It will also blur the line between work time and relax time, a dangerous move.
When your working hours are up, stop working. Try not to be tempted to continue working into your evening if that isn’t something you would do at the office. Short-term, fine, but long-term this isn’t a sustainable or healthy way of working. Think work/life balance.
4. Stay connected
I’m used to social interaction in a busy office, so suddenly working in silence without uttering so much as a ‘hello’ to another human being for 8 hours straight can be wearing. Why not schedule in a daily call with your team or a colleague? Install online chat software so you can experience interaction with your colleagues throughout the day.
Speak to friends and family at lunch time, go for a walk (if not advised against) and say hello to the people you pass, and listen to live entertainment such as radio. I find the latter helps me to feel connected to the real world and less cut off (as a background Netflix binge can make me feel).
5. Know your weaknesses
There are going to be struggles when you first start out. The distractions are REAL. I keep a personal notebook next to me at all times. If I spot a chore that needs doing, or suddenly remember a personal task I haven’t done, I resist the urge to do it now and instead jot it in my note book for later.
Think about what might prevent you from concentrating on your work, and alter your daily routine to overcome those hurdles. Maybe go for a lunchtime walk to help your concentration, have a supply of snacks within easy reach to avoid regular kitchen visits and prepare a good background playlist to stop you from watching TV. Whatever works for you!
6. Keeping warm
Normally, our heating and hot water are on a timer, which means the temperature of the house decreases (quite substantially!) when we are not in the house during the day. If yours is the same, make necessary alterations so that you don’t find yourself shivering at your desk by 11am.
It is also worth bearing in mind, you will be using more electric and gas than usual if your house is normally unoccupied during the day. You may be able to claim back some money for involuntary home working, seek the Gov website for details.
7. Get fresh air and natural light
Working from home could give many people little or no reason to leave the house all week. This would almost certainly drive me to insanity. Get some fresh air and natural light each day. This could be a walk, spending time in the garden, or at the very least opening up doors and windows.
A lack of natural sunlight can have a damaging effect on mental health. If you think you might struggle to get sufficient natural light from home, you may benefit from an SAD light.
8. Set realistic expectations
Consider whether your usual workload will be achievable from your new working environment. If you have children at home, your attention is going to be divided. Discuss this with your boss or team if you have any concerns, and set realistic goals and expectations for the level of work which you will be able to complete from home.
9. Extra supplies (but not stockpiling!)
Before I jump into this one, I am by no means suggesting stock piling or bulk buying unnecessarily large quantities of supplies and preventing others from accessing these essentials.
Simply prepare to add things to your weekly shop which you might not be used to buying so regularly. Tea, coffee and milk are three things which lasted forever in our house. Until I started working from home. It is pretty devastating when you reach into the jar of teabags to discover nothing but the dusty remnants of old tea leaves. Just as you are about to tuck into your elevensees biscuits which are now to be undunked… sigh.
10. Reap the rewards
It’s not all bad. Working from home definitely comes with its perks. For starters, you have just gained back your commute time. For me, that’s 2 hours a day! With those extra 2 hours, I can clean my house, put washing on, write a blog post, do a work out, bake a cake, meal prep in advance, go for a walk, sleep in – the possibilities are endless!
You may also save money on your commute (unless you have purchased a long-term train ticket in advance). I would save roughly £40 a week in petrol if I worked from home every day, that’s about £160 over the month – pretty neat! Not to mention the positive impact this has on the planet.
You also don’t have to buy lunch for work, or be limited by what food you can take to the office. Saving you money and the boredom of having the same lunches day in day out.
Finally, you no longer have to utter the words “anyone want tea?” every time you fancy a cuppa yourself, and then attempt to balance 10 mugs in your two hands on the way back to the office because you refuse to do an extra trip. Result.
So there you have my 10 top tips for making working from home less impactful on your mental health and work/life balance. If you have any tips of your own you would like to share, please get in touch.
For more wellbeing tips, follow Sistabliss Tribe on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, and sign up to my mailing list to receive my latest posts straight to your inbox!
Stay safe out there. Rosie Louise x
Leave a Reply