When you work from home, you’re only a few feet away from the fridge and TV, and there’s no one looking over your shoulder to stop you checking Facebook every 30 seconds. These creature comforts can wreak havoc on your productivity, and the lack of face-to-face communication can leave you lonely and sometimes even depressed. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to improve your wellbeing when working at home.
Firstly, you’re free to go outside whenever you like without the prying eyes of judgemental colleagues, so make the most of it! Sitting in your pyjamas in bed all day, and still getting paid, sounds ideal, but you can turn into a hermit if you aren’t careful. Your mental and physical wellness depends on taking regular breaks that force you to go outside and do some exercise. If you can’t take a long period of time out of your day, walk to your nearest coffee shop or a library and work there for an hour.
One seemingly exciting aspect of working from home is that you could get up early, power through without any distractions, and finish your work day before the kids have even finished school. However, those free afternoons could be lonely, boring or even oppressive after a while, and powering through puts a lot of strain on your body and mind. Instead, structure your work day to finish at roughly the same time as your friends’ do, and take breaks between assignments to read a book or play a game before resuming your work.
Going out for lunch with others a few days a week will give you a chance to get out and socialize with people face-to-face, as well as providing you with impetus to brush your teeth and get dressed every morning. However, it’s important to set boundaries. It’s all too easy to let your work time bleed into your personal time, but this can cause problems when you find yourself responding to emails during family dinners. Institute a policy where you don’t open emails after a certain time, and only allow yourself to work in an evening or weekend twice a month.