With remote working now the new normal for many of us, at least 50% of UK employers are still working from home in some capacity.
While many of us admitted to preferring the flexibility of working from home, it doesn’t come without its challenges.
A recent poll revealed that 67% of workers felt less connected to colleagues while away from the office, with 48% working from a bedroom or sofa. With remote positions and hybrid contracts becoming more popular across businesses, looking after our well-being, and creating a solid home office setup has never been more important.
In this article, we explore a few different ways to balance our work life and home life this year.
Have a dedicated workspace
One of the biggest dangers to working from home is the merging of your work environment and your personal one. Having a designated workspace that is separate from the rest of your home life is a great way to prevent procrastination from creeping in. It’s easy to fall victim to visible distractions within our homes such as cleaning, tidying, or even doing a spot of laundry. Recreating that office environment in an isolated part of your home is a great way to avoid this.
Separate your wardrobe
The clothing we wear to work gives us a psychological association with going into the office and entering “work-mode”. That’s why separating our work clothes from our leisure ones is a tried and tested way to feel more productive when working from home. Fitted wardrobes with built-in compartments allow for easy visual separation of garments – so you can block out those tantalisingly tempting comfy home clothes and go straight to your workwear!
Set time limits
When it comes to remote working, setting boundaries is important. A common side effect of working from the comfort of our homes means that it can be difficult to switch off from our work. When you physically leave the office for the day and arrive back home, your brain adjusts to the change in environment. Without this, working from home poses the threat of overtime slipping into your evening. Set reminders in your calendar of when to wrap things up and call it a day so that you get the much-needed rest time between working hours.
Take breaks
Scheduling allocated breaks is also incredibly beneficial when working remotely. Stepping away from your desk between tasks helps your brain to reset so that it is ready to tackle the next item on your to-do list. Brain fog can quickly occur if you overwork yourself, engaging in long hours without pause. Schedule in daily breaks a couple of times a day to avoid this from happening.
Related: 8 Simple Tips To Stay Efficient While Working From Home
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