The Ultimate Guide to Balancing Work and Life in a Digital World
When you work in a hybrid or fully remote office, you may feel you never get a break from work. When your bedroom is also the office, where does work and personal time start and end? If you feel like the lines between working and other aspects of life are too faint, you’re likely suffering from a work-life imbalance. It can be tricky to balance work and life when the worlds are so overlapped. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to bring your work-life balance back to healthy levels when working remotely.
Log Off Outside of Work Hours
If you get notifications for work tasks or emails outside of work hours, it may be smart to shut them off. If you’re done with your work for the day, log out and mute notifications from your job. You can often set ‘quiet’ hours for certain apps or accounts; take advantage of this. You may be tempted to check a work email or work on a task outside of office hours when you’re constantly bombarded with notifications. You can set out-of-office email signatures if needed—just create a separation when the day is done.
Set a Work Routine
Learning how to separate your personal and professional lives can be confusing if you work at different times and on various days of the week. While flexibility is one of the perks of remote work, creating a routine can help you establish a more distinct boundary. If you’re more productive during a certain time or day of the week, choose those as your consistent working hours. Try to go to bed at the same time each night to establish a proper routine.
Take Meal and Rest Breaks
When you work from home and can grab a meal or snack at any time, you may not have the opportunity to take a proper rest or meal break. When you get hungry, take a break from work to eat. Occasionally, allowing your mind to refresh and rest from working can improve productivity and help you create efficient work-life balance routines. Even if you’re working in your bed, you’re still working! Take proper breaks.
Stretch and Move Often
Remote or hybrid office work usually doesn’t involve physical activity. When you’re working comfortably on your couch or bed, you may even be less tempted to get up when you can relax and work instead. Take a break to stretch your limbs and walk around if you can. If you can’t walk, you can stretch any limbs or move in any way to keep your body strong and healthy. When you do have personal time to use, you’ll deal with fewer body aches and pains from sitting or lying for too long.
Communicate Boundaries
In a digital setting, it can be difficult to set boundaries when you always appear logged on and working. Like in face-to-face work settings, you must learn to communicate your work preferences by setting boundaries. Don’t sacrifice your weekend to work from home more. Don’t work on tasks later because you’re still technically in the home office. Establish work hours and set boundaries when you will and won’t work. Overworking is easy when you do everything remotely. You can start by setting your online status to “offline” when you’re done working; it’s a subtle but clear reminder that you aren’t available.
Work At Your Own Pace
When you’re at home, you may be tempted to rush through tons of work to end the office day and relax sooner. You wouldn’t do this at the office; you’d wait until the end of the work day and pace yourself. It’s important to pace yourself while working remotely, too. Overworking or doing too much too fast can lead to burnout, delaying work even longer. Take it slow, and don’t overwhelm yourself.
Attend In-Person Events
Depending on your job, you may only get a few opportunities to meet with coworkers or other professionals in person. Try to attend any corporate retreats, in-person meetings, and professional conferences you’re invited to. If you have transportation issues, many conferences and conventions offer convenient options like drivers or a charter bus to help you arrive with your group easily. When you connect with other coworkers and professionals, you can get to know them better, improving your communications, boundaries, and productivity levels.
Use Calendar Apps
A calendar app can be handy if you need help keeping track of work due dates and meeting times. You can get phone and email notifications to remind you of all important tasks and meetings, so you’re never left behind. A calendar app for professional purposes, like Google Calendar, can keep your work and personal life managed and separate.
Bill All Work Time
When you work from home, responding to an email or a quick instant message on Slack doesn’t seem like a big deal. However, you should always perform work tasks within paid working hours. If you do some work tasks for free, those tasks just may increase in quantity or difficulty. Keep your office hours billed! Get paid for your time.
