Stress-Free Guide To Working From Home
Working from home tends to be a bit more stressful even if it doesn’t seem like that at first glance. Working in an office is simpler since you know why you’re there, how long you’ll be there, and what you’re going to do there. On the other hand, working from home tends to be a bit confusing, since it mixes the space you live in with the space you work in. If you don’t have a separate room for a home office, the situation is even more confusing. Next to this, they are other, more important factors that can make remote working stressful. To find out how to reduce those stress levels, keep reading!
Working from home tends to be a bit more stressful even if it doesn’t seem like that at first glance. Working in an office is simpler since you know why you’re there, how long you’ll be there, and what you’re going to do there. On the other hand, working from home tends to be a bit confusing, since it mixes the space you live in with the space you work in.
If you don’t have a separate room for a home office, the situation is even more confusing. Next to this, they are other, more important factors that can make remote working stressful. To find out how to reduce those stress levels, keep reading!
The problems with working from home
The first problem when it comes to working from home is that you will lack the structure. When you go to the office, you know when you will start and when you will stop working. At home, the situation is different. Your sense of time and structure is completely changed. It will seem as if you’re in control of your time, but the feeling can be misleading. Next to this problem, working at home isn’t so great because of all of the distractions that could slow you down. Your family, friends, pet, TV, emails – these all are a potential “treat” for the work you are trying to do.
Another disadvantage of working from home is setting boundaries. In an office, the rules are rather strict. In your home, they are completely the opposite. You may not always be ready to draw a clear line between productivity and leisure time and that could take its toll on your work. The final problem is a lack of focus. If you like working surrounded by people and they can help you focus more easily, working from home won’t do you much good.
Set a Schedule
Even though the situation may now seem completely hopeless, that is far from being true. The fact that there are some problems with working from home doesn’t mean that they can’t be solved. The first step in solving them is to set a schedule. Setting your own schedule can be very useful since you’ll be able to do it in a way to organize your time the best. The kind of behaviour you should avoid is to wait until you start feeling like working. If you do this, the distractions will just keep popping up and you’ll just keep procrastinating.
To avoid procrastinating and to stay focused and disciplined, you should set a schedule carefully. The first thing you should do is to think of when you are working best. If you’re a morning person, schedule your most demanding tasks for the morning and do them first. If you prioritize the challenging tasks and do them first, you’ll feel much more motivated for the rest later. Don’t forget to use the technology to help you make the best schedule. You can set alarms to remind you or you could use some apps. Finally, don’t forget to stay disciplined and follow your own schedule.
Stay connected
If you don’t like working alone, there are ways to solve this problem. You could feel less creative or productive when you are working on your own. The fact that you are working from home doesn’t mean that you should neglect your social life. The safest way to avoid feeling isolated is to create a supportive network of colleagues.
You are not the only one in your company going through this and having people with the same experience always helps. If you find a way to identify people who share the same trouble, you’ll easily solve this problem of isolation. If they are also your colleagues, you’ll be able to cooperate with them and even do your job better. They will benefit from this as well and you will all collectively feel better.
Decorate your home office
If you don’t have a separate room for your home office, you should at least consider creating some space designed only for the work. This will do a lot for your mindset when it comes to differentiating relaxing from working. You should have a comfortable chair and a high enough desk that will present no trouble for you, especially if you’re going to spend hours and hours sitting there.
You should decorate the space in a way to relax and reduce stress. Space should be painted in calmer tones but with an occasional pop of colour. This will seem relaxing but it will also positively influence your mood and creativity. Another feature that will lift your spirits is a bouquet. All you need is to order flowers online to make your working space much more inspiring. You could also put some pictures of your family and pets since they have a calming and relaxing effect as well.
Reward yourself
To stay sane, it’s always important to reward yourself. If you’re satisfied with how you’re doing, there is nothing bad about rewarding yourself. On the contrary, it’s a rather positive type of behaviour since it increases motivation and keeps you interested and willing to keep working. You can set some smaller goals and each time you accomplish one, you can create your personal rewards. This is a great way to get moving and doing everything on time.
The rewards could be all sorts of things. You could order your favourite food or you could watch a movie. You can also call a friend, take a walk to Hyde Park, play with your cat, or get an extra hour of sleep. You can do whatever you like as long as it makes you feel good. This will make your work experience significantly better and it will be much easier for you to keep working.
Conclusion
Even though working from home can cause a lot of stress, the situation can be improved. With these tips, you’ll be able to get through any working day with as little stress as possible or no stress at all. You will save your mental health and you will do an impressive job.
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