Avoid Work-From-Home Burnout: How To Manage Work & Life

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Working remotely comes with so many perks. It eliminates the stress of going into the office and allows you to make a life outside of work. It’s the only gift the pandemic of 2020 left for us. However, remote life does come with unexpected challenges like burnout, increased isolation, or the risk of overworking. 

Sometimes, staying motivated and connected to your job is hard, but working from home without falling to these adverse outcomes is possible. To help maintain a positive and healthy work-life balance, we’ve found several creative tips to make remote life more manageable, mentally and physically. 

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1. Have A Dedicated Workspace

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You don’t need a home office, but it’s best your dedicated workspace isn’t your bedroom. So if you can make one room in your home the place where you work. This forces you to draw a line between your work time and personal hours. So when work is over, you can physically leave that space, which signals your brain to shift into chill mode. This helps you leave your stress in that specific space and cultivate boundaries. 

Also, it’s important to make your space is comfortable! Make sure you have a good chair or use a neck pillow. It might be worth checking in with your company to see if they could cover the costs. The point is, you deserve to feel cozy while working remotely; you are home, after all.

2. Take Your Lunch Break!

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When you work from home, it is so easy to skip over your lunch break. But just because you’re remote doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the time to eat your lunch. And no, we don’t mean scarfing down a salad while you work. Close your laptop and take your full hour to eat, watch an episode of your favorite series, and decompress. Bonus dopamine if you can enjoy your meal outside. If you can, try to prep your meals ahead of time. Being intentional about taking this time will give you the boost you need to get through the rest of your day and helps minimize stress. 

3. Set A Start Time And An End Time

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Although this is easier said than done, it’s important to stick to a start and end time for your job. It’s very easy to work past five and do a disservice to yourself. You need your personal time not only to have enough energy for your work time but to have time for actual life. So don’t steal energy from yourself and close that laptop and turn off those Slack notifications. This allows you to build a life outside work and maybe even pick up a hobby. With no commute, remote life gives you the opportunity to dive deeper into your interests and connect with friends. Take advantage of it!

4. Change Your Clothes When Work Is Done

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After work, it’s important to signal to your brain and body that it’s time to log off and re-enter your real life. A great way to do that is by changing out of the clothes you’ve been wearing throughout the day. What if Superman ran around in his cape all day? He’d never get a break, so you have to do the same. Change into your civilian identity aka some super comfy loungewear you might not be able to wear on a Zoom call. If you want, shower before you change. This transition helps you shake off the stress of your work day and relax.

5. Use Your PTO

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There’s a toxic misconception that people who work from home don’t do as much work as people in the office. So because their work is “less stressful,” they don’t need to take as many vacations. Not only is this misconception flat-out wrong, but it can lead directly to burnout and keeps you from taking time off. The time we spend not thinking or stressing about work is healing and essential to continued productivity. So even if your PTO is spent inside your home, there is a special freedom and peace in not being mentally tied to your laptop for a couple of days. Use your PTO because you need it and you deserve it. Your nervous system and mental state will thank you. 

Working from home may look like fun, but it is not for the faint of heart. You can dig yourself into a rut of anxiety and stress if you’re not careful and intentional about maintaining a balance. By incorporating these tips into your remote work life, you’ll be able to create healthy boundaries. 

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