Work-Life Balance when you WFH
Work-Life Balance
We hear this phrase more than EVER now (especially since the pandemic) and the lines of the two have become more and more blurred together. This is honestly one of my favorite things to discuss. So when a friend of mine told me that I had yet to write about it on my blog, I knew I had to get to it!
So let me start by asking you, What does work-life balance look like when you work from home (WFH)?
For those of you that don’t know, I work a “ 9-5 job”. In fact, I work for a software company ( No I don’t teach yoga on the beach all day) where I was hired as a completely remote employee. The majority of my work day revolves around zoom meetings with clients, a plethora of slack messages, and good ole’ fashioned emails!
After 2 years of working from home, I’d say I’ve learned a lot along the way. Below are 3 challenges I strive to take on to live a more sustainable and balanced work life.
Give yourself time in the morning
Before rushing to open your laptop- give yourself time in the morning! This is a huge one and I hear this struggle from SO many people ( I’ve been guilty of it too). The anxiety to be “online”, check emails, or respond to a teammate before even drinking your coffee is such a common feeling amongst those of us who WFH.
So I challenge you to reclaim your morning! Maybe that looks like waking up earlier to give yourself time before that 9am zoom call. Whatever it is, give yourself time to enjoy a warm beverage, breathe in the morning air, hug your loved ones, read a few pages from a book, meditate, or just simply be before automatically checking into work mode. I assure you, it will positively set the course for the rest of your day.
Schedule in well-being throughout your workweek
Many of us, tend to fill our work day calendars up to the brim, but forget to include time to reset, recharge, and refuel.
Why is this important you ask? Because giving yourself time between meetings, allows for greater productivity, focus, and improves your overall mood. Long story short: it also prevents burnout.
So best practice? At the start of each week block time on your calendar with yourself! A 1 person meeting so-to-speak.
Why is this especially vital for those of us that WFH? Well, think of the last time you worked in an office.. I remember many parts of my day being broken up by breakroom chats, walks , in-office events, etc. At home, the majority of us spend more time glued into the screen with fewer breaks.
Go ahead and schedule that 20 min stretch session each afternoon, or space between meetings to eat a energizing meal. Goal here is to establish a dedicated time to refueling you before you push on. And just like if you were meeting with a client/co-worker commit to your time. Don’t be flakey on yourself and let it easily be pushed around until it falls off the calendar completely. Set a time and commit to your own well being. This will only make you be a more pleasant person to be around and work with!
Fully Disconnect after work
This is probably one of the most difficult practices to do when you WFH. The temptation to just check your inbox “one more time” is so easy to do, but the fact that the great majority of remote employees continue working well past the 5pm marker shows our immense lack of boundaries in the workplace. Disclaimer here: No one can set your boundaries except for you!
So there are few different ways I’ve found to set these boundaries after hours:
Mute your notifications. On your phone and laptop.
Leave your physical workspace or “the office” ( which is just a room in my house)
Use sticky notes! I used to do this when I was working east coast hours and would work from California. I had a sticky note on my laptop that indicated the time to end my work day so as not to work past 5pm EST.
OF COURSE, I always have people who remind me that there are exceptions and I agree. Fires can happen and you may need to take one for the team and put in the extra hour; but in general the culture of WFH has leaned on working through dinner, checking emails while with your family, feeling the need to clean your inbox on Sunday, and the list goes on.. These habits are things we can change and are so beneficial for our mental health and sustainability as remote employees.
So there you have it! I hope this leaves you with a few takeaways for your own WFH Work-Life balance. I’ll say, it’s a continual practice and something we have to reprogram ourselves to prioritize- but oh does it make all the difference once we do!
Feel free to share your own tips or what works for you down below :)
