Work/Life Balance in the Same Room

FREE

Separating Life and Work When It's in the Same Room

Coronavirus has forced everyone to work from home and for most people, it has been a struggle. Working from home during the lockdown has impacted everyone's wellbeing and productivity.

It’s not easy balancing work and home, but how well you manage this can make a significant difference to your life and your family.

Getting the balance right is tricky but making even the tiniest changes to your routine, can make the biggest difference to you and how you feel while working from home.

Always remember, we're in this pandemic together. It's okay to be struggling and feel like you're not as productive as usual, you can always reach out to people and ask for help.

Better Work-Life Balance Flexibility in work schedule means having more time for yourself and allows you control over your work schedule which can be invaluable when it comes to attending to the needs of your personal life.

Less Commute Stress The average commuting time is nearly an hour each day spent getting to and from work, excluding the time spend getting stuck in traffic and it really adds up. Ditching the commute helps you support your mental and physical health and allows you to focus on priorities outside of work.

Money Savings People who work from home can save money spent on transportation, parking fees, wardrobe, lunches bought out, and more which can all be reduced or eliminated from your spending entirely. These savings add up and put more money back into your pocket.

Positive Environmental Impact Employees who work from home at least half time reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking more than 600,000 cars off the road for an entire year,

Customizable Office Being able to create a comfortable home office is an excellent benefit of remote work. Whether you simply want a more ergonomic chair, or you have health issues that lead to needing specialized office equipment, you can set up your home office and make it whatever you want.

Increased Productivity & Performance Working from home usually leads to fewer interruptions, less office politics, a quieter noise level, and less or more efficient meetings which leads to increased productivity.

Happier, Healthier Work Life Working from home has been shown to lower stress, provide more time for hobbies and interests, and improve personal relationships, among other things.

Establishing Routines

Establishing a routine allows you to ease into a habit, and slowly enables you to adapt to change.

It decreases your anxiety level because you have an idea what to expect of your day and increases your productivity because you can plan ahead.

Predictability, habit, and routine are what allows people to make sense of the world, succeed, and perform effectively.

Set yourself up for success the night before

Cut off technology an hour before bedtime, and have a healthy sleep routine.

Get to bed at a reasonable hour to allow for 7-8 hours of sleep.

Setting Up Work Space

Setting up a dedicated work space that is** comfortable**, has proper light, and is conducive to work is essential to successfully working from home

Your work space should ideally be a separate space in your home that is properly outfitted for work.

It should be a room that can hold a **desk, computer equipment **and has a door that can be shut for the essential need to separate work life from home life.

Other Workspace Essentials

Comfortable Chair Get one with adjustable height, can roll, provides lumbar support for the lower back, and ideally has adjustable seat pan tilt, arm height, and lateral arm position

Good Lighting Ideally, you have sufficient indirect light to illuminate your workspace, so you can easily read papers and see physical objects

Good Internet Service 50Mbps is the minimum speed to look for, and bandwidth matters too. The best connections are wired Ethernet ones, while Wi-Fi is fine for basic office work.

Keyboard & Mouse Any keyboard and mouse or touchpad/trackpad are fine as long as they are responsive to the touch and not the wrong size for your hands or the wrong height for your posture.

Headset Headset is optional if you work in a shared space, so you have less noise leaking into your home, where other people are working, sleeping, taking classes, and so on.

**Docking Station ** Is a great to have if you use a laptop, so you can plug the computer into the dock and leave all the other connections alone, then easily remove the laptop when you are working elsewhere.

Creating Boundaries

Working from home allows for greater flexibility in schedules and the lives of workers around the world.

However, many of us struggle to disconnect from work, step away from our screens, and **set a crystal clear boundary **between our digital and physical worlds.

The main culprits of blurred work-life boundaries is the constant use of technology (laptops, tablets, and smartphones) and social media.

The key to having a “balance” in work and all other aspect of your life is managing and upholding better boundaries.

In a survey of more than 2,000 millennials, 70% of respondents agreed that they identify themselves only through their jobs which is a serious lack of boundaries

If you have specific hobbies or interests, schedule that time into your calendar so they are prioritised and actually happen

For example, if you’re struggling to get in a daily walk, want to spend more time with your family, or finally dive into your reading list, then block that time off during specific days of the week in your schedule

“Me” time is important so you can rest, process, and recharge.

Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you don’t deserve vacation days or some much-needed downtime.