Establishing Work Life Balance in a Remote Age

Some might say that working from home was the silver lining of Coronavirus. In 2019, fewer than 6% of Americans worked primarily from home, per the US Census Bureau. In May 2020, 48.7 million people, about 35% of the employed workforce, reported that they had worked from home in the prior four weeks because of COVID-19, per the BLS Current Population Survey. Many employees and companies have embraced the work from home lifestyle and plan on keeping some variation of this business approach.

The freedom given to an individual working from home is great. You can clean a load of laundry as you work, cook lunch in your own home kitchen, and wear lounge-wear while you work (if you aren’t in a Zoom meeting). But on the flip side, you might be working overtime, letting work slip into your lunch break time, never taking time to step away. It’s important to give yourself that healthy work life balance and working from home can blur those lines. Here are some tips on how to establish work life balance in a remote age.

1. Set a schedule, and really try to stick to it. When your work is in your home, it’s easy to feel like you always need to be available. You do not. If you are remote, that means you have a time frame you should be working. Obviously if there’s a task at hand that requires more attention, it’s important to get it done, but try your hardest to get it done in the appropriate time frames you set for yourself.
2. Schedule a personal errand to take a mental break from work in the day. If you can respond back to your business within a suitable time-frame, take some time for yourself. Whether you are exercising, cooking, napping, or running to the store to grab some groceries, the mental break is good for you and needed.
3. Make plans after your workday. This seems small but it forces you to take the time for yourself once business hours are closed.
4. If possible, designate a space that this specific to work. Whether your designated workspace is a home office, a desk in your room, or a place you can stand up and work in your kitchen, all you need is a spot to call your workspace and try to use that space for work purposes only.
5. Lastly, take the time to eat a proper lunch. You deserve it.

Continue to follow our Working Knowledge – Associate Edition for more tips and tricks on how to function in the evolution of the working world.