The Covid 19 pandemic caused businesses to revert to working from home, which is now becoming the new normal. But as appealing as working from home sounds, it does take its toll.
Without proper time management and planning, you’ll end up blurring the lines between your work life and other aspects of your routine. Sometimes you’ll find yourself working extra hours, and not having as much free time as you should.
However, maintaining a work-life balance can be challenging. It requires good planning and time management. Maintaining a good work-life balance means you’re able to allocate time for work and other activities. With this, you don't overwork and can also focus on other things.
In this article, we’ll discuss why you should maintain a good work-life balance and how to go about it.
Importance of maintaining a work-life balance
A study has shown that remote workers with a good work-life balance enjoy more control of their time and are more productive.
Not maintaining a good work-life balance can negatively impact your health and happiness. You can develop health issues and lose your mental peace. Those who have a good work-life balance are often happier and less stressed.
Remote work also kills social interaction. The interaction you naturally get at the office is gone when you work from home.
Achieving a work-life balance will help you keep up communications with non-work friends and family members. It will also prevent loneliness and help keep your mental health in check.
So when you maintain a good work-life balance, you're happier, more productive, and more motivated to achieve your goals.
How to maintain a good work-life balance
The way to achieve a good work-life balance can differ from person to person. What works for someone else might not work for you.
But here are some basic steps you can incorporate when setting up a plan:
Set and stick to schedules
When working from home, you need to set schedules and stick to them. The flexibility of working from home can cause you to work in an unorganized manner.
Therefore, Setting a schedule can help you plan your day and avoid overworking yourself. With a plan, you can allocate tasks for each day. So, Highlight the goals you want to achieve rather than working till you’re tired.
Also, ensure you stick to the schedule and don’t add any new objectives to it. If a new objective comes up, you can push it to the next day, or substitute it with another if it’s important.
Know your stress points
Some people might be comfortable working long hours and wrapping up work at the end of it. But for you, taking breaks between work may be your ideal method.
You can keep glaring miserably when you're stressed until the day is over. Therefore, you must identify your stress points so you can plan for them.
Knowing how to work around your stress points is important to achieving a good work-life balance. Once you understand your stress points, you’ll know when to take breaks & refresh your mind before returning to work.
Create a workspace
A lot of people make the mistake of working where they eat or watch TV. This can hamper productivity. When working from home, you should set aside a space for work.
Working from home can be more distracting than working from the office. Rather than working from your couch where you watch TV, it’s better to create a neat and clutter-free space dedicated to work.
Ensure you keep this space for work alone; don’t take food there or spend your break there. This will keep you productive, and you can easily unwind after work hours.
Take breaks
Sometimes when you get into “work mode”, you can just keep going till you lose track of time. You can easily get carried away and forget that you need to take breaks.
Breaks are essential because they help you refresh and reconnect with the world around you. Before getting down to work, you can set a reminder for breaks. This will help prevent you from getting carried away while reminding you to take your breaks.
Let work time be work time and break time be break time. Taking breaks also works as a motivator to get back to work once it’s over.
Take proper meals
When working from home, you may find yourself traveling to the fridge more often to graze on snacks. Although having snacks between work can be fun, it isn't always great for your productivity and nourishment.
It’s important that you set aside time for lunch for yourself when working from home. It will help you take proper breaks from work to nourish yourself and recharge before going back to the hustle.
Take walks
It’s easy for you to lose track of time and stay cooped up at work for long hours when working from home.
Getting some fresh air after work helps you relax. It can also improve your productivity. Taking walks after the day’s work helps you unwind. It will help you mentally switch to "home mode," relaxing your mind.
The time you spend on walks is similar to the time it takes before getting home when returning from the office. It takes your brain from work mode to home mode. Apart from helping you unwind, taking walks also helps you stay in shape.
Final thoughts
Work-life balance can mean different things to different people because we all live different lives. Either way, balance is important, whichever way you choose to find it. There is no one solution to finding a good balance between your work and personal life.
Having a good career is not the same as having a good life. Maintaining a work-life balance while working from home will help you have a good career and a good life.