Staying Sane While Working from Home

Mindfulness isn’t always an easy task; however, it is greatly important in a time when more of us are working from home. Finding a sense of well-being while working from home is important for your mental health as well as being able to maintain productivity.

We’ve put together a few suggestions to keep you on track!

Set aside a designated workspace

Working from your bed or couch doesn’t leave you with any space that is not related to work, or a work area that is not related to rest. Unless your bedroom is the only place you have privacy and quiet time, you should avoid working from your bedroom altogether.

This should be your space to retreat to after you sign off for the day.

Creating barriers, will enable you to switch off from work when you need to, and having a sense of separation.

Creating a dedicated workspace also means you have everything you need for your working day in one convenient place, therefore reducing distractions and the need to get up and down.

Create a new routine

Most of us have a morning routine of some sort, whether that’s breakfast with the paper, or takeaway coffee for the commute to work.

Working from home might not impact your morning routine but perhaps you have more time for laying in bed or watching the end of the morning news. While this isn’t a bad thing, these activities can easily disrupt your productivity.

We suggest creating a new routine. Getting up, showered, dressed and having breakfast will help to create that same ‘going to work’ feeling. These actions send the mind signals and communicate you’re ready to approach the day!

Understand your limits

Restricting yourself to normal work hours can help you create limits and allow for personal time. Working remotely can be a large adjustment and it could take a while to get used to.

Continue to make adjustments to your workspace, your routine or your working hours (where possible) to suit your needs and increase productivity.

Listen to your body and remember to get up and move around. Without the need to head out to lunch or step into a meeting room you may not think there’s a need to get up and move around, but it’s still important to move.

Movement is good for the body as well as your mind. Having short breaks throughout the day is proven to boost mental resources such as attention, which may lead to an improvement in your professional performance.

Maintain connections

It may be useful for productivity to isolate yourself from others during the day, the reality is this is not a usual workday.

Making time for interactions with friends and family and video catchups with colleagues can help to retain a sense of community you often experience being around others. It also provides you with the option to maintain a collaborative working environment.

If you’re working from home, we want to hear from you! What keeps you going throughout the day?