Subscribe
Sign in
How do you manage to separate work and personal life when working remotely?
Hello everyone! I often have a problem with the fact that my personal life is mixed with my work life. What kind of life hacks do you have for organizing your work from home?
80
Replies
Best
@berthakgokong Is it always possible to follow these rules? How do you act in cases where there was a force majeure at home?
@berthakgokong excellent point on Routine. Benjamin Franklin' method was to acquire a new habit by working on it for 3 weeks as it took that much to implement a new habit. In the era of information and multiple disruptions, this would be more difficult to achieve, however it is doable and the rewards are immense in my opinion.
1) Having separate checklists for work and personal life
2) Self-discipline & self-management
3) Hobbies that make me want to finish my tasks at 6 pm and go on with favorite activities
@stefaniya_sparysheva How do you manage to maintain self-discipline? I have a big problem with this
@elina_rappu Oh yeah, that's also my biggest struggle. I use Eisenhower Matrix for planning tasks and it helps me organize myself.
@stefaniya_sparysheva Very good points. I too use seperate checklists with visual aids and connections on my data management app as it allows me to easily recall events and tasks. Hobbies are also very important - they keep you in line along with providing you incentives to wrap up your work schedule
Hi Elina - curious what this means for you. Are you having trouble unplugging or are team members expecting your response at all hours?
Back when I lived in Vancouver, I always scheduled my evening gym session at 6:30pm to force myself to log off. My walk to and from the gym was included crossing a bridge over the inlet. I'd usually catch the most epic sunsets around this time. I loved these quiet walks so much which is why I continued this habit for many months :)
@gracehur Hi! Rather, my family members distract me from work and my workday turns into chaos because I'm trying to do everything at once. The operating voltage state begins. I get out of it easily afterwards when I go for a walk with my dog. But it's wasting a lot of my nerves. Therefore, I am looking for a way to relax while working and I want to find a way to separate work and personal life.
I have developed my morning routine.
Also, I change into my pajamas and put on a new set of clothes every morning. It doesn't have to be formal but keeps me motivated, especially useful when you have an unscheduled meeting with your boss and colleagues. :)
When working from home, the line between work life and personal life can get blurry. It may become harder to tune out at the end of the workday. Having worked remotely for some time now, I tend to diversify a working week a bit by for example going to another location. I prefer a coffee shop, but it also could be a library, or shared working space, etc. Changing scenery once in a while helps a lot.
But other than that, it also helps to define the schedule for yourself (working hours, taking a break, etc), and also having a separate space for work in the house helps with imagining that you (meš) work from an office and not home.
Personally, for me, it is easy. I set up work for an exact time (for example, set 2 or 3 working blocks in a day). If I am done with my tasks, I go out and socialise with people (attend cultural events, workshops, networking meet-ups, or just read books and have "me-time"). Do you have your own routine?
I've struggled with this for a long time and have found the following to be helpful the most.
1ļøā£ Have a separate place/room to work. For me, this is another room in my house. Going there feels like commuting, even though it is a 5 second walk. At the end of the day, I close the door and work is out of my mind.
2ļøā£ Have a separate phone/laptop for work. During the weekends and in the evening, my work phone is turned off. Got a problem? You're the first I help...on Monday!
Have a cut off, and stick to it. For me, going to the gym is one of the most important ways to separate the day. Finish work, and go to the gym before I have dinner. It's become something I really struggle with without!
Hi, I like work time but making space for home/personal stuff. By example if I do/eat breakfast I will wash the dishes right after I finish (this allow the dishes to not make a big pile growing as the day progresses), then I get into work and do a burst of tasks to make advances, if I need to get up to relax from being seated, I often also do water the plans or do any other task that takes less than 10 minutes. Same happens after midday.
As you see mine is somewhat mixed up too, is difficult to separate them, the best you can do is to know how and when to make time for work / personal. Because if you want to separate them completely you will be working from 8 to 5 and after that time you will have a lot of personal stuff to get done, which is somewhat as if you were working not remotely. If in your home live other persons wether are mates, family or couple, you need to let them know you have time to work and you can't be constantly interrupted for home related stuff and time they see you around the home is not that you are free, is time that you need to release tension from being seated.
Keep in mind what is the purpose or benefits of do remote work:
- Claim back time that it usually get wasted in commuting and use that time for personal stuff
- Since you work from home, you can take breaks from work but use that time to make some little home related tasks
- Do not work more that the hours you would work in office, if your exit is at 5pm, stop working at that time, if you have a need to do work organize or respond or follow up emails, use an app that allow to schedule the send the next business hours (this prevents that mates and bosses see you as an always on demand person)
- Once you exit at 5pm is fully your time, use it for whatever you want, go shopping, go for a walk, relax, etc.
Hope this helps
A very relevant question. I separate out different areas in the house. One is a work area and one is a chill area. Helps me compartmentalise thought
Its hard for me too, but when I had work from home.. I used to get in to separate room, lock the room from inside and work...how we use have breaks in office I tried to maintain the same way.. after log out , lock the room from out side. But still it hard because too many knocks on the door apparently ended up with too many breaks,....
Hi @elina_rappu. Really a tough question to answer. But, I have a thumb rule to work only in office room in my home for work and arrange everything there for a working atmosphere.
It can be hard, I usually work for longer hours when WFH. Best solution is to set up multiple clock alarms during the day to remind me to get some coffee, take a nap, etc.
I use separate devices for my work and personal affairs. That helps my set clear boundaries and compartmentalize my work and personal life.
A couple ways that have helped me. I try to design my life accordingly so that I have time away (planned vacations or short break times). In addition, I go offline after 9 p.m. (before work) and before 6 a.m., so not really having any work related emails in the day when I should be resting is best for getting healthy.
@secure_slate Now I try to follow the same rules. Plus, I'm trying to add sports to what you've called. While working, stretch or just lie on the floor and meditate. It has a very positive effect on me.
I am still trying to figure this out. My jobs include SAHM, cook, social media manager, data analyst, content writer, strategist... I've got a lot going on and I have to work when my baby is sleeping. I'm giving calendar color coding a shot to see if that helps me get more done and enjoy more of my time!
Taking a walk at the end of the day helps to cut off my working hours.
@tinaciousz To help define the end of your work time, change for more comfortable clothing. I go for pijamas. haha It always works.
Set clear boundaries between the office and home...Avoid looking at their inbox after a specific time of day
It can be tough but here are some ideas that help me.
1. A dedicated workplace where you only do work and nothing else
2. Work clothes and home clothes. Once you are done with today's work, change. Surprisingly it helps.
3. Setup a routine to get out of the house once you are done working. Go for a walk, go to the gym, go play some sports. Helps you switch to "home" mode.
To make sure I have dinner with the family, I almost always put my laptop away before that. However I do have a habit of picking it up at night again. Not sure if thatās really called balance but it works for me on most days
I have a strict time slot when I start and end work. And after that I don't think about that at all. It does take a lot of practice. I was like you beginning of last year and it used to affect me a lot. So, I forced myself to not think about work. Other tips which I don't follow anymore but might help - Having separate laptops for work and personal use, go work from coffee shops during the day so it still has a false sene of working from office, etc. Hope it helps.
KaraboAI