6 Ways to Avoid Burnout While Working from Home

This is also a good way to learn not to be so hard on yourself. Remember that you’re trying your best to adjust to a new schedule so every single win deserves to be celebrated.

We’re all feeling overwhelmed to some degree at the moment while self-isolating due to the global pandemic. And for many of us, we’re venturing out of our comfort zone working from home for the first time. It can be difficult to create boundaries that allow you to have a healthy work-life balance when your work is your home and your home is your work. Over time, this can trigger all kinds of work-related stress, emotional exhaustion, and demotivation. So, how do you ensure that your personal life doesn’t spill into your work life? In this post, I’ve compiled a list of six things that you can do to avoid burnout while working from home based on my own personal experience. Have a look below.

1) Keep to your work schedule

This is a great way to switch into work mode when you’re in the comfort of your own home. You’ve got more distractions at home, it’s easy to get comfortable and extend your working hours because you spent the morning snoozing or procrastinating. What you then find is that there’s no way for you to switch off from work because there’s no structure to your day. A good tip is to assign an area in your home that you do your work in. As cosy as it feels avoid working in your bed. You might have done so successfully in the past but remember it’s all about creating boundaries that keep you consistent.

2) Take regular breaks

As counterproductive as it might seem taking regular breaks can actually increase your productivity. I’ve found that trying to power through a workload without any breaks to meet a deadline or to finish work early had a negative impact on my mental wellbeing. I also found that I lacked creativity, retained less information and generally felt deflated.

3) Have an end of day routine

Eventually, the workday must end. Creating an end of day routine is the perfect way to do so. Try going on a short walk, run or simply sitting outside your porch to take in the fresh air while listening to music, a podcast or getting stuck into a new book.

4) Celebrate milestones of all scales throughout the week

A perfect stress-reducing tactic is to make a habit of celebrating every work-related milestone no matter how big or small. This is also a good way to learn not to be so hard on yourself. Remember that you’re trying your best to adjust to a new schedule so every single win deserves to be celebrated.

5) Communicate with your team

We’re all familiar with the importance of communication. This is especially important while self-isolating and working from home as we require social interaction to help reignite our motivation, remain engaged and bring some sense of normalcy to our work routine.

6) Take care of your health

Your health should always come first. So, make sure you’re keeping hydrated, eating a balanced, nutritious diet, exercising and resting when you need to so you can effectively recharge. It’s also important to be kind to yourself during this time, adjusting to a new daily routine requires patience and maintaining a positive perspective, which isn’t always easy, some days will be easier than others but you will find a system that works for you.

By Paige Vahla

Twitter: @PaigeVahla
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Website: www.paigevahla.com