Most of us have had a fair amount of experience working from home at this point. Maybe you have gone back and forth between the office and your home office as your bosses have gone back and forth about what the right approach is for their company. Maybe you have been working at home since March 2020. But for a lot of people heading into a brand-new year, they will be starting their very first working from home role.
Working from home is one of those things that can sound like an absolute breeze when you’re not doing it, but making it work for you requires a good deal of preparation and effort. If you do not watch out, you could find yourself sliding into habits that could have a real impact on your physical and mental health. You do not need to be working in a frantic office to experience burnout, after all. If you are just starting your first WFH position, here are a few tips to help you make it work for you.
Get Up Early
We know, one of the biggest advantages to working from home (at least from an employee point of view) is that you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn and hit the morning commute. But if you are going to be doing this for a while, it is so important that you do not simply roll out of bed and head straight to your computer. You need to make sure that you are giving yourself enough time to properly prepare for the day. That means taking a shower, having a proper breakfast, and doing something that gets your mind and body in the best possible position to start the day. This brings us to our next point.
Get Some Exercise
We do not really think about how much of a part the journey to work has on our bodies and minds until it’s gone. When you are working from home, it can be very easy to go the whole day without once leaving the house. Exercise is so important for your physical and mental health, and so is fresh air and sunshine. The weather may be bad right now but getting into a good habit now will stand you in very good stead for the future. It is a great way to make sure that you are staying in shape and that you are giving your mind a chance to properly detach from your workspace.
Set Up A Home Office
If you are going to be working from home for longer than a day, then you really need to make sure that you have a proper home office set up. Back when everyone started working remotely two years ago, there were so many people out there who simply moved their laptops to their kitchen table. Some people even tried working from the sofa, or from bed. There are many different reasons why this is a bad idea. To start with, it is terrible for your mental health to associate the place that you work with the place where you rest. Ideally, you should work somewhere that you can close the door on at the end of the day.
But working at a table that isn’t built for it on a chair that is designed for relaxation or eating is terrible for your posture. You need to invest in a proper desk and a desk chair that is ergonomic. Branch Furniture provides a fantastic ergonomic chair that offers firm lumbar support that is good for all shapes and sizes. If you are setting up your home office, get in touch and find out what could be the perfect fit for you.
Set Regular Working Hours
When you work from home, you may be able to enjoy flexible hours. However, there is also the temptation to keep working after you should have signed off. If you know that your workstation is just a few feet away, of course you might think about finishing up that project after you’ve finished dinner. You might think that you can stay on a bit later in the evening because you don’t have to drive home from the office. However, this is a really good way to start to suffer from burnout.
Burnout affected so many people over the last couple of years, and if you want to reduce your risk of suffering from it, it is important that you keep to a strict schedule. Make sure that you are taking your lunch break every day. Sign off at the same time every day. If you are taking advantage of flexible working hours, make sure that you keep a meticulous work diary to know exactly how many hours you owe so you do not go over. A lot of working from home is about setting yourself boundaries.
