How to Work From Home Without Sacrificing Your Sanity

It sounds like a dream come true: setting your own hours, working in your pajamas, foregoing the hectic commute. There are a lot of perks to working from home, but it also has drawbacks. If you’re not careful, it can strip you of your health as well as your mental wellbeing. We went to actual experts: people who work from home and have for years, and put together some tips on staying productive and making the most of this pandemic-induced time at home without losing your mind in the process.

Have a Routine

No matter where you work, having a routine makes having a job easier and less stressful. The same is true for working at home. Decide what hours you will keep and stick to it. Plan your days and weeks ahead of time to stay on track — keeping a careful calendar to make this easy. Even if you’re setting your own hours, you still need to put in the time each day. Working in the same space and keeping to the same hours helps coworkers and others know when to get ahold of you and it helps your mind know when it's work time and when it's playtime.Here are some things to consider when setting a routine for yourself:

• Establish a morning routine to get yourself going. Maybe you like to read the news while you enjoy your coffee, or you might do a half-hour of yoga to get your body moving and start the day off right.
• Schedule a lunch break. It’s easy to forget to eat or to quickly scarf down a sandwich in front of your desk. Give yourself a lunch break away from your computer. Consider going outside to sit on the deck in the sun. If you work into the evenings, plan a dinner break as well. Learn how to meal prep and make that a part of your weekly routine to save precious time in the kitchen and avoid unhealthy processed foods. If you want to check your personal email or social media accounts, do it only during these breaks.

• Have a set time you won’t work past. It’s easy to overwork yourself when working from home. You see as every email comes in and it's hard to say no since you're always in the office, so to speak. To avoid this, set a reasonable time to stop working every day. And when you stop, really stop. No email and no responding to instant messages.

• Allow yourself to unwind every day. Plan to do something special or relaxing to unwind before each day is over. That may mean diving into a good book, taking a bubble bath, working out, or watching your favorite show. One person said they walk out the door then back in again so they're "coming home." It seems silly but any routine that lets you unwind is helpful.

Find a Balance

It can be easy to fall into workaholic mode, clocking long shifts and watching the week slip into one long, surreal workday. Just remember, all work and no play can send anyone over the edge faster than just about any other roadblock. Everyone needs downtime.

You may experience burnout if you don’t find the right balance, so learn to tune in to your own needs from the start. Finding personal time is vital to staying productive. “Sometimes you have to just walk away to remind yourself there's life outside of work,” explains freelancer and business owner, KLM of Michigan. “Working at home means you never really clock out, so playing hooky now and then isn't being irresponsible; it's the path to sanity.”

Get Dressed

Ever come to the disturbing realization that you’ve been wearing the same shirt for five days? Yeah, you laugh but that happens when you work at home. Have you forgotten what it’s like to regularly wear pants? Do you forget how long it’s been since you brushed your hair? It can happen if you don’t keep control over the situation, and it may eventually have an impact on your self-esteem. "Let yourself go" can take on new meaning to a work-at-home mobile warrior, and faster than you'd ever imagined.

Dress like the professional you are, even if you’re going for more of a casual Friday look, so you can feel like the professional you are.

Set Boundaries

You may not be physically clocking in each day, but that doesn’t mean your time is any less valuable. Freelance editing whiz, Deborah Dera of New Jersey, shares, "It's important to know the difference between being flexible and having boundaries. A lot of people think freelancers 'don't have real jobs' and have all the time in the world to do whatever they'd like. Sure, the ability to flex your work time around other obligations can be incredibly helpful, but it's still important to learn to say no when people are trying to pull you in too many distracting directions. You are in complete control of how you define your workday (and your social life)."

Make sure you’re keeping your priorities straight when you manage your time. Your workload needs to be at the top of the list for at least a part of the day. And take at least a day off, better if you can take two, each week. Make that time yours — no favors, no side jobs, no sneaking in a few hours to get ahead for the next day. We all need a break, so make sure you’re giving yourself one.

Don’t Let Doubt Creep In

Your work is valid, and you’re good at what you do — so don’t let that dark, little voice in the back of your psyche tell you otherwise. Don't get in the habit of agreeing when people say "They don't work a real job anyway, they can do it." Humans need validation, and that might not be something you get all the time if the most interaction you get each day involves a phone or computer. This may lead to imposter syndrome and some people may not help much, as above.

“Imposter syndrome will try to convince you that your work sucks, everyone hates you and your client is definitely about to fire you. Learn how to recognize this and counter it mentally,” explains at-home web content manager, Mandie Cait of Canada. “Remind yourself that you got the contract for a reason. A mistake here and there isn't proof of inadequacy, it's just a sign you're human. Any client worth dealing with will respect and honor this fact too.”

Working from home is a great option for many people, but it can be hard to keep a balanced schedule and a clear head if you don’t stick to a plan. Success is great, but not at the cost of your sanity. Consider the above advice and see how you can apply it to your life.

Copyright 2020, Wellness.com