If you have been watching the working background evolution through the past years, then you’ve probably been trying to get yourself a WFH job. The comfort and freedom it comes with, are two really attractive factors, desirable by most people. It is also proved through studies that remote employees are more productive, healthier, and have a better work-life balance.
Being able to work without having to commute or work while traveling can bring happiness for sure. However, as every aspect of life, except for all the comforts WFH jobs provide us, they also have struggles, hard enough for some people to deal with. Finding the tips that will make work-from-home easier is not an easy task, considering the huge amount of information available on the internet. This is why I have put together some struggles you may come across and their solutions, to help you adjust and embrace a work-from-home lifestyle.
1. Unplugging from work:
While there is the misconception that remote workers are barely working through the day, reality shows that there is actually a problem of overworking, leading to a burn-out. When you work from home, you can choose your own hours and don’t have to worry about commuting, which is great for your work-life balance and your wallet but takes away from your workday’s natural beginning and end points. Without boundaries, work creeps into all hours of the day, resulting in longer work days than in a conventional office setting.
How to prevent overworking:
A great practice is to create physical boundaries between work and personal life. You can achieve this by creating a space dedicated to work. Having a room just for work, which you can leave when work is over, will naturally give you the feeling of separation between work and personal life. Another great idea is to create a work schedule and respect it. When it is time to leave your working space, do it and turn off notifications regarding work that could disturb your personal activities.
2. Productivity issues:
Although working remotely might be freeing, if you’re not used to working independently or with no one else there, you may experience productivity problems. It’s typical even for experienced remote employees to run into these difficulties over time. Failure to organize your daily chores can lead to time management problems, problems balancing work and personal obligations, and other productivity problems.
How to be productive:
3. Getting distracted:
While working from home, distractions can be found anywhere. The need to scroll through your insta reels, your kid, partner or pet interrupting you, the urge to just stand up and walk around or just lay on your bed and do nothing and many more. Falling for every one of those can have a serious impact on you getting your work done effectively and on time, which is crucial for your job.
Tips to stay focused:
- Explain to people around you how important it is to stay focused. Make it clear that they should interrupt you only in a case of emergency. If having a young child, maybe you should consider getting childcare, at least or a part of your working hours.
- Leave your phone aside and turn off notifications. If you are worrying about not answering an important call, a good solution would be to have a private number, given to people important to you, where they can call you in case of emergency.
- Keep things needed for your work or personal needs (water,medicine,etc) close to you, within your reach. Having to stand up to get whatever you need each time will make you lose your focus and create the feeling of confusion when trying to concentrate again.
4. Insufficient social interaction:
Despite the fact if you are an introvert or extrovert person, we all need an amount of social interaction in our lives, in order to achieve a healthy mentality. When working from an office, you will have to interact with other people, even if it is for lunch, communicating regarding some projects or some small talk. While working from home though, you have no more this chance. Even more when your social skills in your personal life are not that evolved. Loneliness is a real danger when working from home and it should not be neglected.
How to overcome loneliness:
A really good solution is to work from different places sometimes per week like a library, coffee shop or a co-working space. This will increase the chances of having a social interaction with somebody. And even if it doesn’t happen, being surrounded by people will decrease the feeling of loneliness by itself. It would be helpful also to plan things after work. Arranging a meeting with friends or relatives is a good way to socialize. But if you are not good at it, here is another solution. Play a sport you like. It is a good way to encourage you to get out of the house without having to think of socializing. It will come without you even realizing it.
5. Bad health practices:
Remote working has unquestionably many comforts. One of those is the ability to choose your workspace.However, this can become a trap if you do not pay attention. Who doesn’t like to work from the comfort and warmth of his/her own bed? This is a big mistake, as it can have a negative impact on your body. Forgetting to have the proper meals is also a common problem as well as not getting properly hydrated. Lastly, combined with no exercising, the consequences will be bad for your body in the long term.
How to keep yourself healthy:
- Proper hydration is one of the most important things. Keep a bottle of water always close to you. If you think you need it, you can also set reminders to help you drink more.
- Do not skip meals. Not getting the amount of food you need, may not be a problem if it happens once in a blue moon. However, if it becomes a habit it will impact your physical and mental health, as well as your productivity.
- Having your personalized working space sounds great, but there are rules that must be respected. While creating your home office, make sure that your work environment allows you to keep an ergonomic posture.
- Exercise! It may sound simple but it is as important. Even if it sounds strange, it will help you be more motivated and have more energy, due to the quality of dopamine unleashed. It will also prevent your muscles from becoming numb after a full day on the desk and also keep you in shape.
Even if working remotely has numerous advantages, you won’t be able to attain a work-life balance until you’re motivated and productive enough to keep it up. The solutions mentioned above will undoubtedly be useful to you in overcoming any difficulties that may appear, so you can enjoy the freedom remote working offers. Invest some time in creating good habits and it is a sure thing that working remotely will bring you opportunities you have never thought about!
Vaggelis Moutsios
Vaggelis Moutsios is a newly inspired author and a book lover since a young age. Born in Agrinio, Greece, graduate in Physical Education and Sport Science at Democritus University of Thrace, he decided to make a turn to his professional career. Remote work and the freedom it provides earned him. Following his passion for writing combined with his 6 years experience in the WFH market, he dedicated himself into introducing this world to more and more people.
