Working from home isn’t an anomaly like it used to be in the old days. With the rise of SEO, online marketing and other web-based industries, it’s becoming commonplace for professionals to forego the morning commute in favor of their home office.
However, while telecommuting certainly has its benefits, it also has
it’s downsides as well. Working a few feet away from your living room
can wreak havoc on your productivity, and the lack of face-to-face
communication can leave you lonely and sometimes even depressed. As a
result, anyone thinking about moving their job back to the homestead
should follow these easy steps to stay happy, fit, and functional during
the day.
1. Force yourself to go outside. The freedom
to work all day without putting on pants sounds great in theory, but it
can turn you into a hermit if you aren’t careful. In order to keep
yourself mentally and physically fit, schedule regular breaks that force
you to go outside. Take a jog in the morning or spend some time lifting
weights at the gym. If you’re worried about taking such a long break
from your work, then just take an hour to go work in a coffee shop or a
library. Any change of scenery will do you good.
2. Spread out your work.
You might find that without other people around to distract you, you
can get all of your work done by 2pm every day. This might be exciting
at first, but eventually all of those free afternoons will start to
become boring and even oppressive. If your spouse or friends work
regular jobs, try to spread out your day so that you finish at roughly
the same time they do. Start later in the morning and take breaks
between assignments to read a book or play
a game before resuming your work. Though it might seem
counterintuitive, lengthening your day will actually make you happier
and more productive in the long run.
3. Have lunch with others. Chatting with co-workers through their laptops
doesn’t exactly fulfill your basic human need for social interaction.
Luckily, you can address this by making good use of your lunch breaks.
Schedule lunches with family and friends and your fellow employees every
day of the week. This will give you a chance to get out and socialize
with people face-to-face, as well as providing you with impetus to brush
your teeth and get dressed every morning.
4. Set boundaries.
When you’re not operating on a fixed schedule, it’s all too easy to let
your work time bleed into your personal time. This can cause problems
when you find yourself working every weekend and frantically responding
to emails during family dinners. Maintain a healthy work-life balance by
setting boundaries
on your work time. For instance, you might institute a policy where
you don’t open emails after 6pm and only allow yourself to work two
Saturdays a month. Find a schedule that works for you and stick to it
so that you don’t come to loathe your smart phone’s inbox function.
Working
from home can be extremely liberating, but only if you approach it with
proper mindset. When you decide to telecommute, make sure you take
regular breaks and try not to let your work time interfere with your
personal time (and vice versa). Though it might take some getting used
to, if you can follow these simple rules for working from home you can
enjoy a happy, healthy and productive career for years to come.
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