By Nolan Kowal, Sport Performance Specialist
For some of you, your work space has moved into your home and you may be wondering how to best maintain your work-life balance. Here are a few tips that you can try:
1) Keep your work space separate
The best practice is to have a separate room dedicated to your home office. If that is not possible, try to designate a specific area for work within your home. Perhaps you set-up a desk in the corner of your living space, keeping your work area separate from the couch and dining areas to the best of your ability – hello room dividers! Alternatively, set-up your laptop on a table every morning and put it away after working hours in order to keep the spaces feeling as ‘separate’ as possible.
2) Keep your same working hours
When you can, keep your same working hours. For example, if you typically worked Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., try to maintain that now that you are working from home. If you usually took an hour break at lunch time, then close the laptop and walk away from the desk for a little while. Do your best to avoid the temptation of replying to emails after work, unless something is urgent, of course. This may prove difficult at times, but this will help keep you in a bit of a familiar routine. We do not have to be ‘on’ at all times simply because we have easier access to our work stations.
3) Keep weekends a weekend
I cannot emphasize this one enough! Whichever days you usually took off during the week should remain the days you take off now. Again, avoid the temptation to reply to emails or do work during non-working hours and maintain your usual routine to the best of your ability. Weekends are a time to relax, recharge your batteries, and spend time with those you are isolating with, whether your family or roommates. Would you normally go for family walks on Saturday? Keep that up!
While things have certainly changed, it is vital to your mental and emotional well-being to find a balance between your working hours and your free-time. By doing your best to stick with your usual working routine, I hope that you can find a sense of normalcy in this time of uncertainty.
Questions? Learn more about our Mental Skills Services.
