Hybrid working: how to split up your personal and work life
Employees in various industries worldwide transitioned to working from home during the recent pandemic's peak. When people learnt that virtual work could operate similarly to on-site, several companies made a permanent change.
Others adopted a hybrid framework—combining two models and letting their employees work in the office on certain days and others at home.
Working from home offers plenty of benefits, such as no commuting, flexible schedules and dressing casually. However, keeping up a distinct line between work and home life can be challenging when your office is also your home. Often people get stuck on the clock and work far longer hours.
It may not seem as apparent to you as a hybrid or remote employee, but you're compromising your work-life balance if you often think about work in your personal life. It can even affect your health, highlighting the importance of resetting the boundary between your professional and personal life.
So how do you set apart your home life from your work career? As you read along, you'll know. This comprehensive guide will help you how.
1. Designate a space for your work
You might spend your day sitting on your sofa or at the dining table working from home. Perhaps you even check work-related texts or emails before getting out of bed, but if you don't designate a specific workspace, you'll feel like your whole home is your office.
Also, keeping your tasks and projects in your assigned workroom keeps your work time free from distractions. You can choose a particular area of your bedroom or living room that serves as your work area if you don't have an entire room.
Avoid using your workspace unless you're working, especially during weekends. Doing so helps create a physical boundary between home and work time. In no time, you will be better at separating home from work.
2. Use separate devices and accounts for work
Regardless of your digital platform, it's ideal to allocate a single account for work purposes only. It will help you build a mental perimeter between your personal and work life. This way, you won't be tempted to check social media updates or succumb to online shopping when you should focus on work.
Likewise, consider getting another device for work and keeping others for personal use further to segregate personal time and work time because you'll likely ignore work emails during leisure moments.
3. Refrain yourself from reading work messages in bed
When you're in bed, avoid doing any work-related activities. Working in bed may create a negative impression in your mind wherein it associates it is for work instead of sleep and relaxation. Furthermore, the blue light from your phone screen may interfere with the production of the melatonin hormone, which can shake off your sleep pattern.
4. Set limitations with coworkers
It would be best if you informed your colleagues about your work hours. Or else, they might assume you're available 24/7. A communication platform lets you disable notifications or set your status to "busy" or "unavailable."
Not just that, you can utilise your email signature as an auto responder if you're away and can't reply to their messages immediately. It pays to master the art of setting boundaries, which is vital to a better work-life balance.
5. Adhere to your schedule
Setting a proper time structure—including start and finish times—is essential for your workday, even if you work remotely from home. Putting a set time in place to finish off your work for the day will help you switch gears from work mode to relax time.
Allocate specific break times for the entire day, including lunch. Take note that working non-stop can be counter-productive. You'll get distracted and waste your time when your brain gets exhausted. By taking short breaks whenever you feel tired, you'll be able to refocus and work more efficiently.
Photo by: Olia Danilevich | Pexels
6. Manage your healthy habits
Remote or hybrid employees are likely to fall into bad practices in terms of personal care. Having a poor work-life balance can negatively affect your mental and physical health. Even spending at least 10 minutes doing aerobics or yoga in the morning can make a big difference.
Even for just a bit, try to spend time outside too. Sunshine and fresh air can help you prevent burnout and depression from work. In addition, your diet is critical. When your schedule's too hectic, it can be tempting to order food online.
Do batch cooking on the weekend as it can incorporate healthy eating into your working days. Moreover, abstain from binging on unhealthy snacks whenever you feel like taking a break. Instead, go for a walk.
7. Schedule a time for house chores
You will likely see the chores you must do when working in your home. To keep yourself from such distractions, keep a to-do list of items like laundry away from your working space. Set aside an hour every day, or pick one day a week to get everything done.
8. Always make time for family and friends
Your poor work-life balance can affect your relationships with your family and friends when you can't manage your time well. Try to have regular meals with your family. You might also consider having "no-screen" time, meaning no using devices during family time so you can spend quality time together.
If you're living alone, make sure to spend time with friends to release tension and stress from work. Also, try to turn your phone off to resist the urge of wanting to check it from time to time.
Key takeaway
It's vital to separate your work responsibilities from your personal life when your workplace is your home. If you let it overlap, you can negatively impact your physical well-being, relationships, and mental health. Plus, it can lead to becoming unproductive in your tasks.
You can maintain healthy boundaries by modifying your way of using your devices, reconsidering your use of personal and workspace, and integrating opportunities for healthy living and socialising. These are necessary for a more efficient work-life balance. So, to help you effectively separate work and home life, this guide is your helping hand.
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