Last Updated on November 13, 2020 by Single Dad In Diego
Nowadays it seems as though we are doing everything from home. That includes homeschooling kids, trying to get work done, and then trying to live our normal home lives as well. Here are some ways to keep it all separate to avoid work at home burnout.
How Do You Avoid Work At Home Burnout?
One of the biggest dilemmas of working from home is that you never really leave your office. Because of that, there is always the temptation to keep revisiting your work even when your workday is supposed to be through. When you are trying to juggle everything that your whole life included before you started working from home and are now adding all the stressors of a typical workplace to the mix, it can be easy to see why work at home burnout can occur. The secret is to compartmentalize the places, times, and things in your home accordingly to make sure you are always focused on one thing and not trying to keep track of several.
Avoid Work At Home Burnout and Set A Time For The Workday End
Even though your home and workspaces are one in the same now, set a defined time when work and home life begins. It can be tempting to keep revisiting work but this is what leads to work at home burnout because you never get any home life-it is all work.
Do not just stop working but make an effort to shut your mind off and stop thinking about work. If you are not physically doing any work but your mind is still in work mode all night, you will soon suffer work at home burnout. Wasn’t one of the joys of leaving your workplace in the past the thought of heading home? Don’t let that feeling evaporate when you are working from home.
You Should Still Take Vacations To Avoid Work At Home Burnout
You might still be in a situation where you have paid time off every year even if you are working from home. It is easy to just say “there is nowhere to go” and not take a vacation. TAKE YOUR VACATION DAYS!
I like to golf and I have written about how this is a hobby that has not been changed that much by the pandemic. While options may be limited these days, seek out things you can do and places you can go to completely get away from work and from your work/home space.
Get Some Exercise To Avoid Work At Home Burnout
OK, I do not want to sound like your family doctor, so I won’t opine about the health benefits of exercise. I will say that exercise, even for 20 or 30 minutes, is a great way to break up the workday and avoid work at home burnout. Unlike when you worked in an office, you don’t need to worry about how you look (unless you are always on Zoom I guess) when you are done working out and you can just jump right back into work mode.
And it is good for you!!
Set Up Your Own Rewards System
It can be easy to lose motivation and suffer from work at home burnout because of the distraction your home can present. Want a great way to avoid that? Set up a rewards program.
Make it something that has tangible positive elements that you will want to achieve. If you are a salesperson and you meet your quota for the day or week, reward yourself by watching a movie you really want to see or eating something special (or having a couple of glasses of wine!)
The trick is to come up with things that motivate you and then stick to them. If you achieve your goals, reward yourself but don’t cheat and take the reward no matter what.
Work at home burnout can strike at any time especially in such a troubling moment in the world. As with all things in life, it is the little details that can make a huge difference. Make a plan, stick to it, adapt as necessary, and excel in ALL the parts of your life.