How To Stay Sane While Working From Home

Working from home isn’t an entirely new concept, but it’s certainly become far more relevant in the last year or so. 

Working from home was a steadily but slowly growing practice in the United States over the past decade or two. Since 2005, remote work has grown by 140%, and about 52% of people work from home once a week globally. 

There are plenty of benefits to working from home. Statistics show that those who work from home part-time save around 11 days worth of driving each year by not having to commute, and that teleworkers today reduce greenhouse gas emissions of about 600,000 cars annually. Over 75% of people who work from home say that their work stress is significantly reduced, and that working remotely provides fewer distractions (mostly in the form of coworker interruptions). 

Of course, we all know that working from home is not all sunshine and rainbows. Some issues that many face in remote work is loneliness, complicated communication and difficulty unplugging after work. Depending on the household and home office set-up, interruptions by pets, family and household distractions can prove challenging for many remote workers. 

Adding a pandemic into the mix has certainly complicated things in every way. Those who prefer to work at an office may have been forced into remote work, or maybe those of you who have enjoyed working from home in peace now have had to contend with a full, noisy household. 

Luckily, there are plenty of resources and tips out there for those of us who struggle with working from home sometimes. Here are some of our tried-and-true methods for staying sane while working from home.

How to stay sane when working from home

Claim your office space

No matter where you live, it’s important to set aside a space dedicated for working. Whether that’s one room in your large home or a corner of your apartment, having a space set aside to work can help you get into the right mindset to work. Trust me, sitting on the sofa with "The Office" in the background will not be nearly as productive as you think it will be. Sorry bud. 

If you’re short on extra bedrooms to turn into an office space, then don’t worry! You can use bookshelves and room dividers to set up your own cozy corner to work. Invest in a good chair that will make working at home comfortable and beneficial to your posture. 

Set boundaries with others (and yourself!)

This is especially applicable to those of you living with other people in a small space. If there’s anything you take away from this article, it’s that setting boundaries is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT and vital to your sanity. 

Boundaries with others

• Asking for quiet while working. It may not happen all the time because that’s just the way a home works, but your work hours should be respected.
• Delegating household tasks evenly (just because you’re at home, doesn’t mean you have time to do all the household chores)
• Saying no to extra favors just because you’re at home. No, you can’t go walk your neighbor’s dog every 2 hours just because you’re at home. 

Boundaries with yourself

• Stick to your work hours so that you can foster a healthy work-life separation.
• Keep your workspace clean. An organized workspace leads to organized work, and it will help you keep yourself productive.
• Switch off the screens. Staring at a screen all day long is a strain on your eyes, your mind and, if you’re sitting down at a laptop all day, your body. Set screen time reminders on your phone or laptop to remind you to turn off the tech every now and then. 

Wear real clothes

This sounds silly, but try getting ready for work the way you would as if you were going to the office. Wearing pajamas and sweatpants is fun every now and then, but if you’re having a hard time getting into the right working mindset, then try taking a shower, putting nice clothes on and freshening up before starting work. 

This process gets your mind to think “okay, we are preparing for work” and it will be easier to transition into the day. 

Go outside

One of the biggest things we lose when we work from home is movement. We used to walk out the building, drive to work, stroll through the parking lot, clamber up some stairs, pop into some people’s offices to say hi and maybe even have done a lap around the business center all before checking our emails! Then there was lunch in the park, a stroll around the office, a short trip to the coffee shop and then the whole routine back home. 

When we work from home, we lose all that movement that used to be a no-brainer in our daily routine. Unless we force ourselves to move, we could go the whole day without taking more than a few hundred steps and no fresh air. 

Here are a few fun ways you can hit your daily step goal from your apartment. Staying on the move is just as much for your sanity as it is for your physical health.

Look forward to post-work things!

Working from home can make the days all blend into one long, dreary, depressing mush of stationary monotony. Every day is the same and it gets hard to find the motivation to do pretty much anything. 

Having fun things to look forward to after work is key to not only creating separation between work and life, but it’s also a chance for your brain to reset and think of something else besides work, work, work. This could be a virtual workout with friends, a baking session with your mom over video-chat, a picnic at your favorite park or working on a hobby. Try to avoid TV and screens, as that’s just too similar to what you’ll have been doing all day already. 

Everyone is different and handles remote work differently, but we’ve all gone through some work-from-home stress before. It’s hard to not go crazy when we struggle to find a healthy work-life balance, but hopefully these tips will help you add some routine and peace into your daily life.

Good luck!

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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/lukasbieri