It is bad enough to bring the emotional damage of a stressful day at work home with you, but if you are working from home you could very well feel that there is no end to the stress. In order to combat this feeling, you will need to separate your business life from your home life. Otherwise, you could very well find that your stressful work life is affecting those that you live with as well.
Set Your Working Hours
It is important to set your own working hours and stick to them, otherwise, you could find that you are working long into the night. This could be a result of either your mind not shutting off or the fact that clients and customers are taking advantage of the fact that you will always answer your phone or emails.
Take Your Work Away From Your Home
If you are struggling to maintain the distinction between home and work due to living and working in the same environment, you may benefit from moving your work out of your home. Whether this is in the form of sitting in a bar or café that offers free WIFI to customers and pumping yourself full of caffeine so that you’re super energised and motivated, or in the form of hiring a hot desk from a reputable company such as The Brew. Although you may like the coffee brewed at your local bar or café, you may find that their internet connection is not as secure as perhaps you would like it to be. Most hot desks, however, will have a superfast internet connection, reliable WIFI, and backup systems in place, just in case.
Get Out Of Your Home Before and After Work
However, if you are determined to work from home, another way that you can call a break at the start and end of your working day is to go for a walk before and after work. You will soon start to associate re-entering your home after your morning walk with it being time to start work, and at the end of your working day, that it is time to shut down all your business computers and go for another walk to clear your head and get thinking about the evening ahead of you.
Have Separate Contact Details for Your Work
With this in mind, you should make sure that you have separate contact details such as your email, so that you are not drawn into conversations about work with customers when your office is closed and that you have a separate phone so that it can be turned off or put to silent answer phone. This is so that you are not tempted or feel compelled to answer it in your private downtime.
Final Thoughts
It is important to sustain barriers between working life and home life. These lines can easily get blurred when you are working from home, especially when there are clients or customers that know you are able to be contacted at whatever time they choose to call.
It is, therefore, a good idea to set your working hours – obviously ones that suit you and are best for your routines will last longer. If possible, take your work out of your home during these hours either by visiting a local café or bar or by renting a hot desk. Go for a walk before and after work if you prefer to stay within the comfort of your homestead, and always have a separate email for your business and phone, too, so that you can turn it all off when you are not at work.
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