6 ways to prevent exhaustion while working from home
Working from home has some major advantages — you can plan your own time, and you don’t have to wake up super early just to get ready (the classic “business on top, party on the bottom” outfit rocks these days, right?), and you’re constantly surrounded by your loved ones.
But those same perks can lead to exhaustion real quick — overworking with no breaks, loss of motivation because of the possibility to work from bed and neverending distractions from family members or roommates.
We don’t want you to burn out, especially since there are ways to make your work from home more enjoyable! So here are 6 ways you can prevent exhaustion when working from home.
1. Set up your space for work
Keep this important thing in mind — if you don’t set up a dedicated workspace, your entire house will end up becoming the workspace. And while in the beginning, it might not seem like a problem, wait ‘til you start to look for important documents that are now laying in the sock drawer or when you’ll reach for spaghetti and get a pack of pens in your hand instead.
To avoid your work and personal life merging together (which is an important factor that can lead to exhaustion), treat your workday at home just as you would treat it when you were going to an actual office.
Ideally, find a separate room away from others, where you can concentrate on your tasks. If that’s not possible, at least find a table and mark it as your desk. Whatever you do, keep yourself away from working in bed (we know how tempting sometimes it can be, but that’s the worst you can do). Training your brain to recognize that the bed is for sleeping and that particular desk is for concentrating on work tasks can be super beneficial in many ways.
2. Minimize distractions
While being at home with your loved ones is a wonderful feeling (especially if you work in a corporate environment with the “my colleagues are my second family” mindset, thus making you work almost 24/7), they can be very distracting.
And naturally, being pulled back and forth between dividing your attention to work, screaming kids and a very chatty spouse can quickly lead to loss of energy, loss of focus, and therefore burnout.
Oh, and let’s not forget about those hundreds of incoming notifications and emails that can throw you off. But you can actually limit your distractions with simple productivity devices like Luxafor Orb! Let us tell you more about ways it can help you!
Communicate with people around you without saying a word
Sounds like magic, doesn’t it? But you don’t have to be a magician to do so — all you have to do is use Luxafor Orb’s pre-set color-code system to let your housemates know when you’re busy working and when you’re open to chatting.
You can also set up your own color-coding system for communicating different things — for example, use yellow to let people around you know you’re on a business call, or blue to tell everyone you’re having your “me” time meditating.
Turn on the alerts for only the most important notifications
No more need to check your inbox for that one important email you’re waiting for! And no more unimportant text messages on Slack from your colleagues.
You can set up Luxafor Orb to blink for only the most important notifications — when there is an unread email in your mailbox or when you receive a message containing a specific keyword to keep up to date with the most burning issues only!
3. Set strict work hours
Sure, the possibility to plan your own work schedule is one of the main benefits of working from home, but that is a skill that can be mastered with time. At the beginning of the pandemic, many people, that haven’t been used to working from home, were overworked because they were unable to set boundaries.
You have to set strict work hours, letting your co-worker know that you’re available from X to Y, and after a certain hour they can’t bother you with questions about work. You can also turn off all the notifications on your work-related apps and block your work email on the Internet browser you use until the morning, so you don’t have the urge to check for any incoming emails.
We know that for some people this can cause anxiety because of the “what if I miss something important” thought, but trust us — nothing at your work is so important that couldn’t wait until the morning!
4. Prioritize your most important task
Raise your hand if you feel pressured to appear super busy when working from home just to let your team know that you’re not laying on the couch watching Netflix all day!
But have you noticed that it has led you to juggle with more “urgent” tasks rather than the more important ones? You have to re-write your to-do list in order from the most important to the least important, then highlight the urgent ones, and after that prioritize your tasks based on importance and urgency.
You have to stick to YOUR OWN to-do list — if your co-worker hits you up with the “help me out, this is super important” message, evaluate the urgency and importance of the task and only then put it in your list where it belongs to. You don’t have to put your main task aside just because your colleague asked you something.
Source: Pexels
5. Don’t forget to take care of yourself
It is super important not to forget about your well-being. And that includes basic self-care, taking breaks, moving your body, and keeping your mind clear. One tip that can help you set the mood for the whole day is creating a pleasant morning routine.
Before going to bed, think about what you’re going to make for breakfast, what podcasts you’ll listen to before work, and what clothes you’re going to put on tomorrow. Make your mornings exciting, that way you’ll want to wake up early and look forward to the day.
Another thing is remembering to take breaks. This simple habit is often overlooked by those who work at home, but working all 8 hours straight can lead to serious exhaustion that can be hard to deal with later.
This is also where Luxafor Orb can help! Divide your workday into bigger chunks to help you get the most out of it. For example, set the built-in timer for 45 minutes of deep work and then for a 5-minute break. It will notify you when it’s time to end your deep work session by changing its color from red to yellow or other colors chosen by you.
6. Re-charge after work
After you’ve finished your workday, allow your mind and body to rest. Forget about all the uncompleted tasks, unread emails, and awaiting projects — those are “tomorrow’s you” problems.
When you’re working from home, it can be really beneficial to have some kind of ritual after closing your laptop, to let your brain know that it is time to rest. For example, make a quick 5-minute stretch right after turning everything off and then head to doing your own business.
Let your mind rest for the remaining time of the day — avoid podcasts, movies, and books with complicated information that puts a strain on the brain. Instead, turn on some kind of relaxing music and make time for meditation to let go of all the information and worries from the day.
Final thoughts
It can sometimes truly be difficult not to drown yourself in the mountains of tasks when you’re working at home (as well as avoiding procrastination, which is another huge problem when you’re not working in the office), so you have to be mindful about setting your daily routines.
We really hope these tips will help you stay sane during these uncertain times that alone are super stressful. And remember — you are not your work, and you have a whole life outside the work, so don’t miss out on living it fully!
LUXAFOR HELPS PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE THEIR GREATEST PRODUCTIVITY LEVELS WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF OFFICE PRODUCTS. LET’S BE PRODUCTIVE TOGETHER!
Do you want to build and maintain new habits? Get your free PDF version of the Don't Break The Chain calendar and start today!
Do you want to build and maintain new habits? Get your free PDF version of the Don't Break The Chain calendar and start today!
Author's Bio
Jessica Chapman, a writing editor at assignmentholic.co.uk and assignment writing services from Chicago. She is into sport and politics, enjoys traveling.
