Burnout is a real and active side-effect from overworking in society today. Technology has vastly improved over the last 20 years to help enhance our lives for the better.
However, it has caused many workers to blur the lines between work and play. When the pandemic struck and remote working became the norm. The once known work-life balance started to deteriorate. While some employees thrived under the new conditions, others struggled to work effectively whilst making time for life after work.
One thing is for sure, the reality of remote working is here to stay for the long-haul. To maintain your productivity at work, without reaching that dreaded burnout stage, changes in your daily patterns must take place. In this article we go through ways to work effectively from home whilst managing a good work-life balance.
- The changes that Covid-19 has had on businesses
- Prioritise your time
- Set your working hours
- Know your peak times
- Create a workspace
- Take breaks
The changes that Covid-19 has had on businesses
The world pretty much shut down from early 2020 and most of us are still feeling the effects. Companies had to decide to adapt to the change or risk going out of business. Everyone had to start working from home. Some companies saw this new way of business was actually cheaper and didn’t have a negative effect on worker productivity.
In the US, a few businesses actually decided to sell their offices and start to work permanently from home.
Saving on the rent and other expenses of having a physical location. Businesses saw the many upsides when it came to working from home. A study conducted revealed that 77% of those who work remotely at least a few times per month show increased productivity. Along with 30% doing more work in less time.
Major companies like Facebook, Twitter, BP and Microsoft, have already opted for flexible remote working. It’s clear that the pandemic has changed the way we work. For the most part it’s been for the better. The main concern is where we go from here. As productivity rises and companies implement more remote working opportunities, there must be ways to safeguard employees’ mental health. The key to this is managing a suitable regime that allows a healthy work-life balance.
Prioritise your time
It is important to find balance in your life. This is especially crucial when you find yourself working from home. It can be hard to separate your work and social life. Instead of leaving the stresses of work at the office, the place you would normally relax and unwind at the end of the day is now also your working environment.
One way you can do this is through prioritising your time.
You might find yourself with an endless list of things you need to do. Focusing on this, especially when you’re at home, can be difficult. Prioritise and split up your responsibilities into categories. This will help you to understand what to approach first and what you can push to the back burner for a while. One way you can do this is through the quadrant method. This is where you split your tasks like this:
- Urgent and important
- Important but not urgent
- Urgent but not important
- Neither urgent or important
This way you’re able to identify which tasks need immediate attention and those that can be handled at a later date. Relieving you of unnecessary stress throughout the day.
Set your working hours
It’s important to have a schedule, it helps to break up your day and ensures that you find time throughout the day to complete everything in your planner. Having your work hours set means that you will know when it’s time to stop working and take some time for yourself, ensuring that you don’t overwork yourself and fall into a slump. As well as this, if your work involves working with clients it’s important to set these boundaries. One little favour done outside of business hours and the next thing you know, you’re getting emails at 2am demanding changes to the project to be done immediately!
Know your peak-times
To ensure you make the most of working from home you have to understand how your body works. For example if you’re a morning person then don’t leave your lengthy work for the afternoon or evenings or vice versa. This may make it feel like your tasks are dragging and you may find it difficult to finish anything, so understanding how you best work is an important step.
Create a workspace
Having a space that you dedicate specifically to working is very important, it helps to separate you from your social-self and your work-self. Not only is it good for your mental health but it can also ensure that you don’t blur the lines between the two. Invest in good equipment for your space, an ergonomic chair, keyboard and desk for example. Having good quality equipment to create a comfortable, safe and relaxing environment. This will be an investment that you will definitely benefit from, not only in the short term, but also in the long term it will be worth every penny.
If your home doesn’t offer the ability to have separate workspaces, you can always find a local coffee shop or library to work in for the day. The aim is to change the environment you are working in so that the feeling of being drained doesn’t slowly creep up in your mind.
Take breaks
Whether you think you have too much work on your plate or not, always take a break. Our brains can only cope with an hour of focused work, with a small 5 minute break in between, so a break doesn’t have to mean 30 minutes to an hour. Remember that 1 hour of focused and undisturbed work is better than 4 – 6 hours of unfocused work. So try not to force yourself to work when you find yourself unable to focus and be productive.
We at Learn&Co understand the evolution and progression of language in the workplace and know that having people from multiple backgrounds, cultural experiences and so on can greatly improve how a business operates. Our specialised language tutors are highly trained and skilled to work with people individually or as a group to help everyone to understand their strengths and weaknesses and ensure they all achieve their long term goals.
We are also working with businesses and their employees to help them brush up any crucial language skills that they may already have, so no matter your position, Learn&Co can provide you with personalised lessons to suit your needs no matter what they are.
