Working from home is a huge adjustment and can be hard for those who used to work in an office all day. It’s challenging to find the right space in your home where you can work uninterrupted. But now that work and home are basically the same things, we also need to step away from our workspace and take care of ourselves. If you work from home, it can be difficult to maintain your mental health. Fortunately, we can take steps to improve our mood and stay healthy while working remotely.
Don't let working from home make you crazy. Try these mental health tips to help you stay healthy while working at home and avoid burnout! Click To TweetWORKING FROM HOME WELLBEING IDEAS
Separate Work and Life
Working in bed while your kids run around might sound like a dream. But work and life really need to be separated when you work from home to avoid burnout.
This can include having separate work clothes and not bringing work into your personal space (like the living room). You could also say no to after-hours work calls and be clear about boundaries between work and life from the start.
Staying Healthy Can Help Your Mental Health
Working from work can make it a lot harder to stay healthy. You might feel too tired or lazy after work, struggle with finding the energy for anything other than work during work time and skip exercise altogether because you’re always home. But staying healthy is essential both for your mental health as well as being more productive at work.
So, make sure you are staying hydrated and getting enough sleep. You can work out during lunch or after work and eat something healthy for dinner. These changes will make it easier to stay productive at work while also ensuring your mental health doesn’t suffer.
Find Structure in Your Day
Having a daily routine is a must for your mental health. This means setting patterns for before, during, and after work. Get up, shower, eat breakfast, work through until lunchtime, then work out and eat a healthy meal. Whatever works for you, but don’t forget to schedule some relaxation, too, because there’s nothing worse than burning out early because of stress!
Whether you prefer going out with friends or spending time alone, having set times of relaxation will help your mental health remain stable – even if that means just reading a book on the couch. It’s crucial to make sure you’re not spending too much time behind a screen when you could be doing something else!
Get Outside
Getting some fresh air and sunshine can improve anyone’s mood. Find a local park or beach to work from, take calls outside on sunny days, go for walks around the neighborhood – do whatever you can to get some fresh air and see the sun!
You cannot take mental health lightly, and it’s all too easy to get burnt out when working from home. We hope these tips will help you stay sane while balancing the demands of your work with other commitments in your life!
These are great tips, thanks for sharing! I especially like the one about getting outside, it can be so helpful! I am always at home with my kids, homeschooling and taking care of everything. It can definitely be tough at times for my mental health.
Always being at home def can affect your mental health. I bet though your kiddos get you out and moving which def helps
everyone thinks working from home is easy but it is really hard with kids because they have difficulty grasping you are at WORK… so much stress!
Totally! Working from home during COVID with the kids home was a different ball game
Very good info here. People underestimate how stressful working at home can be and don’t take good care of themselves while doing it. This article could help so many!
Working from home isn’t always a walk in the park that’s for sure
I worked at home for a while years ago. Back then it was a trial run for the company I worked for. I didn’t have pandemic. I had 4 kids, fur babies and a husband. I got less done “working” during the day then I did at work! The kids, the animals, and later, the hubby, kept interrupting me. The kids wanted help with their homework. Then there was, I’m hungry and more! I ended up working at night and going to bed later than usual. In one day, I was thrown off my schedule! If this happened to me during the pandemic I might of had a harder time, because I would be forced to stay inside – 24/7. YUK!
That sounds pretty rough! I’m glad you were able to manage your mental health while working from home, though. The pandemic was challenging for most of us.
going to share this with my great niece who just had a little girl and already has a little boy. These tip can help or just give her something to think a bout
I hope this article can help your great-niece navigate her mental health while working from home
Those are great tips. The one I learned was to get dressed for work just like you are going to the office because this is your office.
Dressing the part can def help your mental health. It just makes you feel more ready and able to handle your day
Working from home maybe strange to us but in past times it was much more the norm. A miller lived at the mill, a blacksmith lived at the forge, a baker lived at the bakery, a farmer lived on the farm etc. What is new is that we can work at home with our only communication being electronic whereas in the past a miller, baker, or blacksmith would deal with a constant stream of customers in person and would be an integral part of the local community. For most of us, I think, human interaction is a very important to keep us sane.
Very interesting points!! Communication solely being electronic is what a lot of people don’t like about working from home. It’s probably why a lot of companies are in favor of hybrid working where you do some time in office and some at home so you get the best of both worlds.
All good points! I’m retired now, but I was a Dental Hygienist, and it would have been impossible for me to work from home. A lot of my younger RDH friends have lost their jobs due to Covid, and can’t find others.
Ahh, yeah, that is one job that can never be work at home. Possibly house calls but I don’t think that’s a thing. I’m sorry your RDH friends are having a hard time finding work. Job searching can take a toll on mental health too for sure.
Finding structure in my day is always a challenge
Finding structure can be hard but is so good for your mental health
These are great ideas.