Working from home. Ah, the life, you think. Those of us who don’t work from home often romanticize the notion of working from home.
No more fighting the traffic on your morning commute. No more dressing up in nice clothes all day. No more getting up early when all you want to do is push the snooze button.
People who work from home get to set their own schedule. If they don’t want to start work until 5 p.m., they don’t have to. If they want to work in their pajamas, they can.
Plus, they can do the laundry while they’re working. They can take a break from work and vacuum or dust, so there’s no need to spend all weekend catching up on household chores.
Sure, all of the above are benefits of working from home. But there are also challenges to working from home. After all, you’re the only one making decisions and accepting jobs. If you don’t work hard enough, there’s a real chance that you won’t be able to pay your bills or put food on the table. Many people who work at home take on a heavy workload to make sure that they can provide for their families. This workload can lead to exhaustion and burnout.
If you have made the leap to working from home and are burned out, don’t give up yet. There are plenty of ways you can recharge:
Prioritize sleep.
It’s easy to cut the amount of sleep you need in order to squeeze in more work. However, doing so usually leads to less productivity, not more. I discovered that if I burn the proverbial candle at both ends for a week or more, my productivity decreases, and I tend to see things in a very negative light. Prioritizing sleep can improve your productivity and your outlook on life.
Take time to relax.
Because the lines between work and home are blurred when you work from home, you may fall into the habit of working all the time. Rather than doing this, give yourself designated working times and relaxing times. Maybe you decide not to work after 7 p.m. Take the evening to read a good book, watch a movie, exercise or talk to your friends or family.
Monitor your time on social media.
For many who work at home, using social media is part of the job. The problem is that social media can be a huge time waster! You might log on to Facebook to quickly share a status update for your business only to spend the next 30 minutes reading all of the status updates in your feed. Pinterest can be another rabbit hole that you might easily waste 30 to 60 minutes on.
If you’re feeling pressed for time when it comes to completing your work, take an honest look at how much time you’re spending on social media. You’ll likely be very surprised.
Take a technology sabbath.
We live in a world where we are constantly connected–tethered, even–to the outside world. If you are constantly “on” thanks to your iPhone and laptop, consider taking a technology sabbath. Many bloggers take all day Sunday to avoid technology and just relax and spend time with family. Try this, and you might be surprised how much you’re able to recharge during that time.
Even if you can’t take a whole day off, why not try to take one afternoon a week off to completely disengage from technology.
Take a vacation.
A vacation might be just what you need. You may think that you will fall behind on your work if you take a few days off, but if you come back from your vacation energized, you’ll be able to tackle work more successfully.
Working from home can be a wonderful opportunity, but it can also be very stressful. Try these tips to recharge and come back better than ever.
What’s your favorite way to recharge when you’re facing work burnout?
How to Recharge When You Work from Home — 2 Comments
I’m working from home for a year and half now and working from home is not that easy actually. You have to make sure that you have a number of jobs or projects you are working onto to sustain a living. You have to work really hard! What I usually do to recharge is I will not accept jobs or do projects during the weekend. So, that means I’m not working by Saturday and Sunday and that’s a great way to relax, do the things you love, and spend time with your loved ones.
Good advice. I don’t work on my business on Sundays at all. I work morning, afternoon, and evening the other six days, but I go to the gym three times a week (well, theoretically), take breaks in mid morning and mid afternoon (except when I go the the gym instead), and have some outside activities to go to. It seems to be working.
I would find giving up technology one day a week too difficult. How else would I play four kinds of solitaire and other games without my iPad? And that’s where my Kindle reader is, too. But reading anything work related on Sunday? Never.
Working from home. Ah, the life, you think. Those of us who don’t work from home often romanticize the notion of working from home.
I’m working from home for a year and half now and working from home is not that easy actually. You have to make sure that you have a number of jobs or projects you are working onto to sustain a living. You have to work really hard! What I usually do to recharge is I will not accept jobs or do projects during the weekend. So, that means I’m not working by Saturday and Sunday and that’s a great way to relax, do the things you love, and spend time with your loved ones.
Good advice. I don’t work on my business on Sundays at all. I work morning, afternoon, and evening the other six days, but I go to the gym three times a week (well, theoretically), take breaks in mid morning and mid afternoon (except when I go the the gym instead), and have some outside activities to go to. It seems to be working.
I would find giving up technology one day a week too difficult. How else would I play four kinds of solitaire and other games without my iPad? And that’s where my Kindle reader is, too. But reading anything work related on Sunday? Never.