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Work-life balance is one of the most important factors in job satisfaction and one of the hardest things to achieve in our culture of productivity. Eliminating the physical barrier between work and life by working from your home can, unfortunately, erode the mental barriers as well. Here are five rules to live by to keep you from stress-dreaming about spreadsheets.
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1. Set parameters for your day. Look for a schedule that fits your job requirements but most of all works for you. Take the classic 9-to-5, for example: just like expectations would be in an office, don’t consider yourself available before or after those hours. If it’s necessary, be flexible for anything that might pop up late in the afternoon or for something that is really weighing on you that begs an early start in the morning, but, in general, maintain that schedule—and set that expectation for anyone who works with you.
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2. Let your phone become your second computer. If you’re receiving all the same email, calendar, and chat notifications on your phone and smart watch as you would on your work computer, then you’re never really logging off for the night. Decide what notifications can be ignored outside of working hours. Likely, emails will only serve to make you anxious or feel obligated to return to work sooner. Utilize smart timers to minimize notifications during off hours, or just keep them off your phone completely, which will give you that much more peace of mind.
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3. Make time in your day for breaks. While the obvious advice is to take a solid lunch break, during which you sit away from your desk in order to totally disconnect and recharge, it is also important to find ways to walk away throughout the day. Stand; stretch; and take advantage of being at home by doing some tidying or playing with your pet. Don’t feel guilty about being away from your desk. Recognize that working in an office affords much more opportunity for little breaks from desk time throughout the day, whether that’s through socializing, walking to lunch or the coffee cart, or even having a meeting in the conference room. Doing this at home, too, will help break up the day and provide mental breaks.
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4. Sneak away while you’re supposed to be working. Getting away from your desk is good, but it’s important to do so thoughtfully, without adding to your own stress load. Most internal chat programs have inobtrusive status messages that will make it easier for you to walk away from your desk spontaneously without blocking out time in your calendar—and without your boss expecting you to reply instantly. It’s much better to use these tools than to sneak away and hope your absence won’t be noticed; you’ll likely end up distracted during what’s supposed to be a relaxing break and worried about getting back to someone right away. Setting the expectation that you’re unavailable is an important step for your mental relaxation.
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5. Prioritize life over work. One of the most important things to remember is that you are more than your job. Work becomes our priority because it has a lot of incentives: you get paid; there are people to impress or disappoint; and there are finite tasks to complete that give you a sense of accomplishment. Personal life, on the other hand, often takes second place but needs special attention just to compete with how important work is to you every day. So don’t feel guilty about giving it that attention! By choosing to take a long lunch occasionally, letting a project roll over to the next day so that you can get to dinner on time, or consciously turning down a task that would give you too much stress, you’ll simply be evening out the playing field between work and life, getting one step closer to that seemingly impossible—but maybe attainable—dream: work-life balance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OFFICE ASSISTANT
Sophi has a background in office management and small business management and has had the pleasure of seeing multiple small companies grow with her. Since graduating with a BA in Environmental Studies and Business Marketing, she has worked in both office jobs and the service industry, finding ways to learn new skills and gain responsibilities. She puts those skills to good use with her own small business, an Etsy craft store. She is also a skilled barista and mixologist and enjoys trivia games and baking (she usually doesn’t even use a recipe, thanks to her time managing a bakery).
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