Millions of people around the world are forced to work from home for the first time due to the coronavirus epidemic, work from home productivity is on everyone’s mind. What’s even more important than getting enough work done while working from home is knowing when to quit. Before the existing conditions, the boundaries between work and non-work were already blurred. However, they are almost non-existent when your workplace is located in your bedroom, kitchen, or living area.
Work-at-home burnout is a significant problem. And it’s just getting worse as our present position adds uncertainty, stress, and more household duties. While it used to be simpler to compartmentalize your work week around commuting, weekend activities, and Monday morning chat, our present scenario has eliminated such traditions. Rather than that, days seem to merge together. Afternoons abruptly transform into nights. Weekdays and weekends become synonymous. Our idea of time has been radically altered, making it simpler than ever to work (or think about work) nonstop.
Even before the coronavirus, we knew that workers who are always “on” are more prone to burnout. However, this sentiment has grown much stronger in the present circumstances. Many of us cling to employment in pursuit of some kind of normalcy. However, the more “always-on” you are, the more similar your team will be. All of this contributes to a perfect storm of work from home burnout: extended periods of stress brought on by uncertainty, a lack of boundaries (both temporal and spatial), and the additional stress of adjusting to working from home. Burnout is a condition that occurs as a result of extended periods of stress and uncertainty. And, although we have no influence over what happens in the world around us, we do have control over our own days. A healthy work-life balance is a critical component of mental wellness. Regrettably, most of the above advice is based on social interaction. Visit the gym. Reconnect with pals. Take a break.
Rather than that, we need a paradigm shift in our thinking about how to disengage and prevent work-from-home fatigue. Here are some tips to get rid of fighting burnout :
- Establish a separate WFH space
This does not need a corner office in your house. All you need is a separate workstation that allows you to leave when the day is done. If you have children, a separate area may also aid in the establishment of boundaries with them. Establish a method to communicate to them when it is OK to visit and when you need time to concentrate.
2. Establish routines to begin and finish your workday.
A physical workplace enables you to compartmentalize work from the rest of your life at home. However, you must combine physical and mental limits. Routines are symbolic acts done at important points in our lives that assist us in maintaining our habits, switching settings, and remaining productive.
3. Establish reasonable objectives and keep track of your progress
If you are totally overloaded, none of these limits or routines will matter (or suffering serious work-from-home guilt). Rather than that, you should establish realistic daily objectives and maintain a simple system for tracking your success. According to researchers, the most critical element in feeling successful and content at the end of the day is witnessing tangible progress on meaningful work.
RescueTime is an automated time monitoring and productivity application that displays the amount of time you spend on particular apps, websites, and even documents. You may establish daily objectives for how you want to spend your time and get real-time notifications when you exceed them.
4. Go offline when you’re about to concentrate on your most critical tasks
When you’re about to concentrate on and move forwards on critical tasks, you must remain distraction-free. This entails closing both the real and virtual doors. It’s simple to close a door or do anything else in an office to indicate that you’re concentrating and should not be disturbed. However, your coworkers (or family) do not see them at home.
• DND/airplane mode: Every smartphone has a method for disabling alerts (or just the internet in general). Close your email and chat app, at the very least. Alternatively, use a programme like FocusTime to automatically block just the websites and applications that are the most distracting when you need to concentrate.
• Schedule-related discussions: Working from home entails a reduction in visibility. Spend a few minutes communicating with your colleagues about your availability and need for concentration (you may do the same with your family!)
• Custom status updates: Take use of the tools that people use to interrupt you to notify them of your data. Most chat applications support custom statuses, or you can use an interface like RescueTime for Slack to automatically change your status depending on your level of concentration.
And, although the advice above should assist you in establishing limits and avoiding WFH burnout, incorporating it into your habits and routines takes time.
