Keeping Stress at Work While Working from Home

Almost two years into the pandemic, most people are feeling more burnt out than ever before. The balance between work and home for many are non-existent. You may be juggling additional responsibilities beyond the demands of your job, causing stress to bleed into every area of your life. It is important to regain some control of your work schedule and control of your life to manage your stress and increase your overall well-being.

Here are eight tips for helping leave work at work. 

1. Create separate spaces

Demarcate your physical workspace and home space. If you have space for an office or a desk, make sure to only use that space for work. And when you walk away from your desk, know that you are walking away from your office. In homes with smaller spaces, this can be done in a more creative way. For example, if you are working from your kitchen table, make one seat your work seat and one seat your mealtime and break seat. 

2. Don’t work from your bed

Although it was tempting at the start of the pandemic to wake up and work from your bed, it is important for your sleep hygiene as well as your physical health to not work from your bed. Like making a separate space for work at home, this helps your body not confuse work and rest/relaxation.    

3. Re-create a drive-home

At the beginning and end of each day, create an at home version of your commute. Walk around the block or take a step outside to breathe the fresh air. Give yourself the opportunity to disconnect from work and transition out of work into your home environment.  

4. Create a work schedule that includes breaks and end points

Schedules are more important than ever. Create a detailed schedule to structure your day that includes breaks as well as an end point. Try your best to stick with this schedule, it will help create time pressure to complete tasks so that you are not working around the clock.

5. Plan after work activities

Plan something to look forward to after work, to help make work more enjoyable, and to keep work within the boundaries of time you have created. In the past this may have been seeing friends, going out to dinner. However this looks to you right now, even if it remains a little different, it is still important to maintain social connections – call a friend, have a zoom date, grab dinner outside. Engage with others in ways that make you happy.  

6. Turn emails off

This is not practical for everyone, but whenever possible turn emails off when you are done with your workday. If that is not possible, you may be able to have your work emails on one app and your personal email on another app. That way you can choose when you want to look at work emails, rather than just constantly having work emails come up when you are checking personal emails.

7. Integrate exercise/mindfulness into your routine

Movement is imperative both in the office and out of the office. Make sure that you are integrating physical exercise and mental exercise breaks. Walking is a simple way to get moving, but maybe you prefer doing a 30-minute workout video or pausing to listen to a mindfulness meditation app.  

8. Be kind to yourself

Life has shifted, and so remember that the expectations you have for yourself, and your work should also be shifting. Be kind to yourself and listen to what you need to manage your stress.

To explore how you can create space for yourself in a meaningful way book an appointment online or over the phone with Dr. Rebecca Branda, Psy.D. today.