As the coronavirus spreads across the globe, millions of professionals have to adapt to working from home. For many workers, stress and anxiety are at an all-time high. We offer some helpful tips to prevent burnout when working remotely.
Set and Maintain Boundaries
Your mental health will benefit from strong boundaries between personal and professional life. These boundaries are more challenging to maintain when working from home. It is a good idea to set up an official workstation, dress in work clothes every morning, and stick to a schedule if possible. Create some quiet space for yourself where you won’t be interrupted. You may need to establish a quiet time for an hour or more where you cannot be interrupted by housemates or children. For those who have children and other responsibilities, it might be harder to stick to a schedule. It helps to plan your day in advance and balance professional and familial responsibilities.
Stay Active
With millions of people contending with stay at home orders, activity levels are bound to be lower. However, physical activity is essential for reducing stress and keeping concentration high. Stay active! Take short walks around the block, do some yoga, or even just stand or walk around during phone calls. Sitting at a desk all day will quickly lead to burnout. It’s easy to get lost in your work when you work remotely. Set regular reminders on your phone to stand up and move around.
Prioritize Tasks
During this time, you’re likely to be juggling more responsibilities than you normally would. While you’re still performing your regular work, there are competing concerns for housework, and potentially a spouse or housemate working from home as well. And if children are involved you’ll be feeding and entertaining kids, and helping them with their remote-schooling. With so many things going on at home during a quarantine, focus on high-priority tasks. Homes are full of distractions. During this unique time, you may not be able to work as many hours. With all of your other responsibilities and these added distractions, you may only be truly productive for 4 to 6 hours a day, so make sure you focus on completing your highest priority tasks.
Most people in C-Level support are not used to working from home full-time, and even the ones who have experience working remotely aren’t used to having children and spouses at home with them or having the added stress of coping with an international health crisis. Be proactive to maintain your mental and physical health during these difficult times, so you don’t end up burning out.
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