Do you struggle to separate your workday from your personal life? Have you ever found yourself working long hours, or obsessing about your next project when you’re starting tomorrow? If so, you’re not alone.
Over 3.9 million Americans work remotely some of the time, which can cause conflicts in work-home balance. Similarly, office-based employees are working longer hours and spending more time thinking about work than ever before.
This type of behavior can have negative impacts on your work performance and health. We are going to take a look at five tips you can start using today if you want to find a balance between your work and home life.
Prioritize Tasks Daily
One of the most common causes of a scattered schedule is disorganization. Overcoming disorganization, especially if that’s your preferred style, can pose a significant challenge.
The clutter and sporadic schedule causes confusion and can consistently add hours to your workday. We suggest that you start each day by making a list of all the tasks you hope to accomplish throughout the day. Once everything is written down, revisit each item and prioritize it based on a four number system.
Here’s how it works,
- Important and urgent tasks
- Important, but not urgent
- Not important, but urgent
- Not import, nor urgent
Once you’ve assigned each task a number, put them in order. The items at the top of your list are essential and require your immediate attention. You can use this method to space out your workday, which makes it easy to enjoy your free time after taking care of all of the daily pressing issues.
Work when You’re Most Productive
Remote workers often suffer from working when they are not at their best. The result is they sit there and stare at their screen, hoping that they can finish everything up by the end of the day.
The problem with that thought process is you are going to spend much more time sitting at your computer as opposed to just working when you’re feeling productive. Some people work well at night, some can perform during the early morning hours, and some people work on their projects in small chunks.
If you use your most productive hours efficiently, you’ll get more work done in less time. You’ll then have more free time to enjoy your family and hobbies.
Outsource when Applicable
Business owners and managers should always outsource tasks when possible. There are some tasks, like social media support, that requires an in-house employee. However, there are plenty of WordPress plugins and companies that allow you to outsource other tasks.
For example, someone who runs a website may want to consider outsourcing their customer service on-site to free up more time for complicated tickets. People in management positions can outsource tasks to other members of the team, which allows you to get more done during your eight-hour shift.
Because you’re able to get more done throughout the day, you’re ready to spend more time taking care of yourself.
Don’t Neglect Your Health
There are plenty of professionals willing to sacrifice their health so they can get their work done and spend time with their family. You should never, under any circumstance, but your physical or mental health on hold to balance your work-home life.
Make time to go to the gym, eat right, and visit your doctor. These small but important decisions can help you feel better, which makes you more productive.
Turn Off Notifications after Work
Finally, when you’re done with work for the day, turn off your notifications. If you have to, block screens like your eCommerce analytics or social media feed to keep your mind on your personal life. We have to learn to separate ourselves from work.
If you don’t mentally clock out for the day, you may as well sit in front of your desk until the next morning. You may struggle with the idea at first, but it’s one of the best things you can do if you want to balance your work-home life. The people that entered your online giveaway don’t need your immediate response, the email from a vendor that’s closed can wait. These are all things that can wait until you’re up and working the next day.
Conclusion
As the remote workforce begins to topple the office employees, we expect to see many people struggle with balancing their work-personal life. Working from home has benefits; there’s no doubt about it. However, you have to learn that discipline comes with this power.
Make sure you’re working when you’re most productive, take care of yourself, outsource tasks when possible, and don’t forget to clock out mentally.