How to Create Balance In Your Remote Work Career

Many people have become accustomed to the new normal; a remote work lifestyle. As businesses across the globe quickly shifted to a remote workforce, some companies decided to permanently retain the remote work culture, rather than go back into the office. For many mothers, this is a great way to help them create a better work-life balance and spend more time with their children. 

But for others, adjusting to a lifestyle where nearly all time is spent at home, finding a good work-life balance has been more difficult than ever, even if you enjoy the extra time with your family. Naturally, when you work from home, work-life balance is a blurry line. Around the world, people are struggling with striking the best balance in their professional lives. With that in mind, here are a few tips for creating a better balance and avoiding burnout:

Create a Morning Routine How you start your day sets the tone for what’s to come. Therefore, dedicate the beginning of your day to a routine that isn’t associated with your work. Hold off on checking your emails from bed. A balanced breakfast, yoga, meditation, a short workout, or a motivational podcast are all solid ideas for starting off your morning with a positive attitude. Morning routines are also important because controlling how your day begins allows you to schedule your day without letting your day schedule you. A great morning will help you be more productive with your time and feel more confident about your work day. 

Build a Workspace It’s important to create a workspace that separates life and work. There are several ways you can spearhead this. One way is to create a separate office for work in your home. Your home office should be free of distraction and optimized for productivity. If you have a spare bedroom, putting together a work space is much easier. But even if you don’t, you can cordone a space in your home, get a desk, and decorate your wall with inspirational elements. 

Another option is to invest in a spacious coworking space. Co-working spaces make it much easier to separate your work and home life. Many co-working spaces offer ample perks, like free coffee, printing, meeting rooms, private phone booths, and networking events. You’ll be surrounded by other rewrote workers, which can inspire you and help you reap the benefit of a more structured office work style. 

Take Proper Lunch Breaks We know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but lunch has the most influence on your work day and productivity. Studies have shown that the majority of office workers don’t feel comfortable leaving their desk for lunch breaks, which does have a negative impact on well-being and productivity. Even though a Tork study found that 90% of surveyed employees agreed that a proper lunch allows them to feel more refreshed when they return to work, it’s clear that the majority of Americans don’t put much thought into their lunch breaks. 

A proper lunch helps punctuate your day and incorporate better balance. Step away from your office or desk during lunch when you can, and don’t check your emails or respond to non-urgent communication during this time. Use this lunch break to take a mental break from work. Listen to music, write, check out a podcast, or do something you enjoy while eating for at least thirty minutes. 

Use Productivity Tools Productivity is an integral part of creating balance in your work and personal life. Fortunately, there are several productivity tools that you can use to help streamline productivity on a day to day basis. Keep in mind that productivity is important in both your work and non-work life. To start, Beeminder is a great motivational tool that tracks your progress towards goals. Toggl is an online time tracking software that helps you gain a better understanding of where all your time is going. Project management apps like Asana and Todoist can help you break your responsibilities up into digestible tasks and better manage your calendar. 

Explore Other Employment Opportunities If you’re following the advice above and still find that your current position often leads to burnout, give yourself permission to explore other employment opportunities that allow you to have the better work-life balance that you’re looking for. Sometimes, we’re so inundated by the responsibilities that are expected of us in our jobs and lives that it becomes hard to separate from the things that bog us down. 

However, it’s important to remember that no position—no matter the salary—is worth sacrificing your sanity, mental health, and well-being. If you feel like your personal life has been compromised and you have difficulty getting it on track in your current position, work on updating yourself and dedicate a small chunk of time each day to applying to new jobs.