Cure work from home fatigue with these 2 simple steps
Tired from all the work? That’s normal. Good thing there are things you can do to make work from home at least bearable.
Statistics from the World Economic Forum tally that 67% employees have been overworking. The global pandemic has seemingly transported us back to the pre-Industrial Revolution, where there was no work schedule nor a fixed workplace. Hence, the exhaustion that you’re feeling from all the work you’ve been doing right now is not your fault.
Offices are built to bring people together and foster more productivity. Working in isolation means a delayed response as we still have to construct our messages, hit send, and wait for a reply. That’s why work seemingly takes forever to get done.
The work from home setting isn’t going away for a while, that’s for sure. Here are 2 tips on how to survive work from home:
Set your boundaries
As much as we hated long commutes to work, it turns out that it is one of those simple tasks that establish a boundary between personal life and work life. “One of the downsides of working from home is the removal of all structural boundaries of going to the office,” says Laura M. Giurge, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in London Business School. Some of the other boundaries we are deprived of are lunch breaks, co-worker chats, coffee breaks, and office-to-office walks.
TED podcast host & writer Morra Aarons-Mele suggests having routines that help us establish when work time begins and ends. Take a shower or make yourself a cup of coffee.
Don’t work from your bed
Turn your work area into a workable space that will get you in the work zone once you sit there. Altering your geography at home also differentiates work time and rest time.
Your workspace doesn’t only count your desk area, but also the gadgets you use for work. As personal use of phones and laptops become the main line for work communication, set a particular time when to open work messages and emails. You may follow the 9–5 work schedule.
If all else fails, the best thing to do is talk to your employer. They can only know so much about what’s happening. Be honest about your situation and provide feedback as to how dissemination and management of workflow could be done better. You may express your concerns in town hall meetings and personal emails. You’ll never know how many of your colleagues share the same sentiments.
