In the past year, it’s safe to say that we’ve seen some significant changes in the way that the world lives, works, and plays. We’ve worked remotely, we’ve Zoomed, and we’ve moved the office environments that we thought we needed to the digital world. Companies like Doist, Skillcrush, and Zapier are all examples of companies that no longer have ping pong tables and free coffee, and let their employees crush their work from the comfort of their couches. With all of this work being done from our own homes, there come some questions, like, “Am I more or less stressed? How has my attention span been affected? How much time am I saving? How can I separate work from life?”
There are a lot of ways that working from home has improved the lives of others, but there have been some negative impacts, too. From a lack of structure, feeling isolated, a lack of differentiation between work and regular life, working from home can feel downright dreadful. But, how can you change? How can you make better habits and behavior changes that create structure and healthy habits? For some, it starts with creating a routine.
Routines like getting up at a certain time, going to the gym, going for a walk or doing something that doesn’t involve your work, and setting your work down at a certain time can create a needed balance between working and your personal life that you didn’t know you needed. Sometimes something as simple as making yourself coffee in the middle of the day and taking a moment to slow down can create a resurgence of productivity that you didn’t know you had!
Another great habit to get into is to create regular working hours. A lot of people work from 9-5, but if those hours just don’t work for you, you can work from 9-2 and 5-8, or whenever you want depending upon your home life. The beauty of working from home is that you get so many hours back due to your morning commute to work no longer being something imperative to you anymore. That’s an hour or two of extra time with your family, working out, or even a shift in when you start your day.
One way that you can cull the amount of distractions from your space is both having a dedicated office space and setting ground rules with those around you. Ask your roommates or family members about their habits, establish boundaries and expectations with them, and tell them what is and isn’t okay. It’s important to have these things established so you have the space and ability to do the best work you possibly can.
Along with boundaries with others, comes boundaries with yourself. Staring at your computer for an extended period of time can get tiring, and you may find yourself reaching a moment in the work day where you can’t work anymore. Recognize when this time is, and work up until then, but once that point appears in your day, close the laptop. Recognizing that you have a life outside of work is especially important to your mental and physical health and wellbeing.
How has working remotely affected your life? What things have changed, or what things remain the same for you as you navigate the world of remote work? Here at Noble we believe in giving our employees every opportunity to balance work and home life and offer remote positions as well. If you’re looking for a remote position check out our careers page!
