How to set boundaries when working from home

Setting boundaries when working from home is a real concern for many workers during the pandemic. How do you best manage workloads and personal life? This article will show you how.
 
As a majority of the workforce changes to a working-from-home mode, it becomes more important than ever to pay attention to physical mental wellbeing. This is a top priority because workers now face twice the pressure from their personal and professional life. So ways to separate work from home is of course gaining attention for many. 
 
Most companies are changing their policies to help their employees manage their workload while avoiding burnouts. Below are our observations as more conscious workers set boundaries when working from home. Are you using one of these techniques to improve your work-from-home period?
 

Why you need to set boundaries when working from home

When we work at a physical office, the place not only acts as a tangible barrier but it also provides us with a mental shield from personal concerns. Offices are designed and optimized for work productivity, with all the tools you might need and spaces to relax, brainstorm, or attend meetings. Meanwhile, a home setting can fall short of these social functions. That being said, whether you’re an IT worker or Marketing professional working from the comfort of your house, you need to breathe some working life into it with a bit of transformation.
 
 

How to separate work from home during COVID

 

Build and stick to your habits

This scientific method is simple: Create a to-do list of things you need to do every day to give you a fresh and ready mind. Include the activities that help to boost your moods or relax your muscles. For example, your daily habits during lockdown can look like this:
- Water my plants
- Make my morning coffee
- Journal my day
- Jog or do yoga at home
There is no secret recipe for this. The goal of creating habits is to keep you grounded and be ready for what you do.
 
 

Follow the same working schedule

The problem with working at home without a schedule is blurring the line between life and work, making you shoulder both responsibilities with no end. A consistent working schedule to follow everyday can optimize your working time considerably. You should definitely choose the hours that overlap the most with the rest of your office members. This enables faster and more effective communication to get work done. Most companies also use technologies to improve interdepartmental communication and collaboration to help their employees get the most out of their working time.
 
Also, after this schedule, you can totally rest and enjoy another portion of the day the way you like it.
 

Set up your home office to separate work from personal life

Remember the times when you browsed Pinterest and saved inspirations to use later? Now is the time to apply your aesthetic taste. Customizing a home office can be fun, too. But most importantly, this workstation cultivates a sense of belonging in the workforce, to contribute to, learn, and grow your career.
 
This is why personalizing the workspace is an effective way to set boundaries when working from home. It can deter distractions from all corners of your house now that you’re in a kind of semi-office. It is truly the personification of “Let’s work and deliver the best results! 
 
Giving a personal touch to your home space can improve work-life balance that many remote workers and digital nomads keep in mind. Therefore, if you’re working from home during this period, follow these tried-and-true methods to stay afloat!
 

Take breaks to focus entirely on yourself

One step closer to self-care, this can help you achieve inner peace and let your mind rest after all the work before.
 
Working incessantly can take a toll on your mental health. To avoid fatigue and burnouts, it’s best that you also take into account how your mind and body are doing. Once you’ve noticed restorative breaks can no longer accommodate your needs, you will have to switch to a longer break time to heal. 
 
 

Waw Asia has the solutions to improve your work-life balance 

 
We hope you’ve learned useful tips to set boundaries when working from home. We’re a remote job portal that has relevant resources for modern workers like you, whether you’re a freelancer, remote worker, or digital nomad. Actively offering jobs from many industries, Engineering/IT, Marketing, HR, to Language and Freelance Projects, you can always count on us to offer legitimate jobs from reputable companies.
 
Be a part of our growing community of remote workers! 
- Visit Waw Asia
- Choose your subscription plan
And start applying to the job of your choice!
 
And definitely check out our podcast “Remote Work Station”, now available on Spotify, that features remote working professionals and gives you helpful tips for telecommuting.