7 Tips to Avoid Burnout When Working From Home
When you work from home, the line between personal life and work can start to blur. This can cause you to work too much or experience too much pressure. What follows then is burnout.
Burnout occurs when one person feels too overwhelmed or emotionally and mentally drained either from working or studying. It’s a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress, and believe it or not, it’s a frequent issue when working from home.
When you work from home, it can seem like you’re always “on” and ready for work that you don’t notice when it’s starting to get overwhelming. You need to watch yourself and take care of yourself. Here are several tips to help you avoid burnout when working from home:
Stick to your schedule
The easiest way yet also one of the most important ways to avoid burnout is to stick to your schedule. If you work 9-5, then work 9-5. Stop checking your emails after 5 PM, close all tabs with tasks, and sign out. Don’t let your work mix into your personal hours. Chances are you won’t be able to turn off your “work self” even in your personal hours.
Set physical or social boundaries
It’s also wise to set physical or social boundaries. You can do this by doing your daily routine when going to the office. Wake up early, cook and have breakfast, do simple workout exercises, or walk around the house to emulate the usual routine when commuting to the office. It also works if you dress up appropriately for the office, even if you’re working from home.
Utilize creative tools
Creative tools and solutions will help you avoid burnout as well. Try various project management tools, progress tracking software, online interactive whiteboards, and more. You can also use a large conference call service to communicate with your co-workers effectively. Meeting once a day or a week will help you keep track of everyone and the tasks, and keep connected.
Ask for help
It may be hard, but asking for help when working from home is absolutely necessary. When everything seems too much at work, ask for help from other people like your partner, your parents, or even your neighbors to do chores. Even just a small chore can lift so much from your shoulders and help you focus on your work.
Focus on your most important work
Working from home might prompt you to think that the more work you do, the better. That’s not the case. What you need to do is to focus on your most important work, those that are top priorities. This will keep you from feeling too overwhelmed and will keep you focused on important projects and priorities.
Practice self-care
Self-care is just as important if not more when you’re working from home. Practicing self-care can relieve your stress, rejuvenate you, and keep you from experiencing burnout from work. Some of the self-care activities you can do are:
- Sleep 8 hours a day
- Eat regularly
- Establish a skincare routine
- Do yoga or any kind of workout
- Watch your favorite movies or TV shows
- Take a long shower of a bubble bath
- Read a book
- Do aromatherapy
All of these can help you improve your well-being and alleviate any stress or worries from work.
Give yourself a break
Most important is to give yourself a break from time to time. Don’t let work make you feel like you don’t deserve a break. Take your lunch and breaks at the right time and really take a break from your work. Watch an episode of your favorite show, cook a meal and eat, walk around the house or clean up. Anything can help you avoid burnout and keep you well-balanced and stable.