Finding a balance – working from home not living at work

I feel like finding a balance between working from home and not living at work is something I need to keep on top of so thought I’d share my tips.

Lockdown has meant that so many of us are now working from home, some of us have never done so before, and finding a balance is tough.

I returned to work following maternity leave in May so right in the heart of lockdown.

My return to work was tough.

It all came to a head in December with the rubbish weather, working long hours, and the workload feeling neverending and relentless and I reached the breaking point.

My anxiety was through the roof and I was just struggling – to sleep, to function, and to be a nice person to live with!

Rather than just wallow I decided to take action.

I sent probably the most important email of 2020 with the subject header – help. 

And after a 40 or so minute MS Teams video call with a lovely member of our occupational health team, things didn’t seem so insurmountable.

If you’re struggling please reach out, help is there, don’t suffer in silence alone. 

So I took the advice that was given to me and I made an action plan to find a balance to work from home not live at work.

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My 5 tips to find a balance of working at home not living at work

Utilise flexible working (if you have it) and try to stick to your core hours

I was logging on as soon as I walked through the door after the nursery run and logging off with just minutes to spare before picking Elsie up and my flexi was just racking up.

Presenteeism is something I think home working brings out because you feel like you need to be available all the time. 

I was also updating social media and checking my work phone and emails late at night and on weekends.

So in essence I was never switching off, hence living at work not working from home!

Now I’m logging off when I’ve reached a natural end of the work I’m doing, sometimes that’s later than I’d like it to be but then other times it’s earlier.

I’m also not starting work way before 9 am every day unless I know I’ve got a meeting first thing or I’m aware that there’s something I need to just crack on with ASAP.

I also take flexi days off and actually not do work on these days!

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Turn off social media notifications on your personal phone

This was a big one for me as a large part of my job is social media!

However, having the notifications pinging up was causing my anxiety to heighten.

I felt like I had to respond to messages and comments instantly and be online when I should have been enjoying downtime.

Putting an auto-reply on Facebook Messenger was also a big help so I felt I could then respond during office hours, not at midnight.

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Don’t check work emails on your day off or when you’re not at work

I made the fatal error of checking my work emails on one particular Friday night at the end of a week off and it ruined my entire weekend.

An issue that I couldn’t deal with there and then because I was putting Elsie to bed amongst other reasons played on my mind until Monday morning.

All it did was rob me of time, sleep and enjoyment.

So now I don’t check my work emails when I’m not at work and my goodness it is freeing!

If it’s an emergency people can ring you.

Log out of your work emails on your personal devices to remove that temptation.

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Time block your diary

Block out time in your diary so that people can’t (shouldn’t) put meetings in, for example lunch breaks.

I have a recurring calendar appointment on weekdays for lunch, it is so important that you take a break, so protect this time as much as you can. Sometimes I have to move it a little but I make sure I take a minimum of 30 minutes.

I also block out time for scheduling social media and other tasks that I know I want to complete. This coincides with my daily to do list so I can keep on track of tasks.

Of course, working for an emergency service in communications means that your to-do list can go out of the window when an incident happens, but I try to just use my time as wisely as I can.

I’ve also blocked out time for planning too and regular evaluation.

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Do something today your future self with thank you for

At the end of my day, I take stock of my to-do list and I write the next day’s list out. This helps me to focus on what I have achieved and also what else I still need to do.

I schedule at least the first post for social media the day before so if I do start work and something else needs my attention first thing, I know that I have a buffer of time before the lunchtime post needs to be done.

If I’m switching to work upstairs I pack everything up the night before and set up the office ready for the next day, this means I can just log on and crack on in the morning.

I also make sure that my clothes are all out and ready on an evening so there’s no rushing about looking for socks on a morning.

Think about what things you can do today that your future self will thank you for, it can just be as small as making sure your drinks bottle is washed and ready.

By doing these 5 things and utilising my 10 tips for working from home, I’m finding more of a balance and I’m no longer living at work but working from home.

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