How do you manage to separate work and personal life when working remotely?
Elina R
84 replies
Hello everyone! I often have a problem with the fact that my personal life is mixed with my work life. What kind of life hacks do you have for organizing your work from home?
Replies
Juan Carlos Marin@jcmarin
Hi, I like work time but making space for home/personal stuff. By example if I do/eat breakfast I will wash the dishes right after I finish (this allow the dishes to not make a big pile growing as the day progresses), then I get into work and do a burst of tasks to make advances, if I need to get up to relax from being seated, I often also do water the plans or do any other task that takes less than 10 minutes. Same happens after midday.
As you see mine is somewhat mixed up too, is difficult to separate them, the best you can do is to know how and when to make time for work / personal. Because if you want to separate them completely you will be working from 8 to 5 and after that time you will have a lot of personal stuff to get done, which is somewhat as if you were working not remotely. If in your home live other persons wether are mates, family or couple, you need to let them know you have time to work and you can't be constantly interrupted for home related stuff and time they see you around the home is not that you are free, is time that you need to release tension from being seated.
Keep in mind what is the purpose or benefits of do remote work:
- Claim back time that it usually get wasted in commuting and use that time for personal stuff
- Since you work from home, you can take breaks from work but use that time to make some little home related tasks
- Do not work more that the hours you would work in office, if your exit is at 5pm, stop working at that time, if you have a need to do work organize or respond or follow up emails, use an app that allow to schedule the send the next business hours (this prevents that mates and bosses see you as an always on demand person)
- Once you exit at 5pm is fully your time, use it for whatever you want, go shopping, go for a walk, relax, etc.
Hope this helps
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A robust task amangement and planning tool is the key to success.
I use GanttPRO. Our team works remotely and this tool (https://ganttpro.com/) helps us to manage work and personal activities with ease.
A Gantt diagram provided by GanttPRO allows for scheduling activities, setting dependencies, adding milestones for project tasks, and working with flexible WBS hierarchies. You can prioritize tasks to make sure deadlines are met. Its integration options make it a powerful project management suite.
Typically there are no strict barriers for me between work and personal life. If I'm passionate about smth, I can generate ideas and solve some tasks during the weekdays. But even if I feel burnout is coming, I try to slow down and change my focus to other interests: sports, music, family, etc.
NEWOLDSTAMP
1) Having separate checklists for work and personal life
2) Self-discipline & self-management
3) Hobbies that make me want to finish my tasks at 6 pm and go on with favorite activities
@stefaniya_sparysheva How do you manage to maintain self-discipline? I have a big problem with this
NEWOLDSTAMP
@elina_rappu Oh yeah, that's also my biggest struggle. I use Eisenhower Matrix for planning tasks and it helps me organize myself.
@stefaniya_sparysheva Very good points. I too use seperate checklists with visual aids and connections on my data management app as it allows me to easily recall events and tasks. Hobbies are also very important - they keep you in line along with providing you incentives to wrap up your work schedule
@stefaniya_sparysheva Thank you very much for the advice!
PHPRunner
It can be tough but here are some ideas that help me.
1. A dedicated workplace where you only do work and nothing else
2. Work clothes and home clothes. Once you are done with today's work, change. Surprisingly it helps.
3. Setup a routine to get out of the house once you are done working. Go for a walk, go to the gym, go play some sports. Helps you switch to "home" mode.
NEWOLDSTAMP
When working from home, the line between work life and personal life can get blurry. It may become harder to tune out at the end of the workday. Having worked remotely for some time now, I tend to diversify a working week a bit by for example going to another location. I prefer a coffee shop, but it also could be a library, or shared working space, etc. Changing scenery once in a while helps a lot.
But other than that, it also helps to define the schedule for yourself (working hours, taking a break, etc), and also having a separate space for work in the house helps with imagining that you (me😉) work from an office and not home.
Never bring your laptop into the living room or bedroom :)
@raju_sivarama_gadiraju Good advice! And then where to work? Coworking spaces?
@raju_sivarama_gadiraju best advice!!
Pitch Deck Catch Phrases
I have developed my morning routine.
Also, I change into my pajamas and put on a new set of clothes every morning. It doesn't have to be formal but keeps me motivated, especially useful when you have an unscheduled meeting with your boss and colleagues. :)
WayAway
Trying to have a hard schedule. Works weak lol
@arina_aparina You have a well-developed self-discipline :)
WayAway
@elina_rappu not yet! I am on my way :)
KaraboAI
Its tough, but for me the following are important:
1. Routine, plan things that you do daily on routine
2. Regular progress meetings with team/clients -- when you have something to deliver, its easier to work
3. Goal setting and tracking - I use OKRs that I track weekly, making sure I have a target to follow
@berthakgokong Is it always possible to follow these rules? How do you act in cases where there was a force majeure at home?
@berthakgokong Thank you for your recommendations :)
@berthakgokong excellent point on Routine. Benjamin Franklin' method was to acquire a new habit by working on it for 3 weeks as it took that much to implement a new habit. In the era of information and multiple disruptions, this would be more difficult to achieve, however it is doable and the rewards are immense in my opinion.
SocialBoat
A very relevant question. I separate out different areas in the house. One is a work area and one is a chill area. Helps me compartmentalise thought
Hard for me too, but I divide work space and personal space at home, always have just-working and just-personal time
@annalee182 How do you do it? :)
@elina_rappu I've organized a work space, and it's only for work, I don't do home stuff there, same as I don't work in my bedroom, or kitchen, or elsewhere. It helps to get in the work mood and not to distract.
And as for work time, I try not to work on the weekend and not to check my messenger or work apps when I'm not actually working. It maybe seems obvious now, but when I just started working remotely, I had so many troubles with organizing all that and got distracted all the time.
@annalee182 Thanks! I'll try not to work in the bedroom, but it's so hard :) Sometimes I want to work from a warm bed
Have a cut off, and stick to it. For me, going to the gym is one of the most important ways to separate the day. Finish work, and go to the gym before I have dinner. It's become something I really struggle with without!
Great question. Things that help me is a routine, daily/weekly/quarterly goals, and daily journal.
My advice is don't combine your home life with work. I mean, don't do work projects in bed etc. Make your own work area. Otherwise, in any place you will think only about work and the house will cease to be a place of strength and rest.
Hello Elina! You can try coworking spaces in your neighbourhood with flexible hours
@kate_g2022 I'm already thinking about them.
I am still trying to figure this out. My jobs include SAHM, cook, social media manager, data analyst, content writer, strategist... I've got a lot going on and I have to work when my baby is sleeping. I'm giving calendar color coding a shot to see if that helps me get more done and enjoy more of my time!
Taking a walk at the end of the day helps to cut off my working hours.
@tinaciousz To help define the end of your work time, change for more comfortable clothing. I go for pijamas. haha It always works.
Flex-Worthy Templates
I gotta get better at that. I'm having a really bad work life balance now
