For decades, a person who was going to work would literally have to leave their house and go. They would quit their home early in the morning, spend their day elsewhere (be it an office, a shop floor, a factory, or similar), and then return to their habitation in the evening. Because no one was working from home, they were able to maintain a clear separation between their parenting strategies and professional lives.
Things have changed in the modern workplace, and working from home is now considered normal. a well-liked option for both business employees and entrepreneurs managing their own enterprises. The practice of working from home has become increasingly common and even accepted. This move is mainly considered as highly good! However, integrating your private and personal lives at home may also have unintended consequences.
The blurring of personal and professional life
Those who work from home may encounter many issues, including
concentrating on “work time” when household tasks must be finished. If chores need to be done, it can be very tempting to just quickly get them done before sitting down at your desk. Even if it means taking up more time than you have allocated for work. When working away from home, this temptation does not exist.
Lack of precise “finishing time”. Working away from home always provides a distinct stopping point. It helps people switch off their work mode when they leave their job for the day and are unable to work as they can while they are on the clock. They would have to travel to a completely different place even if they chose to attempt. Thus, their personal time is soon further encroached upon by the professional world.
Home stops being a haven. At home, people might have a business line that rings with clients. They might receive work-related mail to their home address. And they might even host client meetings at their own property. This could result in you no longer feeling that your home is a haven from work, or a retreat and a sanctuary that helps you to rest and relax.
Tips for Working from Home
Develop a chore schedule.
Learn how to organize your focus each day! This way you will be less likely to feel you have to stop working in order to quickly tidy up, start a load of laundry, or wipe down the kitchen. Instead, you can tell yourself the chore will be dealt with as per the schedule. This should convince you it won’t be forgotten and allow you to focus on your task.
Opt for different gadgets.
If at all possible, completely divide your tech. Have one smartphone and computer for professional purposes, and a second smartphone and computer for your personal life. In this manner, you can switch off the “work” devices when you’re done for the day. Lock them away if needed, or preferably keep them somewhere out of sight. If your role requires you to manage a team, you may want to even consider work-life balance tracking using Controlio.
Separate your work from your home.
You may be working from home, but that doesn’t mean your home is your work. Opt for a cell phone rather than an installed landline. To have complete control over what business mail (if any) is delivered to your home, use a virtual address and mailbox service offered by websites such as physicaladdress.com. And lastly, consider co-working spaces for client meetings. Fortunately, there are many options available that let you rent a conference room for a day, an hour, or however long you want.
