Working From Home: Finding the Perfect Balance..

As most of the country has either stopped working or is now working from home, we though we’d take a look at how one can create the best working from home environment, looking at how we switch from work mode to family and home life, and vice versa, allowing us the best balance between both worlds.

Finding the Right Balance

Finding the work/home life balance is hard enough, but when the two are in the same physical space it can be trickier to separate them from each other. How do you get into work mode when you’re in the same space as where you relax with your family in your down time? And how do you switch off at the end of a long day’s work?

How to create the perfect work space at home

Even in the smallest of properties there is the possibility of making space for your work station. Whether it’s an entire office space or a corner in your spare room, make a space that is dedicated solely to work and keep it just for that. This will help you switch in and out of work modes more easily at the start and end of each day.

In an ideal world your work space will be in a room not often inhabited by other members of your family. A spare room, or dining room that isn’t in use is best, but obviously at the moment when kids and partners are at home too, there may not be a spare inch of space. In this case just try and have dedicated day work space, which you then are able to easily pack up when the work day is done. Sitting trying to relax in the evening with all your work paraphernalia around you can be detrimental to switching off properly, so whether you have a dedicated space, or a mobile one, make sure you tidy up after yourself. The saying a tidy space is a tidy mind comes in handy here, as a clear space will help you to focus as you come to work each day.

What kind of worker are you?

If you are used to the company of other people while you work, schedule regular breaks throughout the day and make contact with people during this time. It can be a simple phone call or face to face over a coffee at lunchtime. It can get lonely when working from home, so if you have phone calls to make with other work colleagues or clients, why not switch from your phone to zoom or other online conference calling system. It’s always nice to see other people’s faces, and helps us feel more connected in this time of social isolation.

Switching between work and family time

If you need some practical tips on how to switch between work and family time, here are a few of our most useful:

• Set a schedule and stick to it. Just like you would in a traditional workplace, put in place a set start and finish time. At 9 o’clock it is the start of a working day, and at 5 o’clock it is the end – regardless of your location.
• Put your work away at the end of each day. Out of sight out of mind!
• Make a promise to yourself that you won’t allow work to interrupt your family time at the end of each day.

Having these parameters in place allows you to be strict with yourself when it comes to work, helping you to establish a healthy work-from-home environment and the ability to separate work from family time. Because, at the end of the day, your home should be somewhere you want to be, both for work and relaxing.