How do you manage to separate work and personal life when working remotely?
Elina R
86 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
Tina Zayas@tinaciousz
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.
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@tinaciousz To help define the end of your work time, change for more comfortable clothing. I go for pijamas. haha It always works.
I think keeping a list is the best way. It helps you plan your day better for today and so on.
@ekaterina_butterfly I was trying to keep a to-do list. But everyday problems and animals can distract me. And as a result, everything is not going according to plan for me.
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.
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
Never bring your laptop into the living room or bedroom :)
@raju_sivarama_gadiraju Good advice! And then where to work? Coworking spaces?
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
@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
Trying to have a hard schedule. Works weak lol
@arina_aparina You have a well-developed self-discipline :)
A couple ways that have helped me. I try to design my life accordingly so that I have time away (planned vacations or short break times). In addition, I go offline after 9 p.m. (before work) and before 6 a.m., so not really having any work related emails in the day when I should be resting is best for getting healthy.
@secure_slate That's a good time management to seperate both the lives.
@secure_slate Now I try to follow the same rules. Plus, I'm trying to add sports to what you've called. While working, stretch or just lie on the floor and meditate. It has a very positive effect on me.
I try this: Nights are always for personal time. Weekends are for personal time too, but if I must work, I try to keep it until lunchtime. Otherwise, I won’t stop and burnout starts to feel real.
@fabianacm The consequences of burnout from work are very severe. I changed three areas of work because of this.
@elina_rappu really? Hope everything is fine now.
Pomodoro works for me. 20 mins of work , 5 mins family time then 20 mins of work. Don't avoid family time , integrate or find a symbiotic relation with family time
@praveen_kumar36 looks like you've hacked your Pomodoro clock, it's typically 25 minutes. but good work! i'm gonna try that too!
Hi Elina - curious what this means for you. Are you having trouble unplugging or are team members expecting your response at all hours?
Back when I lived in Vancouver, I always scheduled my evening gym session at 6:30pm to force myself to log off. My walk to and from the gym was included crossing a bridge over the inlet. I'd usually catch the most epic sunsets around this time. I loved these quiet walks so much which is why I continued this habit for many months :)
@gracehur Hi! Rather, my family members distract me from work and my workday turns into chaos because I'm trying to do everything at once. The operating voltage state begins. I get out of it easily afterwards when I go for a walk with my dog. But it's wasting a lot of my nerves. Therefore, I am looking for a way to relax while working and I want to find a way to separate work and personal life.
try to finish your work before family time.
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
Depends on person to person. There are some who are excellent in planning and execution and time management. For me, Planning works to certain extent as most of the things land up ad hoc. I take things as they come and before I do that, I ensure to complete the task in hand. Otherwise, I will mess up the entire day!
I have 3 suggestions that I have practiced: 1- Divide the work area of the home
2- One day in advance, clarify the main work tasks for the next day, and take the most focused time period to complete the key tasks
3- Plan out personal/family goals outside of work assignments
Hi! I go to another room for work and arrange everything there for a working atmosphere
Personally, for me, it is easy. I set up work for an exact time (for example, set 2 or 3 working blocks in a day). If I am done with my tasks, I go out and socialise with people (attend cultural events, workshops, networking meet-ups, or just read books and have "me-time"). Do you have your own routine?
Hi @elina_rappu. Really a tough question to answer. But, I have a thumb rule to work only in office room in my home for work and arrange everything there for a working atmosphere.
To make sure I have dinner with the family, I almost always put my laptop away before that. However I do have a habit of picking it up at night again. Not sure if that’s really called balance but it works for me on most days