Do you have practical advice for maintaining work/life balance while WFH consecutively
Bruno Raljić
26 replies
I'll start with one. Hopefully we can build a collection of actionable tips that we could start doing TODAY. So, no theoretical discussions e.g. whether going for a walk is a good thing. Also, please provide a reason for your tip.
So, here's mine that I've started doing
At the end of the working hours - Pack your laptop in your backpack. Don't just close the lid. Unplug any dongle, cable, everything. Next morning setup everything for your work. This way you'll prevent yourself from that urge known as "just check this tiny little thing that will eat 2 more hours of my free time". No matter if you are at the same desk in your home for every day, just start doing this. If it seems like too much remember that in pre-corona times you were doing the same things. Plus commuting.
Reason for this tip is that in consecutive wfh you may lose the sense when are you working and when you're not. So you can switch to a 16h+ working hours which is not good. You'll burn out. You're also "stealing" time from your family (if you live with someone).
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Michael Goldstrom@goldstrom
This is precisely what my site does - helps you maintain a work life balance. The rules are: planning, accountability, ease and others. If you're too hard on yourself, you won't maintain a routine. If you have no plan, you have no routine to work towards. If you don't have others, you will feel alone and lose motivation over time when things get tough, which they will and do.
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CoPrompt
I installed a pull-up bar right outside the room I work in. Every time I go out, I do a few pull-ups :)
Warmup Inbox
Well as a French citizen I'm having quite strike eating habits. I have dedicated time for lunch, afternoon break and dinner. This gives some structure to the day and allow to plug other habits on it.
I'm also drinking yerba maté, in addition to provide caffeine it is a good way to make regular break, as you need to refill the thermos roughly every hours.
Simple but changed the game for me early on - plan your day the night before
Community Tip Jar
I use google calendar, write my to-do list and rank them in the order I have to do. Second, I check my for schedule for any pre-booked meetings and write down the hours I won't be available for work. I try my best to complete that to-do by end of the day however if anything personal turns up that I couldn't skip then I move the incomplete to another day.
Also while you work, mention it to your working partners and take breaks with them. Talk to them via phone or any other means at regular intervals. And when you are spending time with your family, message the working partners not to reach out to you. Hope this helps.
Hi Bruno, I agree that maintaining some semblance of our work routine is important, and some go as far as to dress as they would for the office.
I keep a strict diet and fitness routine that breaks things up, and the advice I give to people who're attempting to do the same thing is to look at it as a commitment and not a sacrifice.
Bee Informed
@waynesmallman Ah, for me this whole dressing stuff doesn't have a practical impact. Sure, some ppl can switch their mindset easier when they dress like for work, but other than that it doesn't really help me doing things differently.
Strict routines on the other hand helps.
I have designated a specific room in my house that I have designated for Work - but to wrap my work day - I have to sign off, leave the room and do something active - go for a run, do yoga in a different room, etc. This has been deemed "my commute" to know I have disconnected from the work day.
Bee Informed
@dani_smart yeah, it's good when you have separated room. Not my case actually :/ That's why I need to do this (packing laptop), since it's almost at my fingertips.
I have a few tips on this that worked for me personally - actually wrote it down in an article: https://codebasil.com/reads/how-...
One of the thoughts is similar to yours.
Mic Drop
Take a break in the middle of the day! I've worked remotely for the past ten years, and this is probably the thing that's made the biggest impact—especially as I'm in Europe, and I usually work with teams mostly based in the US. I have a nice quiet mostly-uninterrupted work session in the morning, then I get out, see the sunshine, do some exercise when there are fewer people around, and then I come back and can collaborate with people in the early evening.
This means I can go to the pool or the squash courts or the shops when they're less busy (I've been living avoiding-people life since way before it became mandatory) and I don't accidentally wind up working a 16h day when people inevitably start pinging me in the evening or scheduling 8pm meetings.
Also, recognise that 8h of logged, intensive, heads-down "work" time isn't quite the same as 8h of showing up at the office, having chats around the water cooler, etc. And working from home due to a pandemic is a very, very different situation from working from home because that's what you've chosen to do. Be kind with yourself. ❤️
This is awesome advice! I also try to book the last slot of my day on my calendar so people don't get tempted to book something too late for me (my company works in multiple time zones). I use that time to plan the next day/respond to any urgent emails and do anything else that I need to get 'closure' for the day. That way I'm not tempted to go back if I remember something to do.
And agree with @waynesmallman - breaks for fitness and meals are also on my calendar (not all my coworkers honor those though haha).
Bee Informed
@waynesmallman @elena_fedina I can imagine working in a multiple timezone setup. That's a whole new level. But working on own product sometimes feels like a 24-timezones-in-one setup as well.
One of my colleagues is doing something similar for calendar, but after his vacation. So he always put +1 day vacation in his calendar, even he's back that day. We all know all those emails that needs to be responded so he just block that time to get back on the track
@waynesmallman @elena_fedina @bruno_raljic This kinda calendar behaviour worries me. If someone books something in your calendar that doesn't suit you then simply decline it. No need for tricks and workarounds.
Bee Informed
@waynesmallman @elena_fedina @mickc79 Well, I don't see it necessarily as a trick. Maybe as a one step less in finding a common slot. So instead of asking is Monday ok with you and you already know it's not so you replay how about Tue, and then you agree on Tue.
Same with the working hours that you can setup in (google) calendars.
WFH actually led to increase in working hours. I'll try this tip. Thanks.
I believe, eventually, it's all about discipline.
Finding the line between work and life recently has become an issue as of late for me. I've found myself up in the early houses of the morning writing JIRA tickets and responding to emails. Although to start with I found myself sleeping in and working from bed (often in my PJs).
For me, I didn't have a home office but had the luxury of a little space and created one, that did create a boundary for me immediately. Also, not using my work laptop for personal browsing helped, so when 5pm came the work laptop went in my backpack (great suggestion) and any personal browsing was done on a different device removing the temptation of email & slack.
I've also reaped the benefits of the Pomodoro technique, which I learnt more about via a MOOC I've been completing on the topic of learning. The 25 minute 'sprints' of work with 5 minute breaks in between have enabled me to accept breaks throughout the day and recognise my own productivity.
