Working from Home: How to Close at the End of the Day

I've been working from home 1-2 days a week recently.

It's been a great boon to my general productivity and happiness, but I've been experiencing difficulty turning off at the end of the day. I haven't been able to signal to my unconscious that “it's okay, you can relax and stop working now”.

For those of you who work remote full-time, or just occasionally, how do you "end" your day?"

Today when I was reading this question Peter Kim Frank in the discussion forum, I was reminded of my cousin who worked remotely full-time for about a year. He faced the same problem. In morning, he had trouble getting to work and in evening he didn’t know when to stop and kept working late hours.

As a result, his both personal and professional life started getting affected. Spouse and children started complaining that he didn’t spend enough time with them. Employers started saying that he wasn’t giving his hundred percent. His health started deteriorating as well.

However, today things are entirely different. He is living the same healthy, happy, and rocking lifestyle he had once forgotten about.

So, what changed my brother’s lifestyle?

Some healthy practices that he started following for taking his life back on track. So can you if you do the same. Just have a look at:

Some healthy practices that will help you keep your personal and personal life in check

1. Creating a timetable
Timetable helps us being punctual and ensure that there’s minimal wastage of time.

So, if you’re also having trouble managing things during remote working, create a timetable and strictly follow it. Doing so will ensure that everything is on schedule and you can close on time at the end of the day.

2. Doing all top-priority tasks in the morning
We all are usually the most active in the morning as our mind is fresh and our body is in a relaxed state. As the day proceeds, our energy starts draining and we start becoming less active.

Hence, if you want productivity in your work, ensure that all top-priority tasks are finished in the morning so that you’ve enough time for small ones and you can close in time in the evening.

3. Preparing a priority list
After reading the last point you might be thinking:

How to decide which task is major and which requires less attention?

That’s why you should prepare a priority list. You can keep the tasks that need the most attention on top-priority, while the normal ones on low-priority. This will help you manage everything in order.

4. Keeping personal and professional life separate
If you don’t want to live in a mess, make sure you keep both your personal and professional life separate.

Here’s what happens if you fail to do so:

You’re enjoying a movie with the family. All of a sudden, you receive an important call. As you can’t skip it, you leave the movie in middle. As a result, your partner gets pissed, children get sad, and the whole movie experience turns into a ruckus.

Similarly, you’re not able to give your best in work because you work from your drawing room where there are many distractions. Spause expects you to help in work, kids want to sit in your lap, and friends visit often.

Moreover, every place has a specific aura. Drawing room gives you a cosy feel. You can only relax there not work.

Would you want your life to get affected because of this? Definitely not.

Hence, it’s my recommendation to not mix your home and office like. Keep separate laptops for work and personal use. Also, try to set up a mini office in a room where fewer people visit so that there are minimal distractions.

This will keep your personal and professional life in balance.

5. Not taking calls or checking emails after work hours
Nothing is more annoying than receiving calls and emails during the hours when everyone is asleep. Not only it irritates people but also causes negative effects on health.

So, here’s a suggestion: unless it’s very important, avoid taking calls after office hours.

6. Meditation, yoga, and exercise
There is a reason yoga and meditation are practised all over the world. Not only it keeps your body healthy but also freshens up your mind.

Also, do exercise regularly. It makes you active and improves your concentration in work.

7. Short walks before and after work hours
In case you have a busy schedule and can hardly manage time for exercise or meditation, go for short walks both before and after office hours.

Doing so will keep your mind fresh, clear negative thoughts, and increase your productivity. Also, it can help you drive your mind from work to your personal life and vice-versa thus keeping everything in balance.

There are tonnes of other health benefits as well, which you can stats from the website QConnect are to be believed, the best performing employees take breaks for nearly 30% of their workday. This means taking breaks between work can significantly improve your productivity. You can perform tasks as per the schedule and then close on time. No need to sit 2 hours extra in evening.

Also, if we’re habitual of working long hours, we may lose track of time and end of working a couple of hours extra. So, take little breaks between work.

9. 100% dedication
My boss at Applify (the company where I work) said once:

“Whatever you’re doing, do with complete passion. Working? Show complete dedication. Partying with friends? Party like there’s no tomorrow. Give your 100 percent. Only then you can expect 70-80.”

These words apply very well in this case. Working on a project? Give your best shot and try to finish it on time. Enjoying with family? Have the best time of your life. Don’t be half at work or half at home. Otherwise, things will be completely messy.

10. Setting up reminders and alarms
This is the last thing that you might want to do. Still, it can prove a lot helpful.

Hopefully, these tips will help you maintain effective work-life balance and lead a healthy and happy life.

Good luck!