Tips for Perma-WFH

During the pandemic, mental health was a continual issue for everyone due to disconnection. This is still a problem, even when alot of businesses are transitioning back to full time in person committments.
Here are my tips to remaining sane after almost 5 years of continual WFH. If you read nothing below atleast take this away;

Managing and reducing stress is the most important thing you can do (In my opinion)

5. Feeling Tired

Now, hear me out. Most people work hard either phsycally or mentally. There are some jobs which are both, however most are not. If you are working from home it's very likely a mentally taxing job.

So, first ones an obvious one, but dont disregard its value. Do intense physical exercise. Start with a 10 or 15 minute run, give yourself some wins. I like doing it during lunch to split up work and keep my day varied. Once you are ontop of that, bump it until you are on the edge of what you can do. This is an essential stage, you want to be having days where you normally do 10 minutes, but you push yourself to 11 minutes. These tiny improvements add up quick, as the next day you have already done 11, so 10 is that bit easier to reach. Once you slowly go get up to 20, 10 seems like nothing even though you used to work hard to get there. Use the extra efficiency you can have from working from home to your advantage and do more with your life whilst you have the chance. Looking after your body is important as you only have so long on this earth so why would you want to live it feeling like crap. Shift back your hours if this takes too much time out of your day. Keep in line with what you want to achieve for work, dont give it more or less than you want to. Feeling tired is important as it shows you worked hard and keeps you fullfilled in both aspects of life. (Physical and Mental)

4. Prioritization and Timesheeting

There is a certain stigma surrounding timesheeting which shouldnt exist. I think mainly its due to the fear of micromanaging if you detail too much. After all who wants to shoot themself in the foot with their employer. I think looking at it in a different way is important for reducing stress when working from home. When I make a timesheet, I Use as ammo for myself and only send your employer the summary. Use the data to your advantage instead of being afraid of it. Work from home can have a miriad of effects on time, some people work extremely late and cannot separate home from work. Whilst others are the opposite, barely working because they cannot separate home from work. Keeping ontop of your time helps me know what is enough and when I can stop. If you are paid to work 8 hours, work 8 hours. It's on your employer to get someone else if they load you up with too much, remind them that management is not overworking someone.

3. Getting past the 2pm blues

Everyone knows this crash post lunch, and it can be really detrimental to what you want to get done. I find my day goes super quick if I dont follow this simple trick. Do you really want your day to go fast, this means your year will go fast too. My recommendation for this one requires some rigour. Have a siesta after lunch (or your run if you are doing that too). Lie down and dont have your phone anywhere near you. I recommend a 15 minute nap where you actually close your eyes. I find this makes my days longer (a good thing) and refreshes my brain for the afternoon. It essentially splits the day into 2 days.

2. Having a social connection to the rest of the business

This might just be a tiny business problem, however for a long time I never knew what everyone else did in the company. I would chat with them occassionally, but never know what their day to day was like. Having a standup in which everyone just says what they are trying to do for the day is super important. Obviously your manager is going to salivate over the fact they get to micromanage your productivity, however I think it shouldn't be treated like this at all. Stand up is for the individual, not for management to occur in here. So dont worry about sounding busy. I often just say one thing because it is all I realistically think I can do. It should be a de-stresser in which you can ask for help, plan out your day a bit and get ontop of things which are weighing on your mind.

1. Split your day up with things that make you happy

The other things on the list are really just techniques for forcing you to do things which will make you feel better... even when they seem like a waste of time. Things which keep you looking forward or feeling happy make the most difference when dealing with stress. Your list will end up different to mine, whether its washing the laudrey, looking after your kid or walking the dog. Find these activities and FORCE yourself to do them. If they become long in the tooth, step back and think about how you can switch it up and keep it fresh. Chill out about work, whilst it takes up alot of your life. Do you really want it to become your life?