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Find the perfect work/life balance whilst working from home

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One of the biggest challenges of working from home is establishing your work/life balance. It’s too easy to send one quick email, and end up working until the middle of the night from the comfort of your bed. Follow these tips to establish the perfect work/life balance whilst you’re working from home.

  • Establish your workspace
  • Stick to a routine
  • Give yourself time in the morning 
  • Make a to-do list 
  • Plan your breaks
  • Schedule social events 
  • Check-in with yourself 
  • Use your out-of-office 
  • Leave your work at the end of the day 
  • Avoid work at the weekends 

Establish your workspace 

Bringing your work into your home can feel like an invasion. Suddenly your safe space becomes your workspace as well, and it can feel overwhelming trying to separate the 2. That is why it is important to establish a workspace. If you have a spare room in your home that you can turn into a home office that’s great, but if you don’t, use a corner of any room. Confining your working environment to 1 room or corner will make it easier for you to establish the areas of your home where you need to be in work mode and the areas where you can relax. 

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Stick to a routine 

When we were travelling to work we were in a routine. Now that routine has been disrupted it’s time to establish a new one. A routine will help you to set boundaries between when you are working and when you are not. Your body and brain will begin to notice when you need to focus on work and when you can relax, despite both happening under the same roof. Your routine doesn’t have to be extensive, it can simply be establishing a time to get up every morning, but having one will make separating your work time and downtime a lot easier. 

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Give yourself time in the morning 

It’s all too easy to roll out of bed in the morning and open your laptop straight away. Although this means that you can sleep in later than you normally would on a workday, it also means that your mind and body haven’t had time to wake up before you start working. Instead, wake up half an hour to an hour before you start work and allow yourself time to properly wake. You don’t necessarily have to do anything strenuous in this time, perhaps simply get up and enjoy a morning beverage, but it’s important to allow yourself time to fully wake up before straining yourself with work. 

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Make a to-do list 

To-do lists are excellent at focusing the mind and allowing you to set clear goals for your day. Before you start work, jot down everything that you have to do that day, and in the order that you will do them in. This will help you clear your mind and focus solely on the tasks at hand, whilst also giving yourself an indication of when you can finish work for the day. That being said, don’t panic if you don’t get everything on your to-do list completed before the day is done. You shouldn’t be working any later than your contracted hours, and anything that you haven’t done can wait for tomorrow. 

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Plan your breaks 

Breaks are important whether you are working from home or in an office. You should be taking breaks every hour for a minimum of 10 minutes to give your eyes a break from your screen and to move your body. Every hour get up from your workspace and move to another area of your home. For 5-10 minutes do something non-work-related, such as have a walk around your home, read a book, or listen to music. This will give your brain time to rest and reset before taking on the next hour of work. 

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Schedule social events 

It’s important that you don’t let your work take over your home as a safe and comforting area to relax. To prevent this from happening, schedule social events for after work and the weekends. This could be dinner with friends, a coffee, or even just watching a movie with a loved one. Whatever it is, it’s important that your home remains your home and not an extension of your workplace. 

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Check in with yourself 

Burnout is very common with individuals who work from home because they don’t establish a strong work/life balance. Rather than finishing work at a set time, they continue working throughout the night because they don’t physically have to leave the space they are in. This can cause a rapid decline in mental health and can result in you becoming both mentally and physically unwell. To prevent yourself from experiencing burnout check in with yourself every week to make sure that the way you are working is working for you. If you notice that you are fatigued or overwhelmed, take a step back and evaluate how you can alter the way that you are working. It may also be beneficial to reach out to friends, family, or HR to express how you are feeling. Remember that no work is more important than your health and wellbeing. 

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Use your out-of-office 

Similar to checking in with yourself, if you are particularly busy or feel like you need some time to yourself, don’t be afraid to use your out-of-office to let colleagues know that you don’t want to be contacted. This can be incredibly helpful when you are feeling overwhelmed and you need to refocus your mind. You can turn your out-of-office on and off as and when it suits you, so don’t be afraid to use it. 

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Leave your work at the end of the day  

As soon as the end of the workday comes, move away from your work. Do not get stuck in the trap of finishing something off quickly, or answering one more email, because you will find yourself working hours after you’re scheduled to leave work. Instead, when the end of the work day comes, finish off the task you were doing, or leave it at a sensible end for you to pick up on tomorrow, and physically remove yourself from your workspace. It isn’t until you physically remove yourself from the area that you will be able to completely relax and enjoy the rest of your day. It’s crucial that you set these boundaries. 

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Avoid work at the weekends 

Another crucial boundary for you to set is to avoid doing work at the weekends. The weekend is when you can completely relax, reset your mind, and give yourself time to rest. Just because your work is at home and easily accessible does not mean that you should be doing it in your downtime. Instead, avoid going near your workspace during the weekend, and take the time to do something enjoyable and fun. This will help you to establish the difference between your working life at home and your relaxing life at home, helping you to establish a solid work/life balance. 

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Working from home is stressful, and laundry only adds to that stress. Instead of overwhelming yourself, book a Laundryheap order today and let us tick one thing off of your list. To book your Laundryheap order today simply head to the Laundryheap website or download the free Laundryheap app.


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Staying cool whilst working from home

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Working from home is challenging at the best of times, but it’s made even harder during the summer months. Studies have shown that hot days can decrease productivity by 24%. That being said, these tips will hopefully make working from home in the summer a little more bearable. 

  • (Under)dress for the job
  • Freeze your feet
  • Let in air 
  • Avoid fans
  • Cool your pulse point 
  • Stay hydrated 
  • Eat smart
  • Go outside
  • Sit at a desk/table 
  • Try to alter your working hours

(Under)dress for the job

One of the joys of working from home is that, unless on a video call, nobody can see you. That means that you can dress, or underdress, in whatever way makes you feel comfortable. If that means wearing shorts and a vest to help cool yourself down, that’s up to you to decide. You make your own dress code when working from your own home. 

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Freeze your feet

Have you ever been so hot that you wish that you could stick your feet in the freezer until autumn comes? Well, that’s because your feet and ankles have many pulse points and are sensitive to heat. If you put something cold on them then your whole body will cool down. Try and freeze a hot water bottle, or a similar object, and rest your feet against it whilst you work. You will notice your body instantly cooling.  

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Let in air

This may seem obvious, but a good way to help cool yourself down is to let in the fresh air. What may not be as obvious is to open your windows but shut your curtains. Blocking the sun with your curtains will prevent your home from becoming a sticky greenhouse, whilst keeping your windows open will allow any breeze to drift through and cool your abode. 

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Avoid fans

Although fans are a popular way to stay cool during the summer they are not the best way to beat the heat. Fans circulate the hot air in a room rather than cool it, which means that once the fan is turned off you are still left with a stiflingly hot room. If you are going to use a fan, place a 2-liter bottle of frozen water in front of it. This will help to cool the air slightly rather than just circulating it. 

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Cool your pulse point 

Pulse points are the areas of the body where blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin, which is why we can feel our pulses. Because the blood vessels are so close to the surface of the skin, they are also a great way to quickly cool down our blood and, subsequently, body temperature. Take regular breaks throughout the day to apply ice packs to your wrists, neck, chest, and temples. It may also be a good idea to apply a damp cloth to the back of your neck whilst you’re working to maintain a cool temperature throughout the day. 

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Stay hydrated

Staying hydrated keeps our body temperature regulated, prevents infection, and provides nutrients for our body’s cells. We should be drinking 6-8 glasses of water every day, however, when it is particularly warm we should be drinking water more regularly. Make sure that you keep track of how much water you drink throughout the day and moderate it depending on whether you are drinking enough. 

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Eat smart 

In addition to drinking plenty of water, another way to stay hydrated is to eat smart. Fresh foods, such as lettuce, cucumber, and celery, have a high water content which helps us to hydrate when we eat them. When it’s particularly warm try to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables and avoid eating meat. When our bodies break down meat we use extra energy, which causes us to sweat, otherwise known as the ‘meat sweats’.

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Go outside

If there is a gentle summer breeze, then make sure to take regular breaks and go outside. Take a walk around a park, your neighbourhood, or even your own garden, but make sure that you make the most of the nice weather and breathe in some fresh air. Not only will the breeze help to cool you down, but regularly breathing fresh air increases productivity as it de-stresses the body and clears the mind. Of course, if it is a particularly humid day going outside may cause your temperature to increase rather than cool you down, so try and avoid heading outside in such conditions. 

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Sit at a desk/table

When working from home, it can sometimes be luxurious to work from the comfort of the couch or even a bed. That being said, when it is warm the last thing you want is a hot laptop sitting on your legs. Avoid this unnecessary heat by working from a desk, table, or any surface where you can place your laptop and sit comfortably. 

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Try to alter your working hours

As the sun sets the temperature drops, making for much more comfortable working conditions. If you are in a job that allows you to do so, have a conversation with your manager/HR department about altering your working hours. Pitch starting later in the day and working until later in the night so that you can avoid the hottest hours of the day. This could help increase your productivity and prevent you from suffering through working in the heat.

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Working from home is difficult regardless of the weather. Let us take one thing off of your mind by taking care of your laundry. Simply head to the Laundryheap website or download the free Laundryheap app to book your order now.