9 Sanity Tips While Working From Home

By Vanessa Costa

If you’re reading this right now, you’re probably struggling to manage the, “new normal,” we’ve found ourselves in. Working from home can be a nice change of pace from time to time but it can be tough to manage. As someone who’s worked entirely remote at various times in my career, I’ve picked up a few tips that have made it a bit easier. I hope these can help you find some peace of mind!

1. Don’t lose your routine

Sure you don’t need to factor in that commute anymore but you still need to mentally prepare yourself for the day. Give yourself enough time to mentally wake up aka don’t roll out of bed five minutes before you need to start working.

2. Get dressed

I’m not the kind of person to advocate getting all dressed up to sit on your couch all day, don’t worry. All I’m saying is change out of your pajamas, seriously. The act of changing clothes will help you feel more like a person and less like a blob who hasn’t left the house in days. 

3. Designate a workspace

If you’re not lucky enough to have a spare room you can use as an office, that’s okay. Pick a spot in your place (not your bed…) where you can focus solely on work. It feels cozy to stay in bed all day, it’s not going to do anything good for your focus or mental health. Separate work from your rest space, trust me.

4. Set and respect boundaries

This applies whether you live with other people or not. Let whoever you live with know that during work hours you’re not available. It’s important to be mindful of those boundaries for others as well. Don’t assume that because you like to listen to music or chat while you work that others will too. Give everyone the space they need to get through the day.

5. Take breaks

Schedule some times throughout the day to take a breather. Get up, walk around, stretch, talk to someone, go outside, scroll through instagram, whatever you need to prevent burn out. 

6. Check-in with your team

If you’re having a hard time right now, odds are so is everyone else. Send a Slack message or two to see how everyone is coping with working from home. Besides checking-in with each other, our team has also created a Slack channel for non-work matters where we share positive content throughout the day to boost the mood (think cute animal videos, playlists, book recs, and more). 

7. Sign off

This seems like an easy one but when you’re working and living in the same place the lines can get blurry. When the work day is over, sign off or turn on the do not disturb feature for all work related apps. You need some time to reset your mind so you can do it all again tomorrow.

8. Plan something

Right now, after-work happy hours or dinner with friends isn’t really an option but that doesn’t mean we can’t get creative. Give yourself something to look forward to after the workday whether it’s diving into a new book or setting up a google hangout with friends and wine. 

9. Be kind to yourself

Things are tough right now. We’re all scared and frustrated, don’t beat yourself up if you weren't 100% focused all day. You’re doing your best and that’s enough.