Work from home and protect your mental health
Burnout is real…I’ll stop here and wait for that sentence to sink in.
Still waiting…
Okay… There has been so much talk about burnout and mental health in the workspace lately. This a conversation that has undoubtedly been climaxed by the “work from home phenomenon” among many other residual effects of the pandemic. Let’s talk about how working from home went from, in some cases, to being aligned to “fun, flexible, autonomous” to long days, no breaks, and an over heightened sense of anxiety. Let’s assess two major ways in which, if not managed correctly, remote work can negatively affect your mental heath:
Number One: You don’t turn off
Sure, there are so many benefits of working from home. You save on gas due to lack of commute, you are more accessible to family (and pets), you have flexibility in your hours, you can catch up on your favorite shows in the background while you work, and on most days you don’t have to get dressed up. We’ve all seen those Tik Toks with those Zoom calls where someone is wearing a suit on the top with pajama bottoms. Most of the times you’re in Lululemons. Classic.
However, if you are not careful and really mindful of how you prioritize your time, working from home can have some severely negative effects on your life and your mental health. For example, you can get into the habit of never “clocking out.” As soon as you get up, you open your laptop and start your checking emails, then next thing you know you’re well into your work day. You haven’t eaten, you’ve missed your morning exercise, and you haven’t taken a break. To make things worse, it’s 7PM and you’re still online supporting teams who are in an earlier time zone because you think that they need your help. Before you know it, the day is over and you are exhausted but you still feel as though you haven’t done enough so you don’t sleep well because of worry. Tomorrow you wake up and it’s “wash, rinse, repeat” all over again. The weekend comes and you are burnt out. You have put in a 60-70 hour work week, have not spent time with your family or friends, have not taken time out to properly keep up with your meals and well “your brain hurts.” Literally. Still sounds fun?
Number Two: Your mood changes and you start “sucking at your job”
You start getting cranky because you’re tired and you start losing track of your priorities. Your job performance unfortunately tanks and you start worrying that others will notice or that you will eventually lose your job. It becomes a downward spiral from here. Now you are doing the opposite of what you intended - you are making things worse by not not adding value because you are making mistakes that can affect the company and others around you.
Additionally, working from home can already be tough for those who are limited to video/virtual interactions. However, if you get so deeply involved into your work and cut off even these virtual interactions, you can end up feeling depressed, alone, and isolated from your team and company.
“Okay, now Clearly Creative how do I prioritize my mental health?”
Great question, and glad you asked! Disclaimer: Neither myself nor any members of our team are licensed therapists nor do we claim to be. As a matter of fact, we don’t want to be mental health professionals. It’s a well respected (thank you!) but very tough gig. We are resume writers and career mentoring folks who know a fair bit about work and life. However,
Here are some healthy tips that can help based on some “stuff” that we have tried ourselves and from we’ve heard from others/clients:
1. Location, location, location - the WHERE you set up your home office, workstation, or laptop is EVERYTHING. “Out of sight, out of mind,” really does have some merit here, friends. If you can help it, try and position your office space in an area in your home where: 1. it’s not the first thing you see when you wake up or 2. it’s not the last thing you see when you go to bed. This will reduce the temptation to jump online right away or check last minute emails before you wrap up your day. Also, on weekends if/when you’re “bored” you won’t be tempted to log on to try and get ahead for the upcoming week. Now, don’t get me wrong…being proactive and preparing for work beforehand and getting organized for the day before are all fantastic traits to have. Additionally, we are not against working over time if you have a project that’s dead-lining or if it’s an absolute must. However, be responsible with your time and use common sense.
2. Habit stack like a pro - you will notice that we love talking about “habit stacking” here at Clearly Creative Resumes. James Clear, in his NY Times Bestseller, Atomic Habits, was the first to introduce this remarkable concept. James Clear, thank you for your profound guidance - we love you! If you’re not familiar with the idea, here’s a quick run through: You create healthy habits, by adding a new behavior and building (stacking) as you move through your day (everyday) so you can start seeing improvements and positive changes in your life. These habits should not disrupt your normal routine. In this instance, you can stack them around your day to fill the time before you begin your workday and after. This will also help you build a sense of discipline and accomplishment in your overall life. Happy life leads to a happy mental health. You’ll then be able to show up online and at work when you’re supposed to feeling positive, filled with ideas, and mentally recharged.
3. Book “lunch” in your calendar - organize your schedule where you create specific calendar blocks for each task that you need to accomplish during the course of each day. Create a block that says “Lunch". Yes, you read that correctly. Even if you are having lunch by yourself, book the time you need to eat. This way, “lunch” is listed as a task or action item for that specific day and when you get a calendar reminder you will know that it’s time to take a break. Set this as a daily recurring calendar event. Granted, not every day is perfect and sometimes we need to pivot. However, never delete your lunch block. Move it to a later time in the afternoon, but keep it. It is also a good idea to have your lunch already prepared so you can eat it quickly and get out for a walk.
4. Stay connected to your team and others
1. keep in touch with team members on live chat via Slack, Teams, Google Chat or whatever it is you use. Note, this is not meant to be an opening for idle chit chat. However, simple “good mornings” or asking someone how their day is going should suffice. Also, if you can, try and book a 20-30 min coffee meeting with someone different at least once a week. Bonus tip: Keep the majority of your meetings to video meetings, this way you can see people.
2. in your personal life - don’t ghost your family or friends when they try to call you during the day; especially your parents. They don’t particularly appreciate that. Instead, send a quick message if you can and say you will call back after you’re finished or during lunch. Commit to a time that you will phone back, this way you actually do!
5. Set boundaries -one easy way to do this by “setting office hours” for yourself and adding these to your calendar. For example, you can set your office hours from 9AM - 4PM. Giving yourself the extra hour (8-9AM) to get caught up before you hit the ground running and that additional hour to wrap up your day (4-5PM) free of interruption. Setting office hours would also deter others within your organization from sending you meeting invites for times when you are unavailable.
If you’re still struggling to find a balance between prioritizing your mental health and finding that work life balance, don’t worry or feel guilty. You’re not alone. Give it some time, you will get there and soon you will be able to enjoy all of the abundance that remote life has to offer while feeling mentally clear and living a health, happy life.
