Balancing Your New Routine While Working Remotely
Settle in and stay in check with your needs.
Written by Jake Levyns
With all the talk we hear about adjusting to a new normal on the other side of this pandemic, there still isn’t much of any certainty about what that will look like. With that in mind, it’s most important right now for us to keep our obligations in check and fulfill them as best we can. If you’re in a similar predicament as millions of people who are still working and attempting to balance their personal lives in the same environment, you know how upsetting it is when one interferes with the other without being able to control it. Instead of feeling sorry about it, consider a few small steps you can take on a regular basis to improve the workaday of yourself and those in your lives. Whether you’re new to remote work/education or have had experience navigating their many conveniences and downsides, these tips can assist even those who swear by the repetition of their daily routines.
Get dressed in the morning as if you’re going to an office.
This might sound like a platitude, but keeping to a routine requires you to consciously carry on with it as if nothing has changed. Much like making your bed after you wake up and preparing your morning coffee, getting dressed puts you in the mindset of going to a destination as opposed to appearing to yourself as if you don’t care, which ultimately will turn you away from your responsibilities.
Manage your time by completing tasks when most necessary.
In hindsight, you don’t realize how having extra time in your schedule makes you worry more that you don’t have enough to complete tasks on time. It’s normal to feel like you aren’t in control but, in reality, you’re likely only overthinking your ability to carry out work. Holding yourself to a strict schedule prioritized by immediate necessities down to the moment they should be completed will keep you two steps ahead of where you think you are.
Be sure to take time away for yourself!
Success and fulfillment in any remote field not only hinges on whether you can keep up with your work, but how well you’re able to let it go at the end of the day. Especially in an environment where the personal and professional are so closely inhabited, it’s important to set boundaries where you can easily eject yourself from a task if you know your head isn’t in it. More than that, it’s never a crime to take time to check in with your needs, even if it’s as small as a few extra minutes for lunch. Nothing is so important that it should inhibit your ability to enjoy yourself when you’re off the clock.
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