Gosh. I mean we thought achieving a work life balance was hard BEFORE quarantine, and now here we all are, working FROM home! Those lines can get pretty blurred, amiright?! Since this is pretty normal for Jordan and I, we’ve been getting the question: how do you make sure you aren’t just working ALL THE DANG TIME when you WFH?! As a recovering workaholic – I feellllll youuuu. Here’s what Jordan and I do to make sure home is still home.
Get Ready in the Morning
I love a good sweatsuit as much as the next girl! It’s not so much about WHAT you wear as it is bout your mindset while you’re wearing it. It helps me to put on a cute outfit, wash my face, and do my makeup before work. Sticking to the routine that you usually have will really help create those INTERNAL boundaries that separate work from play. So get up an hour or two before you start work, do your devotional, and fix your hair before you jump into conference calls and deadlines. It’s good for the soul!
Set Your Hours and Stick To’m
If your normal hours are 8-5, then seriously: work from 8-5. Easier said than done, I know! As tempting as it may be to either sleep in a little later, or to work a little longer, you aren’t doing yourself any favors when you start letting after hours become work hours. Your job will still be there in the morning! But this time with your family your friends, your dogs, heck your Netflix and bottle of wine?! That time is precious, too! If your workplace is notorious for stretching you too thin, take this as an opportunity to SET and KEEP your own working from home boundaries.
Pick Your Space
Pick an area of your home to work in and make it official. Treat it like it’s your new desk! Even add some decorations to make it cute! If you’re looking for inspo, I have a whole post about creating a WFH space! This is so simple and important. If you work from your couch, you will still associate your couch with work, even after work hours.
Take a Lunch Break
Take the hour stinking hour (if you get an hour lol)! COOK yourself something! Treat yourself to takeout every once in a while! Lunch breaks are so important. All of those to-do list items that try to distract you during the day? Write it down and decide to do it at lunch instead. And honestly, there are perks to working at home, right?! You have time to watch a show, hang with your partner, or walk the dogs – take advantage of that sweet time while ya have it 🙂 Btw, if you and your hubby are WFH and driving each other CRAY – I gotchu!
Get Active
Speaking of walking the dogs… try to stay active while WFH. It’s hard, but getting your booty outside and moving sets you up SO well for your day. Try going for a run in the morning, doing a rooftop workout, or just taking the dogs out. At work, you take little breaks here and there right? You grab a coffee, fill up your water bottle, or say hi to a coworker – do the same at home! Treat your body well. It’s going through this just like everybody else!
Do Something in the Evening!
It’s a little hard to do stuff right now, sure, but even the little things count. Just making plans to catch up with a friend via FaceTime for an hour, or making a fancy dinner together can help to remind you that your home is always primarily HOME, not work 🙂
This season is tough, but so are you! How have you been protecting your space while you WFH??
XOXO Dani