How to Balance Work and Play While Working Remotely in the Summer

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of office workers have been displaced and forced to adjust to remote work situations that keep you cooped up at home. When your place of comfort suddenly doubles as your place of work, finding that line between work and play can be difficult. You’ve got meetings to attend, projects to finish, and deadlines to meet on top of dinner to make, chores to do, and family to care for—how in the world are you expected to balance it all?

If you’re among the many people who have recently switched to remote work, it’s well worth your while to figure out how you can perfectly balance your time between work and play. It’s incredibly easy to fall into a workaholic schedule that offers no separation from your job and personal life, but if you care to upkeep your mental and physical health, finding that median is essential

In this post, we’ll outline how you can begin to balance work and play while working remotely this summer.

1. Create a dedicated workspace

Creating a dedicated home office space that is completely free from distractions is the first step in developing a distinction between the workplace and your relaxation space. If your home is crowded with family or roommates, having this space will give you the tranquility, quiet, and isolation you need to concentrate day in and day out.

Ideally, the space you choose will allow you to close the door, open a window, and customize the space to make it conducive for productivity. Once you leave this space, you can think of doing so as clocking out, and officially ending your day. Don’t make the mistake of transforming your bedroom into a workspace— you’ll find it near impossible to separate work and play when you sleep, relax, and work in the same room.

2. Take breaks

Did you know that taking breaks have been proven to increase productivity and creativity levels? Though it might seem counterintuitive to take a step away from your workspace to remain productive and highly functional, it’s actually great for your brain to take a moment to rest and refresh every now and then.

Working for long periods without breaks causes stress and fatigue. Taking breaks cleanses your mind, refreshes your mental energy, effectively allowing you to become more innovative. Capture more Aha! moments by taking at least four to five breaks during your 8-hour workday.

3. Care for your mental health

When you’re not in the right headspace, it can be difficult to concentrate on your ever-growing to-do list. Paying attention becomes incredibly difficult when you’re too stressed out to focus on a single task.

Caring for your mental health while working from home is crucial. Doing so will make you feel less anxious and more productive while you’re at work. Some tips for preserving your mental well-being include:

• Going for midday walks to get some Vitamin D
• Using a focus herbal supplement to natural recenter your focus and calm your nerves
• Avoiding workplace gossip
• Listening to music with noise-canceling headphones to block out distractions and external noise

4. Cultivate healthy habits

Have you ever tried to function when you were extremely tired, sick, or stressed? If so, you probably noticed that you weren’t able to achieve much. Rather than trying to work through fatigue or negative feelings, take a moment to step back, and assess how to better deal with the situation.

Healthy remote work habits include:

• Eating breakfast and lunch daily
• Taking regular breaks
• Writing down important notes
• Taking note of your stressors and working through them
• Keeping an organized workspace

5. Track your time

When your days spent working from home feel shorter and shorter and your 8-hour days feel like they’re just slipping away, it might be time to start monitoring your time.

Whether it’s tracking your time on your smartwatch or using a time-tracking app that tracks how long it takes for you to complete each campaign on your to-do list, having a clear outlook on where your time is going can give you the perspective you need to understand how to make better use of it.

How do you separate your personal life from your work life? Let us know in the comments below!