I am quickly approaching a year from working from home full time. There is still one thing I have a really hard time with and that is separating work time and home time. While I did work from home on occasion there were clear borders in my day for work time and home/life time. There were clear lines, when my partner came home from work or when I left the house for events.
Working from home full time, I don’t have the same time boundaries. I just want to another room in my apartment. My work computer is always out because I don’t need to back it away to be ready for the next day. My work phone is always on and I don’t have any time that I am apart from my work or anything to physically and mentally distance myself from my job.
I do want to clarify that I really like my job. I really feel good about the work I put into the world and the people I work with. But my brain in all its anxious and attempts to be perfectionists glory really needs the separation and genuine switching of modes to do other things. On average I have been working over 10 hours a week more since we switched to working from home. When we had to transition and do a lot of work to make our jobs work virtually it made sense but know I am just doing too much, beyond what I need to and beyond what I am paid for.
Currently, there is no way to fully recreate these boundaries, but I have started noticing and actively trying to put pseudo ones in place. I am still working on the rest of in place and hoping to improve the work-life balance, as well as this general. As for the most part I will continue to be working from home moving forward I want to make sure I can actually create a healthy balance.
One: I am actively taking lunch everyday to take a break from the computer and eat food and not just coffee and snacks.
Two: I am turning on my work phone after 7 PM and turning it on when I wake up.
Pretend adult here 