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Stress management while working from home is really not that difficult. Why? Because you have so many ways to vent that wouldn’t be available otherwise. You’re on your own, in your own home and with your own inventory. Most of the time, you’re the master of your own schedule and work setting. So, here are several things you could do in order to manage your stress levels while working from home.
Keep your business and personal life separate
In the past, some people bragged about being able to leave all the business-related worries at home. Well, doing this while working in a home office is much more difficult. A lot of people can’t process these negative thoughts and emotions, which means that they’ll vent on the first person they encounter, not the person responsible. More likely than not, this person will be a roommate or a member of their family, which is a huge problem. The biggest challenge that those working from the home encounter is keeping their business and personal life separated.
Behind the monitor
Once you hear some bad news, your reaction will depend on who else can see you. If you’re in the meeting or in the office, you might have to fake politeness until you’re on your own. When you get a message with bad news while at home or when you receive an unfavorable email, you won’t have to show such restraint. You can roll your eyes, curse at the monitor or even let out a proper cry. Then, once the initial anger has passed, you can just type something formal and polite and get back to work. Sure, this doesn’t sound like the politest thing to do but repressing anger is always a bad idea.
Work on your career path
For a lot of people, stress comes from a lack of purpose. There’s nothing worse than sacrificing your health and sanity for something that you’re not even sure is worth it. According to Diane Demetre, by developing a mindset of a leader, all of these challenges will be easier to bear. You need to understand that what you do makes a difference. You also need to understand that others are relying on you to do the right thing. As long as you work on your career path, learn and reinvent your goals, you’re going towards a brighter future.
Make your own work hours
There are two types of telecommuters:
- Those who have flexible work hours
- Those who have deadlines
People with deadlines are usually constantly feeling pressured to do more. Their work is never truly done and procrastination hits them the hardest. Even if you have an hour or two of work, it’s easy to see how you can stretch this to 12 hours of work. You just play one video on YouTube, listen to another episode of your podcast. Then, you draw a couple of lines, write a few sentences, followed by an hour or two of your favorite video games.
This is quite problematic and the only solution to this problem is for you to have pre-set work hours. For instance, even if you have deadlines, you can work from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day. So, what happens if you don’t get to finish? You carry on where you left off tomorrow at 8 a.m. Giving your telecommuting some substance and structure will make all the difference in the world.
Try working in intervals
What is interval working?
It is a concept where you work for a set amount of time and then rest for a set amount of time. Instead of working continuously, you work in cycles. For instance, if you decide to follow the Pomodoro Technique, you’ll work for 25 minutes and then rest for 5 minutes. The advantages of this technique are quite numerous, seeing as how you get to keep your focus for a lot longer. Also, if you have something that is not work-related, you can postpone it until your break.
Go out
A lack of physical exercise and the feeling of being trapped indoors will increase your natural level of anxiety. Don’t allow this to happen. Humans are social beings. Even if you are an introvert, you have a certain degree of need for contact with others. Go out, grab a coffee, sit in a part or run a couple of laps around your neighborhood. All of these suggestions are supposed to help you manage stress and keep your anxiety to a minimum. Different people have different preferences so keep that in mind.
In conclusion
Working remote is definitely not an easy thing but it has so many benefits that you can take advantage of. The key thing is that you learn how to cope with some of these problems. Overcoming obstacles is just as important in a home office as it would be in a traditional workplace.
