SELF-CARE STRATEGIES FOR REMOTE WORKERS: 5 TIPS FOR FINDING BALANCE
As more and more people shift to remote work, it can be a challenge to prioritize self-care and wellness to maintain a healthy work-life balance. As a holistic therapist, I've seen an uptick in work related problems over the last few years: folks who struggle with burnout, stress, and anxiety related to their work-from-home lifestyles. While this transformation in how we work certainly has some challenges, working from home also offers many opportunities. With no commute time, there can be great opportunity for self care and bringing in balance.
In this blog, I'll share five tips to help you work from home with greater ease, mindfulness, and well-being so you can thrive in this new and evolving WFH landscape.
Step #1 Set Boundaries – With Yourself
Set boundaries with yourself and stick to a schedule. One of the biggest challenges of working from home is creating separation between your work and personal life. To set yourself up for success, establish a schedule for yourself and stick to it. This means setting specific work hours and taking breaks when you need them. By creating a routine and sticking to it, you'll be better equipped to manage your time and maintain a sense of structure and balance throughout your day.
Limit your exposure to social media and news to One Hour A Day. You can split it half hour in the AM and later. Trust me this will make a huge difference!
Use a schedule style like Time Blocking or Pomodoro, there are these timer clocks that help too.
Have a designated work space and leave that space at the end of the day.
Step #2 Self Care
Practice self-care, like grounding. With your attention focused on a screen, it’s imperative to ground into your body and tune into the status of the nervous system/stress response throughout the day. This can involve taking a few deep breaths, practicing mindfulness, or engaging in a grounding exercise, such as walking barefoot on the grass or holding a crystal. When thinking of how to do a grounding practice, think about using the 5 senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and sound. By grounding yourself regularly, you can reduce stress, increase focus, and improve your overall well-being.
Have an essential oil, incense, a scented candle or pieces of fruit or herbs at your workstation. Try scents you enjoy and that perk your alertness. Scents of Peppermint, Sweet Orange, Rosemary and Lemon will help keep you focused and energetic. Scents of Lavender, Frankincense and Sage will help you unwind at the end of the day. Starting to doze off in another zoom meeting? Take a few deep breath with some orange and peppermint oil and get perked up.
Care for your physical body – It may be tempting to skip a few days on your daily living skills but try to tend to your daily hygiene like brushing your teeth and overall physical and dental health habits. Keep to your regular sleep and wake schedule.
Engage with sound throughout the day – create a playlist or find one for different themes in your day. Listen to upbeat music when you need to exercise and listen to low BPM to wind down at night. If having a hard time falling asleep, try anything in the 432HZ realm to help you drift away.
Step #3 Get Outside
Get outside at least once a day. Spending time outdoors can be a powerful antidote to the stress and isolation that can come with working from home. Make it a point to get outside at least once a day, whether it's taking a walk around your neighborhood or sitting outside for a few minutes and soaking in some sun rays. Exposure to natural light and fresh air can improve your mood, increase your energy, and boost your overall well-being.
Go to a park
Go on a tour of your neighborhood - Admire the abundance of nature.
Go on a Hike or Bike Ride – Head out to your favorite trail (or find a new one) for an afternoon on the weekend.
Step #4 Engage in Meaningful Activities
Engage in meaningful activities. When you work from home, it's important to make time for activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. With the amount of time you are spending on computers, your mind (and your eyes!) would love a break. Whether it's pursuing a hobby, volunteering, or spending time with loved ones, engaging in meaningful activities can help you maintain a sense of purpose and fulfillment outside of work. Look for ways to engage other parts of your body and mind by picking up a new creative project or skill or reengaging in a creative outlet you’ve lost touch with. Maybe now is a good time to learn carpentry or water painting?
Find time for creative projects or learning something new.
Remember that book you started and never got back to? Maybe there’s several of them? Get back to the books you need to finish or start a new one.
Spend more time cooking nutritious meals or try out new recipes you recent read about.
Step #5 Stay Connected
Working from home can be isolating, so it's important to stay connected with your community. This can involve reaching out to colleagues or friends for support, joining a virtual group or class, or volunteering for a cause you care about. By staying connected with others, you can maintain a sense of belonging and social support, which can be essential to your well-being. One of the benefits we have now is a myriad of ways that we can stay in touch. Remember to reach out to the seniors and elders in your life as well as those introverted friends who might not be initiating conversations.
Use the technologies to stay in touch – call your mom and grandparents just to say hello. Use text, IM and other means for non-work related conversations.
Go for walks IRL – meet a friend at a park and go for a walk. Check out a new restaurant or cafe.
Meet with friends for fun virtual activities like Virtual Happy Hour, Remote Dance Party or Virtual Game Night.
Give yourself some space and time to adapt to these new habits. Change doesn’t happen overnight so slowly begin to make these changes and have compassion for yourself, and others, as we navigate this changing landscape. Working from home can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience when approached with mindfulness and self-care. By setting boundaries, practicing self-care, getting outside, engaging in meaningful activities, and staying connected with your community, you can work from home with greater ease, well-being, and success.