Work from Home Burnout – 3 practices that help
by Milena Regos
Milena Regos
At the beginning of the pandemic, work from home was almost fun. You no longer had to deal with the commute, dress up each day, and put up with gossip at work. You simply want to do your job and call it a day, working from the couch in your Lululemon yoga pants. When the pandemic hit, staying at home appeared desirable at first. You thought of all the projects you can do in your free time. You can work on that puzzle, clean the garage, paint the house, read more books, cook more, and exercise during the day.
Then reality set in. Days blurred into nights and into each other. You no longer know what day it is if it’s not for your Zoom call with your team. Without a set time to start and end your day, you end up working extra 3 hours a day. The 9 to 5 has turned into the 9 to 9.
Zoom fatigue set in and you no longer have the motivation or energy to finish your side projects. Instead of cooking dinner, now you continue to respond to emails. All of the sudden, you are starting to miss your downtime during the commute.
A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that over 40% of adults are experiencing mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression. 75% of Americans are burnout according to Mental Health America, up from 45% in April.
It’s not about optimizing yourself either. We’ve done everything we can to get optimized. Bullet journals, bulletproof coffee, voice delivered groceries. You can’t possibly optimize one more thing. Feeling stressed out, anxious and burnout will not allow you to get focused, creative, and productive.
What’s the solution then? It’s time to slow down and reset. It’s about establishing clear priorities and learning to set boundaries. It’s time to disconnect from technology and reconnect with yourself.
After 9+ years of working from home, I realized that work can easily take over your life without certain practices and rituals in place. It’s even harder now without being able to go outside and connect with your friends in real life. And with kids at home, there are real heroes out there making this whole work from home thing work.
Here are my top three suggestions for maintaining work-life separation, based on experience. I broke them down for the time of the day to keep things simple.
1. Set your priorities right in the morning
Every morning I run through a few morning rituals, I refer to them as theUnhustle Morning. Taking 10 – 30 min in the morning for my mind-body well-being has been a complete game-changer. I won’t start work until I feel fully awake and alive. By now, I have realized that it’s not the amount of time I work that matters. It’s the type of focus, priorities, and outcome that make a difference. But you can’t be focused if you are burnout. I put body before business in the morning. Then every morning I set my intentions for the day.
What are the top three things you need to do today? By taking the time to strategize your work each day you’ll feel less overwhelmed. New things always pop up and the to-do list is never-ending. Without priorities, you end up working all the time without feeling accomplished. So instead, I focus on the three major goals that will move me towards my vision. Then, I start working on the most difficult project first while I have the brainpower. I leave emails and other projects for later in the day. This hack has helped me stay focused and clear. At the end of the day, I know have made progress. Because, that’s what, us humans want anyway – progress.
2. Do active recovery during the day
Do you check the fridge every half hour? Do the laundry while you are on the phone? Do the dishes while taking a break? These are all easy to fall into “breaks” when working from home. The fridge followed me around during the first two years of working from home. I gained five extra pounds in a year. I was always starving and grabbing snacks. If you have a designated space to work instead of the kitchen table it’s easier to say No to distractions.
I find that working on a certain project or for a certain time and then taking an active recovery break is better than doing chores. Instead of doing the dishes, do 25 squats and a few pushups, go outside without your phone, or even close your eyes and take a few deep breaths for a few minutes to help you get realigned.
You can even try the box breathing technique to get calm before you move on. It’s pretty simple: inhale to the count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4 and hold for 4. If you want to breathe with me on the shores of Lake Tahoe, here’s a shortvideo. Do it now before you finish reading this, you’ll feel calmer. If you keep busy during your break, you will have a hard time getting into deep work later. Distractions steal your attention and you end up working more.
3. Have a clear end to your workday in the evening
How you do this is up to you. You can decide on working on three main projects for the day and when they are complete, you call it a day. Or you have a cut-off time. But you need some type of clear end to your workday and so you can transition to living. Turning off notifications on my phone or putting my phone on an airplane mode has helped me switch off. Resisting the urge to check your phone after hours is key. There will always be a Slack, email, or message that needs your attention. If you turn off your notifications, you can help the urge of responding right away.
Being comfortable that it can wait until tomorrow is hard to do. Having a mindfulness practice can help you increase your awareness. If you are having a hard time disconnecting from Instagram and Linkedin, you can join my free 7 days social media detox challenge.
While there are many practices and tips for how to create more work-life boundaries, you have to find what works for you. Keep it simple. Be open to experimenting. Stay curious. Track your energy, mood, and work achievements. At the end of the day, it’s about doing less so you can do more.
I talk more with Bryan Kramer about work-life boundaries on the Unhustle podcast.
I’d love to hear your practices for working from home that help you keep your focus, stay calm, and have a better work-life balance.
Milena Regos is the co-founder and visionary of the Unhustle movement. An entrepreneur, ex award-winning burnout marketer, and peak performance coach for overwhelmed entrepreneurs ready to take their life back from Hustle culture and reach their full potential by unthinking, unlearning, and undoing. You can download her free ebook: “7 Superpowers of High Performing Unhustlers”.