Work From Home: How to Fight Burnout From Remote Job

If you carry your computer around with you throughout the day, there are no longer areas in your house that are dedicated solely to relaxation. If you don’t have a  home office, design a makeshift space for yourself that serves as your office and your office only. While there are many benefits to remote work, working from home can be hard. Many folks find it difficult to focus when not observed by bosses or colleagues, while others miss the energy and sense of connection with colleagues.

Without the constraints of a physical office, there is no reason to stick to a schedule that does not serve you. Also, once you find a routine, do not feel obligated to stick to it. Your feelings and habits may change, and there is no need to stick to practices that no longer suit you.

Workers should try to have a separate space for work and get ready for work each day

Establish boundaries between your work and your personal life, renew your focus on self-care and you’ll thrive in your professional and personal life. Carve out some time to take breaks in between your Zoom meetings and other meetings. Use your breaks to do more than merely surf the web for a mental breakaway from your work duties. Stand up at your Tenon Desk, stretch your muscles, perform some calf raises, or march in place while sipping water for hydration or a caffeinated beverage for energy.

Visual fatigue occurs as a result of spending too much time in front of the screen. Symptoms may include blurred vision, irritated eyes, or pain in the muscles around the eyes. But for others, the psychological stress it causes can have negative consequences for their mental health and fitness. During in-person meetings, people can move freely without losing track of the conversation.

Tips to Prevent Zoom Fatigue

Recognize your limitations, set boundaries and respect those boundaries for the sake of your mental health. Make it crystal clear that you won’t be available at all times throughout the workday. You need and deserve at least half an hour between Zoom calls to properly process and retain the information discussed in those calls. Zoom fatigue or even general fatigue from using video conferencing tools as a whole has the potential to take a chunk out of your productivity, making it difficult to achieve your full potential.

Separating office space from living space and cultivating a healthy work life balance is a key to sanity. When borders break down and your work from home hygiene gets lax, re-introduce boundaries. During on-hours, work exclusively in this space, and do not visit this area off the clock. Another tactic is to maintain a strict “quitting time,” and log off at a designated hour. This limitation may force you to practice better time management, instead of procrastinating because you know you have the option of working later. Non-work socialization can improve your mood and make the workday feel less lonely.

Vary Day-to-Day Tasks

This videoconferencing technology has quickly become ubiquitous for those who work from home. Attending back to back video calls leaves no opportunity for mental, physical, or visual breaks. As much as possible, make a conscious effort to schedule some kind of break during a day that’s populated by multiple video https://remotemode.net/blog/remote-work-burnout-fatigue-and-how-to-avoid-it/ calls. Even recreational gatherings like a “virtual happy hour” can become stressful under these conditions. For many companies, it’s now been about a year since the Covid crisis prompted them to adopt remote work. Many families and workplaces are continuing to rely on virtual meetings or family webcam hangouts.

I tend to be more productive in the latter half of my day, which is why I prefer scheduling any video calls in the first half. This allows me to maximize productivity while also being more mellow for video calls. Although most of us are sedentary, sitting without moving much isn’t easy for most people. It’s unnatural, making people want to fidget which looks bad on video calls. This leads to an endless cycle of needing to sit still, wanting to move, and getting Zoom anxiety. Members of Forbes Business Council share how leaders can reduce the negative impact of using video conferencing tools on employees.

Meetings can chip away at your productivity and can lead to unnecessary context switching. See if you’d like to time box video calls https://remotemode.net/ only to certain hours in the day. Check and see if some meetings can be switched to phone calls or even an audio Zoom call.

• Switching environments can be a way to re-energize and refocus when working remotely.
• You owe it to yourself to enjoy life as a comprehensive experience that includes both work and play.
• With video calls, your eyes and brain are processing a lot more movement compared to looking at text.
• The recurring nature of the events means that team members do not feel pressured to attend any one outing, yet reminders and RSVP’s create a sense of accountability that encourages employees to attend.