Picture this: you’ve successfully managed to get a job that allows you to work from home. The job is great, your productivity is where it should be, and you’re ultimately having a good time reaping the benefits of not needing to go into the office every day – until something changes.
Slowly but surely you can feel things shifting a bit. Your productivity isn’t quite what it once was. Your motivation isn’t very high. The excitement (or at the very least, acceptance) of a new day isn’t where you want it to be.
You’re facing burnout.
Burnout isn’t exactly a unique phenomenon; a study conducted by Asana found that approximately 70% of people experienced burnout in the last year.
Considering the fact that working remotely can present some interesting obstacles and challenges, tackling burnout may be handled in different ways – foremost among these setting by boundaries. Read on to discover some boundaries to set, tips and tricks for maintaining them, and how setting these boundaries can help to reduce remote work burnout.
Table of Contents
- Set clear start and end times for your workday
- Create a dedicated workspace
- Communicate your availability to your colleagues and clients
- Take regular breaks, and prioritize self-care
Set clear start and end times for your workday
For most people that work in a standard office setup, the go-to shift is a traditional 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Consider the legendary Dolly Parton’s lyrics on this very subject:
Tumble out of bed
And stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to lifeJump in the shower
Dolly Parton, 9 to 5
And the blood starts pumpin’
Out on the streets, the traffic starts jumpin’
For folks like me on the job from 9 to 5
For those working in traditional office spaces, Dolly’s lyrics are pretty much on par for the expectation of starting the work day: wake up, drink some coffee, grab a shower, hop in the car, and head to work.
The 2019 Census revealed that the average American worker commuted more than 27.6 minutes to work each way.
Considering remote workers have no commute, you’re looking at, on average, a gain of 27.6 minutes before work, and the same amount of time after work – almost a whole additional hour added to your day from the commute alone. This is before factoring in stopping for gas, finding parking, and more; the time savings aren’t insignificant.
But here’s where that becomes a trap for remote workers: as opposed to gaining at least an extra hour of your day for personal endeavors, self-care, family time, or even just sleep, the temptation to start the workday earlier and end it later weasels into play.
Imagine this: you woke up at 7:00 AM. You pour yourself a cup of ambition as Dolly would say, hop in the shower, get dressed, and look back at the clock – it reads 8:00 AM. Work doesn’t start for another hour.
Pragmatically speaking, an hour isn’t a super significant amount of time. What else do you have to do? You don’t have a commute, and your working space is only a few feet away, so you open up your laptop or computer and hop into work a little bit earlier.
Seems pretty harmless, right? Let’s take a look at how this simple act can add up over time:
| Starting Work 1 Hour Early | Time Lost in 1 Year |
|---|---|
| Once per week | 52 hours |
| Twice per week | 104 hours |
| Three times per week | 156 hours |
If you were to make a list of things you wish you could do but simply don’t have the time for, how many things would you have on that list? How many things could you check off that list if you had an extra 52 hours to devote to them? How about 104 hours?
This may seem like a dramatic example, but it’s true that this tiny little habit – a habit that’s more likely to happen when working from home – can rapidly eat away at more fulfilling time spent elsewhere.
This isn’t even touching on the likelihood of the same thing happening with extra time spent after your workday is over.
The power of a consistent schedule
Creating – and more importantly, sticking to – a schedule helps you in numerous ways. By setting clear times that are flagged as working hours, you gain a number of benefits, many of which you may not initially think of:
Reclaiming personal time: As illustrated above, the act of starting work early or ending it late can quickly add up over the course of a year, even if done in small amounts. If you wake up at 7:00 AM, and finish your morning routine by 8:00 AM, you’ve given yourself an entire extra hour every day of the week to do something else before work even begins.
More productivity during working hours: If you’re the type of person that likes to get a walk or a workout in each day, doing that in the morning as opposed to starting work early satisfies that need for the day. Need to do some laundry? Consider doing it before work starts in your reclaimed time. Whether practical habits like these, or simply browsing your favorite website for a minute, doing these things outside of work time is likely to scratch that itch for you, thus allowing you to be more productive during work time.
The ability to schedule things outside of work: When you can say for certain that you start at X time and end at Y time, scheduling things outside of work becomes infinitely easier.
A personal example of this: at my previous agency gig I accidentally fell into the habit of starting work at 7:00 AM – I had nothing else going on, so why not? Unfortunately, I did this so often that it became expected. Before I knew it or could reverse course, my work schedule became 7:00 AM to somewhere between 5 and 6 PM. If I was asked questions early in the morning it was expected that I’d answer because hey, those are what I’ve shown as my working hours.
It turns out it’s pretty difficult to schedule a doctor’s appointment after 5:00 PM at most clinics. Vet appointments? Good luck. Dentists? Any other professional services? A nightmare.
Since changing jobs and being cognizant of my time – starting promptly at 9:00 AM and not a moment sooner – I’ve gained the ability to schedule these things without needing to take the day off. Morning hours any day of the week are much, much easier to come across than evening hours.
The ability to end a day: Have you ever had a workday that simply wouldn’t end? This can be a damper on a good mood, which then carries over into your personal life for the evening, thus impacting your family too if you aren’t careful about it. Giving yourself a firm end-of-day time where work is done helps you to reaffirm to yourself that the day is over. You can transition from work mode to home mode and leave your problems at the door.
In summary, setting your working hours is a boundary that is important to establish. It can help you reclaim time, be more productive during the work day, and live a happier and more productive life outside of work too.
Create a dedicated workspace
I’ve touched on the benefits of a dedicated workspace in another post, so I won’t belabor the point here and instead offer some quick takeaways to consider.
If I were to summarize that other article into one salient point to keep in mind, it would be this: having a dedicated workspace – a place where you do work, and nothing else – means that work is only done in that space. If you’re not in that space, you’re not doing work.
What does that mean? Well for starters, it means that you’re being cognizant of whether you’re on the clock. Is it between your established working hours, and are you in that space? If yes, feel free to work. If no, take a second to ask yourself whether or not whatever has interrupted your outside-of-work time is an emergency that can wait until the next day.
It’s so easy to be connected to everything at all times nowadays. Work emails and Slack messages can go straight to your phone, making you within reach of work at nearly all times.
One moment you’re enjoying a movie, and the next you’re checking your work email and hopping online to get some work done because it’ll only take a second.
Remember the lesson learned from the time boundary: a small amount of time can add up very quickly once you zoom out a bit.
If I haven’t entered my dedicated working space in the morning to begin work, or I’ve left my dedicated working space and closed the door after work, it is no longer work time. Checking emails and responding to Slack conversations is doing work. Anyone that I work with that may need to get ahold of me in a genuine emergency has my phone number to call me.
In summary, have a dedicated place where you get work done. If you are not in that space (unless you’ve elected to work elsewhere temporarily), do not work. This boundary will help you to better differentiate work time and you time.
Communicate your availability to your colleagues and clients
Social pressure at work can be one of the most difficult things to deal with. Everyone wants to help and support their coworkers, and a team that works well together is truly an asset. Likewise when you’re in a client-facing position, you want to do anything you can to keep a client happy.
With that being said, failing to set a boundary by communicating your availability to your colleagues and clients is a recipe for burnout.
I remember during my time at a digital marketing agency a particular client that got ahold of my cell phone number. Being an overachiever and people-pleaser, I didn’t think twice about taking this client’s calls even hours after the workday had ended. I was demonstrating value, and keeping our relationship with that client in a great spot!
This client called one night in the middle of dinner, and as normal I didn’t hesitate to answer it. I left my food on the table and hopped into my office to begin work on their request. After about an hour on the phone, and us making very little progress on the project at hand, I said something simple that accidentally changed our relationship:
“Hey X, we’re not making much progress here, and my dinner’s on the table probably cold by now. Is it alright with you if I give you a call back tomorrow during the workday with a fresh set of eyes to go over this?”
The client immediately apologized and practically forced me off the phone. They thought nothing of using some evenings to get work done, and hadn’t even considered what I might be doing at the time. They were incredibly apologetic, and made sure from then on to call during working hours. That’s all it took this whole time, a quick reminder.
Now imagine if I would have set a boundary from the very beginning, and been proactive to let this client know my availability for calls during the workday. This client – not maliciously whatsoever – used up dozens of hours of my personal time after work, hours that I could have been spending doing anything else but work, all because I didn’t communicate.
Our relationship with that client didn’t suffer either; if anything we had a better understanding and respect for each other with boundaries established.
The easiest way to avoid this pitfall is to not let it happen in the first place. Establish these boundaries from the onset.
If it’s clearly not an emergency, just be human:
“I’m out with my family right now, can I get back to you in the morning?”
“I’ve already left the office for the day, is it possible for this to wait until tomorrow?”
“I’d be happy to help you with this tomorrow, but I’m taking some time to myself for the evening.”
This concept from the above scenarios apply equally to your coworkers. If you’re the type of person that prefers to have an uninterrupted lunch (spoiler: that’s totally ok, and if anything encouraged) give yourself a block for that time in your calendar. Set your Slack status to away for that time. Communicate these things so that those around you have the ability and opportunity to respect the boundary you’ve established.
In summary, your coworkers and colleagues won’t know to not contact you if you don’t communicate and establish boundaries about when it’s acceptable to do so. In the event that they contact you after hours, you’ll know best how to differentiate between what’s an actual emergency and what isn’t – don’t be afraid to enforce or suggest a boundary if you know that it’s not.
Take regular breaks, and prioritize self-care
Most workers in a traditional office setup have opportunities for breaks scattered organically throughout the day. Whether you’re working in a large building with amenities for activities and self-care throughout the day, or you simply have the opportunity to hop over to a coworker’s desk and chat about life, these are breaks built into the traditional office setup that aren’t present when working from home.
Since you don’t have a water cooler or coffee station in your home office, making a concentrated effort to actually leave your desk every now and then is a responsibility on your shoulders alone.
Start with your lunch breaks
An easy way to set up this boundary is to take your lunch somewhere other than your desk. Traditional office setups have break rooms, cafeterias, kitchens, or other eating areas where you can leave your desk for a minute to have lunch – not to mention the possibility of going somewhere else entirely with a group of coworkers to have lunch outside of the office during your break.
Eating lunch at your desk has a few different consequences:
- You give up the opportunity to step away from work for a few minutes
- You’re subject to noticing chatter, or getting drawn into work that quickly consumes your lunch break
- You blur the line between the space where you get work done and the space you eat, which mentally can make productive work more difficult
- You spend even more of your day staring at a screen as you eat
Lunch breaks are an opportunity to flip the work switch off for a little while – one that you’re entitled to, and absolutely should capitalize on.
Not only should you make sure that you’re taking your lunch breaks in the first place, but you should also take them away from your desk. Since you’re working from home, you’ve likely got a dining space of some sort – eat there! Alternatively, pack up your meal and eat outside, whether that’s on a porch or deck, or somewhere else nearby that’s pleasant and a change of scenery.
If you’re working in a position that involves a lot of meetings, block out time for your lunch break in your calendar so that coworkers and clients won’t invite you to meetings during that time. Set your Slack/other chat app status to away, with a notice that you’re taking lunch if you can.
Again, making sure that you take that time is your responsibility – others won’t do it for you, so make sure you do it!
Make self-care a priority
A lack of self-care is something that can lead quickly to burnout. If you’re putting in extra hours at work, you’re not leaving your desk, and you’re not getting the kind of social interaction you’d typically get in a traditional workspace, it’s incredibly easy to put your own needs to the side.
Here are a few easy ways to integrate self-care into your remote workday:
- Take a walk at some point during the day
- Get up and stretch after a particularly productive stretch of work
- Take a video meeting with your camera off if you’re in a group where that wouldn’t be awkward
- Add a scent to your office you enjoy, whether that’s a candle, wax melter, or other kind of air freshener
- Take a moment to give your pets some attention if you have any
- Turn on some music you enjoy if you’re working on tasks that allow you to do so
- Make yourself a cup of coffee if you feel like you need the pick-me-up
There are many more possibilities, but these are just a few that don’t take much time to do, and are relatively easy all things considered.
One habit I’ve successfully managed to implement for self-care that has made a tremendous impact for me is taking my dogs for a walk. I’ll typically take 10 minutes or so to eat a quick snack for lunch, and then take my dogs for a 15-20 minute walk around the neighborhood.
Not only is this a great thing for the pups (and a recommendation for working remote with dogs), but it forces me to get some physical activity in during the day, change my scenery, and take a little break.
This little habit has helped me to avoid the midday slowdown, and to come back to my desk feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the second half of the day. There’s even been a few times where the simple act of changing my scenery and taking a moment for myself helped me to see a problem at work I was dealing with from a different perspective, which let me make major progress once I was back.
In summary, ensure that you are taking your lunch breaks, and looking for opportunities to practice self-care. This boundary is one you have to set yourself, as unlike in traditional workspaces, it isn’t built into your day for you. Setting this boundary is a strong way to help avoid burnout by ensuring that you’re taking care of yourself, and setting yourself up for success
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