How to Create a Good Work-life Balance While Working From Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

It has been estimated that in 2019, around 63% (around 15 hours) of a working person's day was dedicated to personal care and leisure activities. Working from home might spell difficulty in knowing when to switch off or could eat into family time or personal space. Here are some of our top tips for creating  optimum work-life balance and navigate through numerous issues that arise from working from home:

Use technology more wisely

It is no secret that while technology is extremely helpful for working, it can also make workers less efficient. Several studies have shown that the reduction of internal emails can improve the efficiency, productiveness, and the wellbeing of employees.

In addition, by checking your inbox less frequently and at specific times of day (for example, before lunch) it can drastically impact your productivity. This is why it is important to reduce the amount of time you spend each day on emails and block your tech time more wisely.  

Find productivity methods that work for you

From the Pomodoro method to time blocking, there are many different productivity techniques to try. Finding a method to help you make the most of your working hours, as well as having scheduled breaks is key to keeping the balance between work and home. Here is a list of some of the most popular techniques:

• Pomodoro Method: Developed in the late 1980s, this technique uses a timer to create intervals of 25 minutes separated by 5-minute breaks in between.
• Time Blocking: Plan out every moment of your day into blocks of time, with each block dedicated to a specific goal (for example, writing a blog post). 
• “Eating Live Frogs” Method: Tackle the most difficult or worst task first to make the rest of the day more smooth sailing. 
• Task Batching: Complete similar tasks back-to-back, as this means your brain will spend less time adapting to the different tasks. 

Create a routine to help with work-life balance

Whether you are an early bird or a night owl, it is important to keep a routine. Hence, the top priority should be to create your own schedule and routines which would help adapt to the multitude of changes we are facing. Create the routine that suits you and your lifestyle; if you’re working a flex job (like the ones available through Appjobs), plan your working hours based on what suits you best. 

Maintaining this routine will help you maintain some normality during these uncertain times. 

Prioritize what matters to avoid conflict between work-home life

While having priorities during your workday is important, it is also important to prioritize the things that matter in your life too. Whether this is checking in with family every day or two, scheduling calls with friends, reading a book for pleasure, or taking up an active pursuit- it is important to make that time for yourself. Often we forget to step back when we are living and working in the same space, this is why it’s important to take a step back and remember to have your life outside of work too.

While every person deals with the issues of balancing work and home life, we hope these tips help you find that crucial balance and help you maintain normalcy during these times of change.