WFH Best Practices: Mental Health for Entrepreneurs

While remote work offers a lot of benefits, it can also bring several negative effects. For instance, employees can feel isolated, lines between work and personal life can get blurred, and there can also be an increase in self-inflicted pressure. Thus, it can easily affect both physical and mental health. Here are some tips employees can use to make working from home more enjoyable:

Best Mental Health Practices for Entrepreneurs

There are three main threats attacking your mental health when working from home: isolation, burnout, and anxiety. The solution is to set yourself up for success by creating an environment that can help you work more efficiently. Try not to depend on your self-control since it will make it even harder to keep up with your workload if you fail.

There are two main principles that you need to follow to make working from home a fulfilling experience:

1. Set a Schedule and Stick to It

Being at home doesn’t mean you are free. If you procrastinate, you’ll soon be drowning in overdue tasks. On the other hand, work isn’t the only thing you should be focusing on. Remote workers tend to work longer hours since they think about work even in their free time. It is therefore important to set a schedule that separates work from leisure time.

Here are a few rules to keep in mind when you create your schedule:

• Don’t work over 8 hours a day, and try to keep it to two shifts of 4 hours.
• After working hours, do not answer emails or other work-related messages. You are officially out of office.
• Don’t extend your working hours unless necessary. It’s easy to say, “I’m just going to finish this task", but the truth is, there is always going to be something else to do.
• Try to move during your breaks. Get up from your chair and stretch or go for some water.

2. Detach from Work Completely

Psychological detachment from work is a must when working remotely, but it may not be as easy as it sounds. When we work in an office, once we walk out the door, we are ready to head home and be with our families. However, when we work from home, our business laptops are right there on our desks, tempting us to check our emails or respond to messages. Thus, you must actively practice full mental detachment from work. Find hobbies, go outside, or be with your family and friends. Stay present and keep all your work-related stuff away from you on the weekends and after office hours.

Sweet Tips from Ally:

Working remotely can be much more enjoyable if you stick to these two principles. Getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and eating well are all also important in making sure you can be fully present during working hours and not feel drained.