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Working from home became a cornerstone of the New Normal over the last two years. While many people enjoy WFH, it can still take a toll on your work/life balance. If you're worried about your ability to set boundaries and separate work from home life, here are some strategies to help you work toward a healthier balance. 

Take Lunches and PTO

It can be far too easy, when working from home, to eat lunch at your desk and not take breaks. You're at home anyway, so it feels natural to work that way. Many work-from-home employees will also not take PTO days when they would have in the office, such as feeling unwell or needing to attend an appointment. But not taking lunch or necessary time off creates an unnecessary tether to the job that can lead to future unhealthy behaviors. 

Create a Close Out Routine

What's one more email at seven o'clock at night if you're working from home anyway, right? If you don't establish a proper end-of-day, you may find yourself working into the night without any clear division between work time and family time. Create a daily close-out routine to finalize any communication, plan for the next day, and turn off the computer. 

Establish Healthy Boundaries

Healthy boundaries when working from home need to happen with your employer and your family. For example, when you're on a conference call or zoom, the other people in your home need to know not to bother you. On the other hand, your manager and coworkers need to be aware that you're done working at five or six every day, and anything after that time will be handled the following morning. 

Set up a Dedicated Space

At the beginning of the pandemic, many people were displaced into remote working situations. They grabbed any spare square foot of space to set up shop in the house. But now that we've had time to settle into new routines, creating a dedicated workspace will be necessary for productivity. Your specific home may have its limitations, but do your best to find a quiet place, ideally with a door, where you can set up a desk. 

If you think a new job altogether may be more of what you need, start your search with itec! Get in touch with our team to learn more.