One of the biggest benefits of working for yourself is of course the ability to work from home. However, with the home increasingly becoming the primary workspace for many self-employed people, it has become difficult for many to be able to tell when work stops and life begins. With the dining room table your new desk space and zoom meetings taking place over lunchtime, separating work from home and striking up a desirable work-life balance is not always easy. Here, we outline just a few of our top tips to help you separate work from home and un-blur the lines between business and personal life.
Establish and communicate clear working hours
Set yourself specific working hours and stick to them. Treat your self-employment as a regular job, defining when you start and finish work each day. Communicate your availability to clients, customers, and colleagues, making it clear that you are only accessible during your designated working hours. This practice not only helps create boundaries but also goes far towards the goal of separating work and home.
Limit personal distractions
One of the advantages of working from home can also be a potential distraction. Identify personal distractions that may hinder your productivity and take steps to minimise them. This could involve temporarily disabling notifications on your personal phone, limiting access to social media during working hours, or creating a separate email account for personal communication. By reducing these distractions, you can maintain focus and ensure that work is separated from home during your designated working hours.
Use a coworking space
Using a coworking space is an excellent way to stay productive and separate your working day from home. Want to avoid all of the tempting distractions of the home? Or perhaps you need to add a bit of structure to your day? At Forward, we have state-of-the-art working spaces around the South West that will help you achieve the work-life balance you desire. Designed with productivity and community at the core, joining one of our co-working spaces is the perfect way to allow you to focus on what you do best. Whether you’re looking for day access to our coworking desks, a more regular membership, or even your own private studio, at Forward we have the perfect tariffs to suit your individual needs.
Create a daily routine
Developing a consistent daily routine helps establish structure and discipline in your work-from-home routine. Plan your work tasks, breaks, and personal activities in a way that ensures a balanced schedule. Be mindful of incorporating activities unrelated to work, such as exercise, hobbies, or spending quality time with loved ones. A well-rounded routine encourages a healthier work-life balance.
Set clear digital boundaries
In our ever increasingly digitized world, it can be hard to stop our work and personal lives from conflating through our use of technology. To maintain the separation of work and home, ensure that both your phone and laptop have separate logins for any work-related activities. This will prevent emails, calendar notifications or reminders from interrupting you during your personal time at home. Make sure that any of these accounts are intentionally disconnected at the end of your working day, to ensure your curiosity doesn’t get the better of you should a work email be received.
Here at Forward, we want to ensure that workers are empowered with the environment and resources they need to forge their own successful, yet manageable, paths in the business world. For more information on our state-of-the-art coworking spaces, don’t hesitate to get in touch here.
