Best Practices For Avoiding WFH Burnout

The pandemic hasn’t been favourable to anyone. The global workforce preferences have changed, and employees have learned to adjust to the new normal. The remote work culture will continue to evolve as we wait for the novel Coronavirus to be eradicated in the years ahead. 

Although employees are dealing with isolation due to social-distancing norms much better today than they did a few months ago, the lines between personal and professional life have gotten blurred. Employees keep working till wee hours of the night since their office is in the comfort of their home. This has started to lead to a more serious issue – employee burnout.

Research shows that employees with poor work life balance are more prone to anxiety and depression. This has brought to light the need for a more tailored, and compartmentalized approach for setting boundaries. 

For managers handling remote teams, it is crucial to make use of top project management software for planning work in an organized way and allocating work more efficiently. This helps employees be clear about what is expected of them and schedule their day better.

Let’s look at some ways to avoid burnout, or bounce back from it if you are already experiencing it.

  • Be realistic:

The number one advice to prevent yourself from feeling burnt out is to be realistic about your self-expectations. It is important to set goals and hold yourself accountable for achieving them, but be pragmatic about them in order to save yourself from disappointment.

When employees set achievable targets and manage to attain them, they end their day feeling proud of themselves. On the contrary when they set the bar too high and are not able to meet it, it leads to a constant feeling of failure leading to high stress.

  • Learn to disassociate from your phone:

Smartphones may have revolutionized our lives, but they are equally responsible for wasting the major portion of our day. The constant notifications keep causing distractions and we fall into the trap, and end up forgetting about the task at hand.

When you get into an important task, go offline or put your phone on silent so you can focus better. This allows you to finish work in less time as there are no distractions and you save yourself from the guilt of wasting the most productive hours of your day.

  • Understand the art of prioritizing:

Employees often dive into work first thing in the morning without any direction. Starting your day with most important tasks is crucial to ensure they don’t get carried forward to the later hours when your energy levels have gotten depleted.

Prioritizing tasks helps you utilize your high productivity hours for important work so you feel less stressed in the later hours of the day. Make a to-do list in the order of priority a night before to have a schedule ready that helps you feel more relaxed in the morning.

  • Add one physical activity to your routine:

One of the best ways to avoid WFH burnout is to engage in some or the other form of physical activity. Playing a sport releases endorphins and helps you stay agile. The social engagement with other players(even if it’s your family members) is an added benefit.

Regular exercise can help you feel more active and improve your mood, which lowers feelings of anxiety and depression. Even if you don’t engage in a rigorous workout routine, just a short walk outside to get fresh air can do wonders for your mental health.

Conclusion: In a nutshell, outdated work patterns simply won’t be effective for employees today to prevent themselves from a burnout. We hope the above mentioned recommendations will help you have better control on your day and thereby avoid burnout in the long run.

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.