Seven tips for a first-time remote worker working from home

Exhausted by endless calls and meetings? Working from home feeling more exhausting than working in the office? Here are my tips on avoiding work-from-home burnout.

tired cat

I promised myself I wouldn’t write a post about working from home, because for me it feels quite normal and nothing particularly special. While I love being in the office around people, I also like some quiet time to focus on planning, design or writing work.

But after reading complaints about “zoom fatigue” and even Google insisting that workers take a day off to let them recharge, it occurred to me that what’s obvious to me, might not be obvious to everyone, especially those new to the whole remote-working thing.

My top 7 tips for avoiding burnout while working remotely

So here goes… (you’ll see there is a pattern!)

1. It’s OK to decline meetings (just like you might do in the office).

2. It’s OK to take a break (just like you might do in the office).

3. It’s OK to enjoy a long lunch once in a while (just like you might do in the office).

4. It’s OK not to participate in a quiz or social event every week (just like you wouldn’t do in the office every week).

5. It’s OK to be a little flexible on your working hours. It doesn’t need to be 9-5 if you don’t want it to be; results count not presentee-ism (just like it is in most enlightened offices these days).

6. It’s OK to turn off your “presence indicator” because not being at your computer is NOT equivalent to NOT working (for most jobs anyway) – (just like NOT everything you do in the office is done in front of your computer).

7. It’s OK to be tired at the end of the day (just like you would be after a day in the office).

Normal

Working remotely, feels more normal when you let it be more normal.

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