I think that this is an interesting topic mainly because since the Pandemic most of us have been working from home (WFH), and I for one have found it very beneficial. However I do think that WFH and a Pandemic has led to potential burnout for many of us, we are spending more time than ever in front of our screens. We don’t have the commute to work to unwind, rather we log on that bit earlier as well as logging off later. This can blur the lines between work and personal time and we can often find ourselves working longer hours because of it.
Where you are working in the space that you relax in the purpose/use of the space can merge into one making it harder to switch off at the end of the day and focus on your personal life. This is why I think if you are WFH that you should really think about having a dedicated space or room that is used just for work so when your working day is finished your can leave work behind. Other habits that you might find yourself falling into is not taking breaks or just getting up and going for walk or stretching your legs. In the office you would get up to speak to colleagues or to grab a coffee from the coffee shop, at home we don’t have that and I certainly find that I lose track of time and can be very sedentary.
Those who juggle WFH with ADHD parenting face an added layer of challenges. Kids with ADHD often require more attention and structured routines, making it essential to have clear boundaries between work and family time. For parents in this situation, designating specific ‘focus periods’ during the day can be beneficial. These allow for dedicated work hours while also ensuring there’s time to address children’s needs. Having a physical or digital planner can also aid in balancing both responsibilities, preventing the feeling of being overwhelmed and ensuring neither work nor parenting duties are neglected.
Meetings also seem to have increased since working from home meaning that you can find yourself on calls for the vast majority of the day with sometime no break between. So it’s important that you really look at those meetings and what is the agenda and if its one that you really need to attend. Be a bit more brutal when it comes accepting if there is not a clear agenda ask for one, if that time is already booked decline it propose a new time. I think that we can be scared to not hit the accept button and just need to be a bit braver with how we manage our time and our diaries to be at our most productive.
So this makes work life balance so much more important than before. Try and make sure that you have a set start and finish time for work and that once that finish time comes turn off you laptop and put away that work phone. Getting into this routine I have found has helped me to distinguish between my work day and my free and family time.
So below I have capture a few tips that I think are useful for maintaining a good work life balance.
- Separate spaces for work and Personal time
- Take breaks throughout the day (go for a walk at lunchtime)
- Set a start and finish time to your work day
- turn/log off from your work devices at the end of the day
- Makes sure you are taking you holiday days
Drop a note in the comment below if you have any other tips that you have found useful 🙂