Introduction
What is this mythical beast called “work-life balance” and how does it fare in the remote workspace? The balance may be in being with your family more often, as many of the remotely working parents see it. It may be in not getting up at 4:00 in the morning because you have to commute for 2 hours to get to your desk. It may be in sitting in your favorite cafeteria sipping a weird latte brew and feeling the pulse of the city waking around you. Or you may have your own quirk and motivation for working remotely that we have not yet thought of.
No matter the reason, the remote workers as such are the happier employees, claiming to have a better work-life balance and being more productive as this study shows. But how do they do it? Let’s see!
The How-s and the Why-s of balancing your life as a remote worker
In order to achieve a better work-life balance while working remotely you have to make your own schedule. Since you are actually at work, you should do your job. But if you make your own schedule, you can complete your tasks in the best manner that fits you. You can take your kids to the daycare without being late for the office, for example. Preparing and having your lunch at whatever time you find fitting is also possible. You can have as many breaks as you want if this is what you need to keep yourself productive and motivated. All those, of course, have to be included in your schedule. Because, at the end of the day, you’ll have to have some completed tasks on your name. So, don’t get lazy while working remotely and neither burn yourself out while doing so.
Your Remote Workspace and Schedule
You have to prepare yourself to do your job as if you are in the so-dreaded office. After making the schedule, stick to it. If you are, for example, coding remotely get in your working appearance: get your laptop with League of Legends stickers on it, put on that old but comfy Star Wars t-shirt and don’t forget the glasses. Because if you don’t wear glasses nobody will believe you that you are a programmer who can code in 3 different programming languages. Then start working.
While doing your job, you’ll have the luxury of choosing where to work from. We recommend that you avoid being in your jammies on your couch covered in Doritos crumbs. If you can afford it, create a working space at home, which differs from the overall layout of your den. This way, you’ll be able to trick your subconsciousness that you are not truly at home and spur your productivity forward. If you work from e.g., a library, a café or from the park, you can achieve the said productivity even further. But it come to personal preferences, of course.
Should you work remotely?
With all this being said, yes, you’ll probably have a better work-life balance while working remotely. But the remote job isn’t for everyone. If you cannot stay motivated out of the office or if your mind tends to wander if you are not desk bound, then you’d better stay in your company’s brick and mortar building from 9 to 5.
If, on the other hand, you want to balance better your job and life by working remotely, you can always create your RemoteMore profile, where it will be visible to remote-hiring companies.
