Common Remote Work Struggles (And How To Fix Them)
Working from home may be here to stay, but that doesn’t mean these common struggles have to stay as well!
Though appealing to many, working remotely is not exempt from the occasional struggle. And as many have discovered this year, there are actually many more obstacles to remote work than may initially meet the eye! Lack of human interaction can be met with loneliness; having work at your fingertips can lead to burnout; and so much more.
Since working remotely is clearly here to stay for many for the foreseeable future, we dove into a few struggles you may have been facing, as well as practical solutions you can implement to hopefully overcome them.
The Struggle: Time-Management
Working from home seems like the dream until suddenly you don’t have a designated space for work, the pile of dishes is glaring at you, and the dog wants to play all day. Not to mention you’re now fully accountable for staying on task all day.
The Solution: Find Methods That Work For You
Whether it’s the Pomodoro Technique, getting out of the house for work, or having “office hours” your family adheres to, finding sustainable ways to maximize your time is a non-negotiable for working from home. You can also invest in time tracking software to further hold you accountable.
The Struggle: Lack of Human Interaction
Although it may seem like a breath of fresh air at first to avoid interacting with others in person, even the most independent of introverts need some sort of human interaction. It’s easy to get plagued with isolation and loneliness when you’re heads down at your laptop all day.
The Solution: Connect in Ways That Energize You
Instead of completely writing off human interactions or, alternatively, signing up for every Zoom happy hour out there, pay close attention to the interactions that most energize you. Is it virtual coffee with a friend? An icebreaker game with your coworkers? Virtual coworking with fellow remote workers? Whatever it may be, intentionally lean in to the activities that energize you the most!
The Struggle: Working Too Much
Whether you used to work in coworking spaces or go into an office each day, there was likely a clear starting and stopping point to work. Now? You wake up and work is accessible right at your finger tips. There’s not much from stopping you from working from sun up to sun down, but this isn’t sustainable and will likely lead to burnout.
The Solution: Set Boundaries and Stick to Them
Let’s be honest: your work is probably never fully done. There is always more to do at any given time. So in order to decide when to start and stop work, you have to set realistic goals, boundaries, and expectations. But more importantly, you have to stick to them! If you say laptop closed by 6pm, adhere to that boundary with the larger goal of maintaining productivity long-term.
You got this!
As with anything new in life, it’ll take time to find our work from home groove! Most importantly, don’t get discouraged and know you are definitely not alone in any struggle you may be facing.