Working from home has become normal today, even as the country opens up again. While it’s a great way to stay safe and even save money on childcare, it’s easy to blend the lines between work and taking care of yourself if you aren’t careful.

Here are simple ways to make sure you take care of yourself while working from home.

1. Create a Routine Just like you have hours in the office, set hours at home. Don’t work the minute you get out of bed or do little work tasks throughout the night. Set a specific start and end time and stick to it. Shut off all work notifications during your ‘off times’ and don’t enter your office until it’s time to work again.
2. Give yourself ‘Commute’ Time When you went into the office, you had time to gear up for the day and wind down on your way home as you drove. This was ‘me’ time, whether you realized it or not. When you work from home, you go straight from home life to work-life in a snap. Instead, work in a little time just for you. Whether you sit in your room with the door closed for a few minutes, you take a quick walk, or you use your shower and grooming time to decompress before starting your day, it’s important.
3. Make Time to Eat Don’t work through your lunch hour or skip snacks. Just like when you worked in the office, prepare food to grab and eat. You’re more likely to just keep working because you’re home and think ‘I can eat later,’ but don’t. Prepare a healthy lunch and even put it in a container you can just grab and eat. The same for snacks. Make individual bags or containers of snacks you can grab and eat throughout the day.
4. Leave the House Your house is now your office too – which can get monotonous and make you feel grumpy or depressed. Make time to leave the house, especially to explore nature. Work in at least a 30-minute walk into your day
5. 5 days a week. If you can, take a drive too – whether to the store, to drive kids to their activities, or just to get out. Blast your music, roll down your windows, and enjoy the fresh air.

Create a Specific Work Space

If you have the room, create a separate office. Close the doors to the office during non-work hours so you aren’t tempted to sneak in and work. If you don’t have enough space, make your office portable so you can close up and put away your computer and any other supplies so you aren’t tempted to work again.

Bottom Line

Self-care is the key to health and happiness especially if you work from home. You can’t pour from an empty cup so don’t try to work so much that you don’t take care of yourself. Treat your home office like your traditional office – working only during work hours and taking care of yourself when you’re not working.