Have you had to swap the filter coffee in the office kitchen for a few cups of instant throughout the day? Has your little part of the office you could comfortably work away at turned in a de facto office at the kitchen table? And has those little moments of tranquillity on the morning commute now become a few extra minutes in bed where you don’t feel guilty hitting the snooze button?

With so many of us now working from home, there are both positive and negative changes which come along with it. While the lack of commute and being able to spend more time with the family is great, there are some downsides and bad habits we aren’t able to help. Some people are finding the change a little stressful, while others who are used to having a clear schedule throughout the day are surprisingly struggling to relax and unwind in the evening after work is done.

So what can be done to destress and switch off when the working day is over if work now technically takes place at home? Here are some tips and products you may find useful.

Keeping a work/home separation in place

When the office is now at home, how can you turn off once the clock hits 5 pm? Most of us aren’t lucky enough to have a little room tucked away we can use as a study/office to get up and leave, so when you’re using communal areas as your office, make sure you get rid of any signs of work once it is over.

I’m talking about putting laptops away in drawers, hiding folders out of sight, and making sure work emails can’t be accessed after dinner. The adage says that you shouldn’t take work home with you, so even if work is in your home, don’t have it outstay its welcome.

Make a checklist and ask yourself:

• Is there anything in my eye line to make me think about work?
• Is there anything that would cause someone to contact me when they don’t need to?
• Can I use my house as I want without work items getting in the way?

Having a NO SCREEN period

Speaking of keeping things out of sight, after a day full of Zoom meetings and multitasking tabs on your laptop, you don’t want to instantly go to sitting with the kids while YouTube cartoons play or endlessly browse on your phone.

Your brain deserves some time to have a literal break from screens to reset, so pencil in at least 30 minutes every evening where no one is allowed to think about even so much as touch a screen. I find that the period after dinner is best for helping break this bad habit, especially if it means the kids will wash dishes with the reward of ice cream and not another 30 minutes playing their tablets at full volume.

Limiting blue light exposure

The other major issue of screens is that blue light exposure has now become a part of daily life. Artificial blue light from laptops, phones and tablets do the same things blue light from the sun does to our brains. It’s a sign we want to be awake and alert. When you’re scrolling through your phone in bed at night, that blue light is tricking your brain into the same, so it helps to filter it out.

A reasonably priced pair of blue light glasses will do the job. It softens the exposure and helps your eyes relax, even for those of us who have to check phones in bed before going to sleep.

Taking micro-breaks

Do you feel guilty while working from home if you have to get up to go to the bathroom or get a drink, simply because no one knows if you’ve been away from the computer for five seconds or fifteen minutes? You may not have realised it before, but it is common and completely normal for us to switch off for a few seconds when working in an office.

Anytime we go to ask a question or get some coffee, we’re giving ourselves time to pause for a moment mentally. It’s important to do the same even when you’re working in your mini home office. Allow yourself a moment here and there to slow things down. I always pick a song while I’m listening to music that gives me a few minutes here and there for my brain to shift gears.

If you are starting to find yourself feeling a little stressed out while working at home, read this recent article on How To Deal With Stress.

Improving health one step at a time

Thanks for reading this post on working from home and making the most of it. If you’re looking to make some positive changes and begin to take steps which will see you improving your health, I recommend visiting the Healthy Living section of the site. It has many helpful articles covering everything from fitness and diet to mental health.