April 1, 2024 • 7 mins
Have you ever felt the weight of your remote work tying you down long after you've powered down your computer? I'm Alex from Remote Work Life, and I've been there—struggling to find the off switch for my workday, wrestling with the imbalance that crept into my personal life. But I've turned the tide, and in this episode, I share my journey toward a more balanced work experience. This isn't just my story; it's an amalgamation of experiences in remote work.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, it is Alex from Remote Work Life.
Welcome to the Remote Work Lifepodcast.
Thank you for joining me againtoday, and if you're here for
the first time, every week I'llbe.
I am publishing quick tips, andyou've joined me today on one
of those days where I want toshare with you a quick tip that
(00:23):
I hope is going to help you toenhance your experience when
working remotely, whether you'reworking from home, whether
you're working from any otherremote location for that matter.
So today, as the title suggests, I'm talking about unplugging
from work at the end of the day,to maintain a healthy work-life
(00:44):
balance, and the idea ofwork-life balance is is unique
to each person.
One person's perception of whatbalance is is probably another
person's lack of balance.
So you, you create the balancethat you want, and balance
doesn't necessarily meaneverything is is balanced.
It's basically measuring thingsand, I guess, creating things
(01:10):
or creating an environment foryourself that works for you, and
what I'd say in terms ofunplugging and my own experience
of unplugging when I firststarted working remotely and in
the early days of my time as aremote worker, I would find it
really difficult to unplug fromwork and and stop thinking about
(01:33):
work, and I guess that filteredinto my, my leisure time.
It filtered into my personallife to the point that I was
literally wedded to my job,wedded to work, probably over
dedicated to what I was doing.
That led me to be unhappy, Iguess, and also it filtered into
(01:56):
the people around me.
They became unhappy as well,because they couldn't get the
attention from me that theywanted and the commitment from
me to to, I guess, do thingsthat were leisure or considered
leisure activities, things thatwould, would benefit the family
unit.
So and then for me personally,I I became burnt out.
(02:19):
I became, guess, not as engagedin work and just basically
burnt out and a bit run down.
So it had a detrimental effecton me personally but also on the
people around me, and I knew Ihad to make a change.
And I think, when I started totalk to other people who work
remotely, especially those whohad worked remotely for more
(02:42):
years than I've worked remotely,especially those who had worked
remotely for more years thanI've worked remotely, it became
apparent that I needed to changesomething, not just because of
what they were doing but, as Isaid, because of the things,
because of how it was affectingme and those around me and my
work in general.
So here are a few tips that Iwant to share with you, some
that I do myself, some that I'velearned from others, in order
(03:04):
to help to alleviate anyfeelings of you being wedded to
your work and your inability tounplug yourself from work.
It's really important.
So, yeah, one thing you shoulddo is set clear boundaries, so
(03:24):
establish specific work hoursfor yourself.
And, yes, there may be need tohave some flex here and there,
but at least if you have clearboundaries of when you're
starting work, when you'retaking your breaks, when you're
finishing work, then you knowyou can work to those targets
(03:47):
much easier.
And what I found personally, Igot more done when I had
specific and clear boundaries,plus those around me.
They would give me more time toor it seemed like I was able to
get the time that I wanted tofinish what I wanted to do.
So setting clear boundaries iscertainly something I would
(04:08):
recommend personally.
Another thing is establish, Iguess, a specific end to work, a
dedicated ritual, I suppose youcould call it.
So that's number two.
So establishing a dedicated endof work ritual or end of day
ritual.
That could be something assimple as unplugging
(04:31):
deliberately unplugging youryour laptop, shutting the laptop
down specifically, it could besomething as simple as putting
your your laptop away, so it'sout of sight, out of mind.
Folding up your desk if youhave a folded desk.
So that is something that youdo every day.
For example, you cleareverything from your workspace
(04:53):
if you don't have your ownoffice.
If you do have an office, itmight be again wrapping those
things up, closing your laptopdown and shutting the office
door.
It may even be locking theoffice door.
Who knows?
I don't know what your ritualwould be or how you would do it,
but having an established endof day ritual that signals the
completion of your work.
(05:17):
So what else?
Unplugging from work tools?
That's number three.
So turn off work relatednotifications, avoid checking
emails or messages after thedesignated end of your work day.
So even better, I mean if youdo work as part of a wider team,
(05:39):
if you've got a, if you have adedicated laptop ideally you
would have that so you couldturn that off.
As I was mentioning before, ifyou have a dedicated uh mobile
phone, you turn that off and putthat away.
So it's out of sight, out ofmind.
So that's number three.
Number four, engage in thingssuch as leisure activities,
things that are just totallyremoved from your work scenario.
(06:02):
So dedicate time to leisureactivities, hobbies or spending
quality time with your familyand friends to recharge and
maintain a balance that you know, that healthy balance, or at
least promote a healthy balance.
And what else would I say?
I mean, I say this quite often,but you know focusing on your
own wellness in many ways,whether that's physical or
(06:27):
psychological wellness, orconsider incorporating wellness
rituals into your end-of-dayroutine.
For example, doing someexercise it could be going for a
swim, going for a walk for arun or ride your bike.
Doing some exercise it could begoing for a swim, going for a
walk, for a run, ride your bike,or if you've got one of those
walking pads that I've seenthese are quite popular these
(06:48):
days you might go on yourwalking pad if you're unable to
get out of the house.
On it, if it's particularlyrain, I don't know, for whatever
reason that you might not beable to get out of the house.
So establish a wellness,something that's going to help
you physically and hopefullyalso help you mentally as well.
So, yeah, those are my five tips, some of which I do myself,
(07:11):
others, which I perhaps shouldbe doing, so I hope that has
helped you today.
That's your quick tip for theday, and that is unplug from
work at the end of the day tomaintain a healthy work-life
balance.
If this has been useful for you, if this episode has been
useful for you, please considersharing re-sharing with your
network.
Please also subscribe and leaveyour review or your rating as
(07:37):
part of the episode and please,uh, also consider dropping me a
line with any of yoursuggestions.
If there's any guests that youwould like to have on the show
or any suggestions for futurepodcasts, then please, I'm all
ears and you can check out mydetails in the show notes just
below to get in contact with medirectly.
Thanks once again.
Hey, it is Alex from Remote Work Life.
Welcome to the Remote Work Lifepodcast.
Thank you for joining me againtoday, and if you're here for
the first time, every week I'llbe.
I am publishing quick tips, andyou've joined me today on one
of those days where I want toshare with you a quick tip that
(00:23):
I hope is going to help you toenhance your experience when
working remotely, whether you'reworking from home, whether
you're working from any otherremote location for that matter.
So today, as the title suggests, I'm talking about unplugging
from work at the end of the day,to maintain a healthy work-life
(00:44):
balance, and the idea ofwork-life balance is is unique
to each person.
One person's perception of whatbalance is is probably another
person's lack of balance.
So you, you create the balancethat you want, and balance
doesn't necessarily meaneverything is is balanced.
It's basically measuring thingsand, I guess, creating things
(01:10):
or creating an environment foryourself that works for you, and
what I'd say in terms ofunplugging and my own experience
of unplugging when I firststarted working remotely and in
the early days of my time as aremote worker, I would find it
really difficult to unplug fromwork and and stop thinking about
(01:33):
work, and I guess that filteredinto my, my leisure time.
It filtered into my personallife to the point that I was
literally wedded to my job,wedded to work, probably over
dedicated to what I was doing.
That led me to be unhappy, Iguess, and also it filtered into
(01:56):
the people around me.
They became unhappy as well,because they couldn't get the
attention from me that theywanted and the commitment from
me to to, I guess, do thingsthat were leisure or considered
leisure activities, things thatwould, would benefit the family
unit.
So and then for me personally,I I became burnt out.
(02:19):
I became, guess, not as engagedin work and just basically
burnt out and a bit run down.
So it had a detrimental effecton me personally but also on the
people around me, and I knew Ihad to make a change.
And I think, when I started totalk to other people who work
remotely, especially those whohad worked remotely for more
(02:42):
years than I've worked remotely,especially those who had worked
remotely for more years thanI've worked remotely, it became
apparent that I needed to changesomething, not just because of
what they were doing but, as Isaid, because of the things,
because of how it was affectingme and those around me and my
work in general.
So here are a few tips that Iwant to share with you, some
that I do myself, some that I'velearned from others, in order
(03:04):
to help to alleviate anyfeelings of you being wedded to
your work and your inability tounplug yourself from work.
It's really important.
So, yeah, one thing you shoulddo is set clear boundaries, so
(03:24):
establish specific work hoursfor yourself.
And, yes, there may be need tohave some flex here and there,
but at least if you have clearboundaries of when you're
starting work, when you'retaking your breaks, when you're
finishing work, then you knowyou can work to those targets
(03:47):
much easier.
And what I found personally, Igot more done when I had
specific and clear boundaries,plus those around me.
They would give me more time toor it seemed like I was able to
get the time that I wanted tofinish what I wanted to do.
So setting clear boundaries iscertainly something I would
(04:08):
recommend personally.
Another thing is establish, Iguess, a specific end to work, a
dedicated ritual, I suppose youcould call it.
So that's number two.
So establishing a dedicated endof work ritual or end of day
ritual.
That could be something assimple as unplugging
(04:31):
deliberately unplugging youryour laptop, shutting the laptop
down specifically, it could besomething as simple as putting
your your laptop away, so it'sout of sight, out of mind.
Folding up your desk if youhave a folded desk.
So that is something that youdo every day.
For example, you cleareverything from your workspace
(04:53):
if you don't have your ownoffice.
If you do have an office, itmight be again wrapping those
things up, closing your laptopdown and shutting the office
door.
It may even be locking theoffice door.
Who knows?
I don't know what your ritualwould be or how you would do it,
but having an established endof day ritual that signals the
completion of your work.
(05:17):
So what else?
Unplugging from work tools?
That's number three.
So turn off work relatednotifications, avoid checking
emails or messages after thedesignated end of your work day.
So even better, I mean if youdo work as part of a wider team,
(05:39):
if you've got a, if you have adedicated laptop ideally you
would have that so you couldturn that off.
As I was mentioning before, ifyou have a dedicated uh mobile
phone, you turn that off and putthat away.
So it's out of sight, out ofmind.
So that's number three.
Number four, engage in thingssuch as leisure activities,
things that are just totallyremoved from your work scenario.
(06:02):
So dedicate time to leisureactivities, hobbies or spending
quality time with your familyand friends to recharge and
maintain a balance that you know, that healthy balance, or at
least promote a healthy balance.
And what else would I say?
I mean, I say this quite often,but you know focusing on your
own wellness in many ways,whether that's physical or
(06:27):
psychological wellness, orconsider incorporating wellness
rituals into your end-of-dayroutine.
For example, doing someexercise it could be going for a
swim, going for a walk for arun or ride your bike.
Doing some exercise it could begoing for a swim, going for a
walk, for a run, ride your bike,or if you've got one of those
walking pads that I've seenthese are quite popular these
(06:48):
days you might go on yourwalking pad if you're unable to
get out of the house.
On it, if it's particularlyrain, I don't know, for whatever
reason that you might not beable to get out of the house.
So establish a wellness,something that's going to help
you physically and hopefullyalso help you mentally as well.
So, yeah, those are my five tips, some of which I do myself,
(07:11):
others, which I perhaps shouldbe doing, so I hope that has
helped you today.
That's your quick tip for theday, and that is unplug from
work at the end of the day tomaintain a healthy work-life
balance.
If this has been useful for you, if this episode has been
useful for you, please considersharing re-sharing with your
network.
Please also subscribe and leaveyour review or your rating as
(07:37):
part of the episode and please,uh, also consider dropping me a
line with any of yoursuggestions.
If there's any guests that youwould like to have on the show
or any suggestions for futurepodcasts, then please, I'm all
ears and you can check out mydetails in the show notes just
below to get in contact with medirectly.
Thanks once again.
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