Setting Boundaries While Working From Home! * Mariya Baig

Ah, the glamorous world of working from home! No pants, no commute, and all the snacks you can stuff your face with. What’s not to love, right? It’s like a real-life sitcom where the only laugh track is the sound of your cat knocking things off the shelf in the background.

But before you dive headfirst into the abyss of remote work, let’s talk about something crucial: boundaries. Because let’s face it, if you don’t set them, you’ll end up looking like a character from a zombie apocalypse movie — dishevelled, sleep-deprived, and talking to your potted plants like they’re your coworkers. Self-care is key, because remember, you’re not just a remote worker — you’re a person too. Schedule those mandatory dance breaks between tasks. Bust a move that would make your teenage self cringe and your cat reconsider its life choices.

Remote Work’s Love-Hate Affair

Sure, rolling out of bed and plopping onto your couch with a laptop in one hand and a bowl of cereal in the other feels like the pinnacle of multitasking. But let’s not ignore the harsh reality that’s lurking beneath the surface. Without setting solid boundaries, you might soon discover yourself debugging code while half-asleep or writing unit test cases while balancing in a precarious yoga pose.

Flexible Schedule Dilemma: The Myth of “I Can Work Anytime”

The sweet allure of flexible hours! You can totally start work at 2 PM and finish at 2 AM, right? Thinking you’ve discovered the secret to time travel through your code? Think again.

If you don’t establish proper working hours, your laptop will become an extension of your arm, and your working hours can stretch into an infinite loop, blurring the lines between sunrise and sunset faster than you can say “bug-free.”

Constant Connectivity: The Abyss of Instant Notifications

Emails, Slack messages, Team pings and GitHub notifications — they’re the Bermuda Triangle of your focus. You dip your toes into replying to a simple message, and suddenly, you’re neck-deep in a discussion about the intricacies of asynchronous programming.

Your couch? Your office. Your bed? Your brainstorming headquarters. And your actual desk? A storage space for random junk. If you don’t set boundaries, your furniture will rise against you, turning your home into a comfy, yet oddly unproductive, circus.

Social Isolation: The Zombie Syndrome

Lack of human interaction can turn you into a full-blown zombie. You’re committing bug fixes at 3 AM and watching cat videos during your “lunch break.” Your friends start referring to you as “the ghost who works.”

In the blink of an eye, your work hours consume your entire day. The distinction between code commits and personal chats evaporates like a bad variable declaration. You’re so submerged in your IDE that you forget a world outside your laptop exists.

Crushing Overburn: Because Zombies Belong in Movies, Not Your WFH Setup

To prevent overburn and ensure a healthy work-life balance, it’s imperative to establish and maintain clear boundaries while working from home. Here are some strategies to consider:

Yes, that’s right — your bed is not your desk, and your desk is not your bed. Create a designated workspace that screams “I’m here to work!” and not “I’m here to nap!”

Set Clear Work Hours: The Algorithmic Schedule

Establish specific work hours and communicate them to your colleagues and family. Stick to these hours as closely as possible to prevent work from seeping into your personal time.

Limit Communication Outside Work Hours: The “Do Not Disturb” Spell

Unless it’s an emergency, avoid responding to work-related messages or emails outside of your established work hours. Train yourself and your colleagues to respect these boundaries.

Schedule breaks and actually take them. Move your body, stretch, and please, for the love of productivity, step away from your screen. Those funny cat videos can wait. March around your workspace like you’re optimizing an algorithm, but ensure you return before the infinite loop of procrastination kicks in.

Make it a point to connect with living beings outside of your work domain. Have virtual coffee breaks with colleagues, engage in nonsensical conversations with friends, or just call your grandma to remind her you’re still alive.

Choose a time each day for a digital detox. Unplug, disconnect, and go outside (yes, it’s that place beyond your front door). Share a dramatic farewell post on social media before you vanish into the real world.

The Path Forward: Working from Home

Remote work is undoubtedly here to stay, bringing with it both advantages and challenges. To ensure that the benefits outweigh the downsides, it’s crucial to set and maintain clear boundaries. By creating a structured routine, communicating expectations, and prioritizing self-care, you can prevent the overburn of burnout and foster a sustainable work-from-home experience that contributes positively to both your professional and personal life. Remember, finding the right balance takes time and effort, but the rewards are well worth it.

Originally published at https://mariyabaig.com on August 19, 2023.