How to Maintain a Work/Life Balance in a Virtual Office Environment

Covid-19 (coronavirus) is changing the way people live and work. In many cases, people are now both living and working in the same location, which can make maintaining a proper work/life balance challenging. Those who work from home can be at greater risk of feeling isolated, overworking, or feeling disconnected from the workplace. If you’ve never worked from home before, it can be a major adjustment.

However, there are a number of things you can do to maintain the proper balance of work and life, especially with a virtual office space. Here are a few tips for doing so, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

• Establish a virtual business office.

Virtual office for rent spaces can help alleviate the burden of not having a physical office location through a variety of virtual office services. There are a number of benefits to establishing a virtual business office, such as:

• Mail handling and delivery: Your mail is accessible online and you’re able to receive, forward, pick up, shred or discard mail and packages without leaving your home.
• Virtual office answering service: A receptionist will always be available to answer phones and provide support to your customers and employees. They can answer and forward calls, and you have access to an interactive voicemail so you can check your messages whenever you need them.
• Virtual office facilities: Even with social distancing guidelines in place, you may find the need to meet with an employee or client face-to-face. A virtual office facility can include private conference or meeting rooms, or even office spaces and desks.
• Virtual receptionist: An experienced agent can handle your communication tasks from managing customer services to scheduling meetings and appointments. Share some of the day-to-day tasks that are necessary but take up precious time so you have more time to balance life.

        Create a schedule and a routine

Start and end your workday as you would if you were going into the office. Working from home makes it easy to work longer hours than you normally would, but be consistent with your schedule. Try not to start earlier or work later than your set times.

Also, try to create a similar routine. If you would normally wake up at a certain time, drink a cup of coffee, read your emails, and start meetings at 9:00 a.m., follow that same routine from home. There can be a number of distractions at home that you aren’t used to having to deal with, and creating a consistent routine can help keep you balanced.

Also, each morning, try and plan out your day. Check your meeting schedule, determine your top priorities, and create a plan for what you will get done and when.

• Make lists

Try creating three separate lists – top priorities that have to get done that day, medium priorities that could wait for one or two days, and low priorities that can have a few days or longer to complete.

Review your list each workday to remind yourself what you have to get done, and have a visual representation of what your daily to-dos will look like. Writing them down can not only help keep you organized, but it can also help you be realistic about what you can and can’t accomplish in the workday.

• Avoid multitasking

It’s been proven that the human brain in fact cannot multitask. While we feel like we are getting more accomplished by doing more than one thing at once, most of the time we are not dedicating our full attention and efforts to any of those things we are working on.

At home, it’s easy to want to do laundry, the dishes, cook or takes care of other around-the-house chores while answering work emails or taking phone calls. In reality, you’re likely to be more efficient and effective if you focus on one task at a time.

• Take breaks and disconnect

When you’re in an office, you probably get up from your desk several times per day to walk to meetings, use the restroom, fill your water or get coffee, go to the cafeteria or out for lunch, and even just socialize with others. Don’t forget to do these at home as well. You will burn out and feel overwhelmed much quicker if you don’t take at least a few minutes every hour to get up, stretch, take a walk, or simply take a break. Breaks are a very important part of the workday, even while working from home.

Also, don’t be afraid to disconnect. During your day, turn off your personal phone and computer to avoid the internet or social media surfing, texting, or playing your favorite mobile game. And, when your workday is over, be sure to turn off your computer, work phone, and work email (if you can) and step away from your desk or office space.