When Home Becomes the Office

Over the past year, a lot of people have suddenly discovered that their job can be done from home. This telecommuting boom has prompted some businesses to cut pay for people now telecommuting.

Regardless of how you feel about the morality of that decision or the new realities of working from home, the home office is here to stay, bringing with it some new problems.

Work-Life Balance

While a mental health virtual assistant may be used to working from home, more and more people are finding themselves converting the spare bedroom into a home office. Fortunately, people have learned a thing or two about working from home. 

In an article for PC Magazine, Jill Duffy gave a few tips for maintaining a good work-life balance. Some suggestions in that article include setting boundaries, sticking to regular business hours, showing up to meetings, and communicating positively.

Dedicated Workspace

The first step in setting boundaries, according to Skillcrush, is a dedicated workspace, which is essential. As a busy mental healthcare professional, the back bedroom might not be ideal for a virtual counseling location, but a couple of nice pictures where the camera can see and a good sturdy door should help with that.

Virtual assistants have a dedicated workspace as well, and they have spent time figuring out what their camera can view so their meetings with you have the best visuals possible. In addition, they’ve learned what blinds work best to keep them from looking like a Dateline interview with a source who chose to remain anonymous. There’s a lot to think about when setting up a virtual office space.

And just because everyone else is virtual, you may not have to be. Some school districts are bringing their teachers into the building even though the students are connecting through Zoom. All the teachers’ resources are there, so it makes sense. That probably makes sense for you, too. But if it doesn’t, then there have to be boundaries.

Boundaries

Virtual assistants have to work out boundaries with their families and pets, so you will need to as well. Everyone in the house needs to know your ground rules. During work hours, no one can loudly blast music or run the vacuum. 

Your dog might be happy to curl up on the chair across from you, but she can’t go to the bathroom whenever she pleases.

Managing Expectations

By setting regular work hours, you can manage expectations. If mommy or daddy is “at work” until 5 p.m., then the family will get used to you being in the office till 5 even though you’re just through a door with a “Keep Out!” sign on it.

Forbes also had some good ideas about balancing work and life. Their suggestion is to avoid working during your old commuting time. If you used to drive a half hour to work, then that half hour isn’t more work time. It’s coffee time. You’re no longer locked into a stressful drive with traffic honking at you, so take that time to read a little or watch a short cartoon with your child before school.

Dedicate Time Blocks

No matter where you’re working, Forbes suggests that multi-tasking is just going to add stress. Forbes presents the idea that working in blocks of time, and dedicating each block to a task, will be better for energy and help manage stress and burnout. 

If you need an hour to handle emails, then block out an hour for emails. If you know you’ll be documenting for 30 minutes after an appointment, build that into your plan. Set aside time at the end of the day just to tie up loose ends. Even if you’re in the office, the temptation of multitasking can make one think you’re being more efficient, but the truth is, multitasking doesn’t work.

Mental health professionals are stressed out at high levels right now, with 41% admitting to burnout. Adding the stress of working from home or trying to multitask will only add to the pressure. Maybe those emails don’t have to be answered by you. 

Find someone who can do that for you. Many virtual assistants have project hours, so you could use that option. Plus, figuring out the right angle for the computer or the appropriate “Keep Out!” sign for the door might be fun.

Finding a New Normal

And when the dog loudly loses her mind over the mail person coming to the door, maybe laughing it off and accepting it as a necessary sign of the new normal will help make you and your clients feel a little less stressed and have a little more human connection during a difficult time.