Studies suggest that 60% of the UK’s population has left the workplace to work from home. With the increase of jobs merging with home living spaces, maintaining a work-life balance can prove to be a challenge for some people. In this article we explore the importance of mindfulness at work and eight useful tips to help you to maintain mindfulness when working from home.
Why is mindfulness important?
Practising mindfulness in the workplace, whether that be in your home or at the company office, can help you to manage stressful and difficult situations with much more ease. Stress is the main cause of burn out that can lead to disengagement, conflicts in your working relationships and an increase in sick days, as stress can cause serious health problems, including a decline in your mental wellbeing.
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it would be the importance of our health and wellbeing. Therefore, mindfulness is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety, become more present and improve communication in the workplace.
Eight mindfulness tips for working from home
Now that we have discussed the importance of maintaining a good headspace and health, here are eight tips to help you work mindfully from home:
1. Move your body
2. Have a routine
3. Maintain a clean and tidy desk
4. Avoid working from your bedroom
5. Limit distractions
6. Take regular breaks
7. Focus on one task at a time
8. Stay social
1. Move your body
Does your job require sitting down at your desk for long periods of time? Well, maybe it’s time to invest in a standing desk. Unless you are a wheelchair user, the NHS advises on reducing the amount you sit.
Moving your body is a great mood booster. It gets your blood pumping, releases those feel-good endorphins, and gets you exercising. Getting 2.5 hours (150 minutes) of exercise in a week is said to prevent the likelihood of ill health. And the good news is, you don’t necessarily need to endure a full workout session (unless you really want to!). Just doing some gentle yoga stretches, dancing to the kitchen as you get something to eat or even going on a walk on your break, is a great way to incorporate a little movement into your daily life.
Another idea is thinking about the placement of the items you use on a regular basis. Placing these items somewhere else will give you a reason to move about. For example, putting a printer in another area of the room instead of at your desk will prompt you to get up and take a walk to retrieve your printed items. Incorporating simple prompts like this can help you to stay active throughout the day.
2. Have a routine
Did you know staying in your pyjamas when working from home could have a negative impact on your mindset? In an Australian study by the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, the University of Technology Sydney, and the University of Sydney, it was uncovered that working in your pyjamas didn’t result in lower productivity levels – but instead poorer mental health.
Therefore, keeping a work schedule just like you would when working from the office is a great way to keep your circadian rhythms in check (think of it as your natural internal body clock, it is a 24-hour cycle that helps to regulate the sleep-wake cycle) and reduce stress and anxiety – helping you to maintain good mental health and mindfulness at work.
Here are some habits that you could incorporate into your daily routine that could potentially make all the difference:
- Waking up at the same time every morning
- Eating a healthy breakfast to kick start your day
- Changing out of your pyjamas into different clothes
- Setting boundaries for your working day, such as when you clock in and out
- Taking regular breaks
- Creating to do lists that are flexible
- Having downtime in the evenings
3. Maintain a clean and tidy desk
Clutter is bad for the brain, so it’s time to put those empty food wrappers into the bin and get those scrap pieces of paper organised and tidied away. When we constantly see disorganisation, it drains our cognitive resources because our brains like order. Neuroscience researchers have found clearing away clutter can result in increased productivity and the ability to focus and process information more. So as cliché as it sounds, a messy room does equal a messy mind.
4. Avoid working from your bedroom
Experts advise not working from your bedroom since this can cause the brain to associate your area of rest with productivity, making it hard for you to get a good night’s rest when it comes to winding down to sleep.
At the other end of the scale, because the bedroom is associated with resting, working from it could also make you drowsy and tempted to doze off when you should be working towards your tasks. It’s best to set up a workstation in areas that you do not use to relax and unwind, for example, guest rooms and the dining room.
If you can’t avoid working from your bedroom, setting boundaries could help. For instance, not working from your bed. If the only place you can work from is your bed, look at developing habits like making your bed for work mode and having an unmade bed for rest mode. This could help to send signals to the brain that make it easier for your brain to switch on and off and differentiate between work mode and rest mode.
5. Limit distractions
Working from home can mean constant distractions, especially if you share your environment with others. To help your concentration levels, having your workstation in an area of your home that has low foot traffic and setting boundaries with those you live with can potentially mean fewer disturbances. In other situations where you are caring for children, planning your day around the children’s activities could potentially help with maintaining a good work-life balance.
Furthermore, switching off devices like the TV and putting your phone away are also great ways to help boost concentration. You can avoid endlessly scrolling on social media or getting sucked into a juicy storyline on the television screen. Again, boundaries are a fantastic way to prevent distractions and allow you to focus on the tasks that need to get done.
6. Take regular breaks
If your job involves spending a good portion or all your time in front of a computer screen, then it’s important to take frequent five-to-10-minute breaks every hour, as a lack of breaks are bad for your eyes. There are a few ways in which you could incorporate some regular mini breaks by:
- Eating away from your desk
- Going outside for some fresh air
- Meditating
Spending just a few moments in meditation can reduce stress, control anxiety, improve self-awareness and lengthen your attention span – allowing you stay focused and relaxed throughout the day.
7. Focus on one task at a time
Single-tasking involves concentrating on one task at a time, compared to trying to do multiple things at once. We may think that we’ll achieve a lot more if we work on multiple projects at the same time, but studies have confirmed directing your attention to one task at a time lowers your stress levels, increases happiness and enhances productivity.
8. Stay social
Connecting with others is important for your wellbeing and combating loneliness. However, working from home means you can’t stop by your colleague’s desk for a chat and reduces the amount of face-to-face physical interactions, like the gentle taps on your shoulder to ask quick questions.
But don’t worry, while your workstation is now only a walk down your hallway, there are still ways to remain social with your co-workers. How about creating a group chat to stay social, jumping on video calls to have catch-ups and ask questions or meeting up on your lunch breaks? There are still ways you can remain socially connected. Remember, you are just a message away from having a conversation!
Will you be applying any of these eight tips to your life? To discover more handy tips visit our career advice section or browse our latest job vacancies.
Last updated on 16 December 2022
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