I began my first full-time role at the beginning of 2021 when the world was still semi-quarantined and jobs were almost exclusively remote. It was an interesting way to begin my career because I was navigating the nerves of understanding the corporate world while companies were still tweaking their work-from-home policies and processes.
The good side to working remotely is that I could wear my comfy slippers and have a nice view of my dog—who I jokingly (but not jokingly) refer to as my coworker—sleeping next to me worry-free.
Almost four years later, remote has become the norm for me. Most of us, including myself, find comfort in not having to sit in traffic for hours or the freedom to prepare freshly cooked meals during our lunch breaks.
However, the same advantages that the virtual workforce offers are the same reasons why working from home can be challenging: You work in the same place you eat, sleep, and relax.
Over time, I wondered why I started feeling like I was on the clock 24/7. I’d reach for my laptop if I was bored at home or loosely watching a movie and wanted to get ahead of something before the next day. My only transition between ending the work day to going back to my normal life was closing my laptop and taking 20 steps out into the kitchen.
As I reflected on this, I realized that the act of shutting down my laptop and walking out of my home office was not enough for my brain to comprehend that work time is over. Our bodies need an explicit action that triggers the switch in our brain to disable work-mode.
This is why—when remote work was a rarity—the line between work and regular life was not as blurred; the action of driving home is sufficient for our brains to understand that work is over.
It is up to us to establish relaxing and healthy habits to practice at home. I encourage all remote workers to audit their post-work routine and incorporate explicit work disabling actions, such as taking a long walk, working out, or meditating outdoors. I share my experience in hopes of helping others who may struggle with segmenting these two important parts of their lives.
—Silvia Castro is a Digital Analytics Consultant at InfoTrust
