A lot of us are still working from home and have been, for a full year. I recently took up a second job where I am required to work from home too.

WFH for the past two months led me down a rabbit hole of trying to improve work-life balance. What can we do to preserve our mental health, maintain our home as a recreational sanctuary, and truly cultivate a life outside of work?

Here are 3 tips that might be worth trying:

Discipline

Keep a hard stop in the evening after which you have to stop working. If its 6 pm, put down that pen, close your laptop and go out for a run or spend time with your family. Respect that time related boundary.

Meal prep

If all your meals are prepped prior, or if you have all the needed ingredients and know it will take you less than 20 minutes to put lunch together, this eliminates a lot of wasteful time spent ‘thinking’ about what to cook. Meal prep does not take the spontaneity out of your day. It takes out the stress of having to cook a meal when you’re already low on energy.

Go outside

While it is tempting to have lunch at your ‘desk’ so you can attend meetings and stay productive, it is also energy draining. If you have a patio, or backyard, take your lunch there. If you have a park you can access in under 5 minutes, nothing like it. Taking a full 30-minute lunch with my husband in the park close to our home is something I have come to look forward to. The fresh air leaves us refreshed and ready for the second half of the workday!

Hopefully these tips work for many of you! All the best!