In our modern world, finding a balance between work and personal life has become more challenging than ever. With remote work on the rise, it’s tempting to turn our bedrooms into makeshift offices. However, it’s important to pause and consider the potential drawbacks of blurring the lines between our workspace and our sanctuary of rest.
Let’s delve into why you shouldn’t do work in your bedroom and how it can potentially affect your daily life.
Drawbacks of Working From Your Bedroom
Working from your bedroom sounds like a cozy option, but it can be disruptive to both your work and personal life.
Impacts Sleep
Working from the bedroom can cause some people to associate their surroundings with work rather than sleep, which can make it difficult to relax at bedtime.
Limits Productivity
Working in the bedroom can also make people less productive because they are surrounded by their place of leisure. Some people may become distracted by all of the items in their bedroom, which can decrease focus and concentration.
Creates Poor Work-Life Balance
When work encroaches on your personal space, and your personal life encroaches on work, you may not be balancing either efficiently. This makes it easy to become stuck in work or leisure mode, which creates poor work-life balance.
Posture
When someone works from their bedroom, they generally don’t have the best desk set-up. This leaves them working from bed or from a couch, which creates terrible posture. Slouching is not only bad for your body, but it is bad for productivity too.
Best Ways To Work From Home
Working from home can affect your sleep, but it doesn’t have to. There are ways you can optimize your work-life balance, even while working from home.
Create A Comfortable Environment
It’s important to create an environment that is conducive to work. This means you need to be comfortable, so adjusting your desk to the right height and using a comfortable chair is crucial. You should also avoid working from bed or from a couch, and if at all possible, keep your work life outside of your bedroom.
If your bedroom is the only place that you can work, then use a room divider to separate your workspace from the sleeping and leisure space. You will also want to keep your workspace free from clutter, which can be distracting when you are trying to get things done.
Create A Consistent Morning Routine
When you’re working from home, it often takes a little more discipline to get out of bed and start your day. Creating a consistent morning routine that becomes a habit can make this process a whole lot easier.
Consider adding a few of these elements to your morning routine to start the day off on the right foot.
- Goal setting
- Creating a schedule
- Express gratitude
- Connect with family or friends
- Exercise
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Clean your space
- Meditate
- Spend time in nature
While you probably won’t be able to add all of these to your morning routine, you will likely feel better from adding just a few of these habits.
Avoid Working In Your Pajamas
Working in your pajamas doesn’t set you up to have the right mindset for work. Once you get up, get dressed, and ready for the workday, your mind will feel more ready to dive into the workday ahead.
It will also help you to feel a little more prepared and presentable if you need to hop on a call with a colleague or a meeting with a client.
Work Regular Hours
If you work regular work hours, it’s easier to stay disciplined throughout the day. Whereas if you break up your day into too many different work slots, you end up being distracted frequently. It also means you may have to catch up on work that wasn’t finished during the day in your leisure time, which should be avoided.
Schedule Breaks
It’s important to schedule breaks, giving yourself a chance to get up, move around, stretch your legs and take a break from your computer. Everyone is able to concentrate for different lengths of time, but many sources believe it’s ideal to take a five-minute break every 25 minutes.
When you take longer breaks to have lunch, ensure you are not doing so in front of your laptop. Eating in front of your computer makes you feel like you haven’t taken a break at all. So try to get out of the house, take a walk, or eat in your lounge or garden to get away from your work environment.
Stay Connected With Coworkers
When everyone is working from their own little abode, it can be hard to stay connected with those you work with. But there are ways you can stay connected, no matter how far you are from your colleagues.
Checking in with close colleagues on a regular basis, switching your camera on in meetings, and participating in meeting small talk are great ways to keep your finger on the pulse. Reading company updates and participating in online team-building activities can also help you to stay connected.
FAQs
Is it unhealthy to work in your bedroom?
If you start taking your work into the bedroom it can be unhealthy because your brain will start to associate your bedroom with productivity. This can make it harder to sleep at night, leaving you feeling tired in the morning.
Does working in your bedroom affect sleep?
Yes, working in your bedroom can affect your sleep. If you work in your bedroom, your brain may start to associate your bedroom with working. This can make it harder to get to sleep at night.
Why shouldn’t I do homework in bed?
Your brain already associates your bed with rest and recuperation, so doing your homework in bed will likely make you feel tired and unfocused.
