Working from home has many advantages. It can offer fantastic flexibility and an excellent chance to create the perfect work-life balance. Working from home can give you the opportunity to launch your own business or otherwise earn money doing something that you love. For many, working from home is a lifeline. A chance for a better quality of life and a brilliant way to make money with no ceiling or discrimination.
But it’s not all great. Many people that work from home find that their mental health suffers. Some people get terribly lonely, especially those that are used to working with a lot of people, or with the public, face to face. Some actually find it harder to achieve a work-life balance, finding that while they are working at home, they are also living at work, and they can never quite manage to switch off.
If you have ever suffered from seasonal depression, you might find that it’s worse now that you work from home. With no reason to leave, you might hibernate as much as you can, which can make your symptoms worse. Let’s take a look at some ways that you can avoid seasonal depression while working at home.
6 Tips for Avoiding Seasonal Depression When You Work From Home
Let More Light In
If you’ve got to be at home, try to make sure that you let as much light in as you can. This might mean some significant changes, like installing double hung window replacements. But, it can also mean throwing your curtains open, cleaning your window panes, and clearing the sills.
Follow the Sun Around Your Home
Do you need to work in your office? With a laptop or tablet, could you work in other rooms in your house? When the sun is on the front of your home, work there. As the sun moves around the house, follow it.
Get Outdoors When You Can
Try to get outdoors when you can. Take full days off work, and spend them outside. Go for a walk first thing in the morning, or when you finish for the day. Or, on milder days, try to work some of the time outdoors. Getting outside will boost your energy levels, help you to feel more alert, improve your circulation, and help you to get more vitamin D. Even when the weather isn’t great.
Change Your Working Hours
If you are struggling to get outside when the sun is up, why not consider changing your working hours, so that you are free to go out during the day. In a few weeks, it will start to get dark much earlier, so try working in the early evening and first thing in the morning, so that you have more time for yourself during daylight hours.
Fill Your Home Office with Color
Winter is grey and dull. But that doesn’t mean that your workspace has to be. Add colorful prints and plants to your home office. Invest in soft texture with rugs, throws, and pillows, and add any accessories that make you smile.
Keep Warm
We always feel worse when we are cold. So, find ways to keep your home warm this winter. Enjoy plenty of hot drinks when you are working, wrap up warm, and keep your heating on low, instead of turning it on and off, to create a consistently warm house.
Kori
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