Keeping a healthy work-life balance while working from home

New reality, new way of living! Let’s face it, working from home is a great opportunity for many reasons and for many people, but it can also come with its pitfalls.

After interviewing a few people internally and discussing the topic on our social media channels, we realised that some people struggle with keeping a healthy work-life balance while working from home. We’re always sitting in the same room, maybe alone, having the same routine day after day: it is easy to lose track of time.

So how can we cope with that? Here are some easy work from home tips to get you started on rocking a healthy work-life balance in a remote setup.

As much as you can, try to build your little private desk or office. May it be only laying your necessary items on your table kitchen during the day or switching up your furniture to have a designated working corner. Try to create a ritual spot where you get your work done. Once your workday is over, leave this spot or put back your items just as you would leave the office.

As mentioned previously, once you are done with your workday, make sure to properly call it a day. Turn off your laptop completely, put work items back in a drawer or where they belong. If you have a work dedicated space, leave it completely. Turn off your Slack notifications (even uninstall the app for the weekend if you feel like).

It’s tempting to work in your PJ’s all day. Getting dressed differently, still comfortably, can help you with mentally switching from work time to free time. Anything that helps you feel like you’re actually working or specifically not working is welcome.

Don’t worry about your family members or pets showing up in your calls as uninvited guests. It’s one less thing to stress about, plus it’s fun for others to watch!

With your environment and days looking the same, it is harder to keep a schedule and sequence your tasks. Try to set yourself time blockers on your calendar, during which you dedicate time on these specific tasks, no matter what. By sequencing your attention and productivity in specific bursts, you will find moving forward easier.

Take care of yourself by taking breaks! Run your personal errands, do different activities, have a call to check on your close ones, pamper yourself, have a run outside or a workout session indoors, even a nap if you feel that’s what you need! The point being, to make space for yourself during the day. Your wellbeing should not be de-prioritised.

Take care of yourself first! Just like you would stick to a call or a specific work task, make sure to apply the same discipline for your life outside of work. Calling your friends and family, spending time with your roommate or partner, reading this book you love or doing this little hobby of yours is essential for a healthy mental state and wellbeing.

And if you don’t know how to spend your break/after-work time, get inspired by the different activities we have implemented at N26 for our employees!

At N26, we’re trying to cope with the situation by always putting the wellness of our employees before everything else. Here are some initiatives:

We teamed-up with our sport partners like KAHA and Urban Sports Club to offer great Yoga, HIIT and workout sessions. Simultaneously N26ers developed an internal group dedicated to building a community of people passionate about indoors exercising and sharing information on how to improve our wellness — resulting in our very first in-house yoga session launched last week. Some teams organised mindfulness sessions twice a week, to make your mind just as comfy as your bed!

Working from home also means missing the colleagues we are so used to bumping near our workstations, in the hallway or while the coffee brews in the kitchen. That’s why we’ve launched remote Hangouts sessions designed around four different themes, so people can log in and meet with their colleagues remotely on a casual basis. From a casual coffee break, to large lunch chats, after-work hangouts or even moral support chats, you will never feel alone anymore!

Let’s not forget FOOD, a major topic around which initiatives blossomed. A new Slack channel has especially emerged, where employees share their recipes and latest culinary creations. As well as remote sessions where N26ers cook something together.

Finally, to shift our attention towards healthier behaviours improving our mental and physical wellbeing, N26 has released a set of physical and mental guidance. These resources provided by ERGs and international health institutions are helping our employees cope with stress and anxiety, to make everyone a little bit more at peace in these stressful times.

How are you keeping a healthy work-life balance? What do you think about our tips? Let us know in the comments!