When you first started working from home, you probably couldn’t get enough. You’d wake up early each morning, zip over to your computer, and put in a full day’s work. After that, you could just retreat to another room, since you were already home. Now, though, something’s different. You’re…well, you’re bored.
If you’re bored of working from home, what should you do about it? There are plenty of ways to combat work-from-home boredom, such as:
- Redecorate your office
- Move to a different locale
- Switch up your schedule
- Take on new work
- Give yourself relaxing or entertaining breaks
- Find some new tunes
- Consider changing careers
Have any of these ideas caught your interest? Do you want to know other ways to breathe life back into your career? This is the article for you.
How to Overcome Work-from-Home Boredom
Redecorate Your Office
As we wrote about on this blog recently, the colors you surround yourself with play a major role in your mood. If you’re feeling bored or uninspired in your home office, could it be that you have a lot of gray in the room? While the color can represent balance, its blandness can cause a negative mood if there’s too much of the hue.
What kind of mood are you trying to establish while you work from home? It’s hard to go wrong with blue. It’s called the most productive color for a reason. You may also notice you feel more stable, calm, and focused when you have blue items and décor in your home office.
Are you interested in feeling more physical and passionate? Red is the best color choice for both, but orange is good if you find those red feelings too intense.
Productivity will also spike with yellow while infusing you with a dose of optimism. Green promotes a sense of efficiency and calmness while purple invokes your sense of creativity, imagination, and wisdom.
See also: The Best Colors to Enhance Workplace Productivity
Now that you know how powerful colors can be, it’s time to take stock of the hues around your office. It could be that you need more red or blue or perhaps even green or purple.
Find a New Office
One way to get out of a rut is to stop doing the same thing day in and day out. Working from home is great and all, but you’re not limited to where you work by any means. That’s part of the freedom of your job! All you need is your computer, a stable Internet connection, some outlets, and a cup of coffee. Then you’re off to the races.
If you have a dedicated home office, maybe once or twice a week, you switch gears and work in the living room or kitchen instead. This is only recommended if there will be minimal distractions in these rooms.
Otherwise, you could always take your work to a coffeeshop. You will need some good noise-canceling headphones to drown out the customers, but all the hustle and bustle around you might kickstart your initiative.
If none of those options suit you or are a possibility, then you can always rent out a coworking space. Yes, you will have to shell out monthly or annually for this, but a coworking space is full of likeminded individuals like you. There’s endless inspiration to be found!
No matter which you like best, a change of location could help you overcome your boredom.
Swap Your Schedule
If you’re a freelancer and you work from home, then chances are, you have the freedom to make your own schedule. There’s a certain amount of work you’re expected to finish each day or each week, but you can choose when you do it.
Since you have such a great opportunity, why not take full advantage of it and change your schedule? If you work in the morning, then try working evenings instead. You can also do the opposite. Perhaps changing your schedule will make you appreciate what you already have or it will spark some new ways to change up your routine. Either way, it could be a good thing.
Open Yourself up to New Clients/Work
Could it be the reason you’re bored with working from home is because your days are too predictable? You always know what kind of work is going to come down the pipeline, and by now you’ve done it so much you could complete the job with your eyes closed.
Anyone would be bored in such a predicament, so don’t feel bad if you are. Perhaps what you need is more challenging work opportunities. 2019 has just started, so now’s the perfect time to begin casting your net and see what kinds of new jobs or clients you can reel in. You never know if some fresh projects are just what you need to enjoy working from home again.
Make Your Breaks Count
Okay, this is a two-part question.
- Do you take breaks?
- What do you do during your breaks?
If you’re not taking breaks throughout the day, then that’s the first thing you need to change. No job, even office jobs, expects you to work seven, eight, or more hours straight. You need to take little breathers throughout the day to pause, reflect, and get ready for what’s next.
That’s why the quality of your breaks is so important. If you’re spending your breaks checking your email, changing diapers, or cleaning up the kitchen, it’s no wonder you’re not feeling your work-from-home job anymore.
Try spending your breaks in a more entertaining, rewarding way. Maybe you read an article, watch 10 minutes of TV, stretch your body, enjoy some YouTube, or step outside and walk around the block. Whatever it is you do, if you have your breaks to look forward to, the day doesn’t seem so dull.
Change Your Tune
What do you listen to when you work? Hopefully it’s something nice. While music tastes come down to personal preference, according to Huffington Post, there are certain types of music that you should tune into while working over others.
What are they? Here’s a list:
- Ambient soundtrack music: Ambient music doesn’t require your full attention, but it does prevent that uncomfortable silence. It’s nice background music and nothing more.
- Video game music:This may surprise you, but video game music is another good choice. Depending on the game themes you choose, sometimes the music is ambient and other times it’s intense. Since it’s designed around getting things done, it can motivate you to be productive, too.
- Epic music:Speaking of intense tunes, there’s a term for that, and it’s epic music. Think orchestral and choir songs. This music makes you feel like you’re in the middle of something huge. That ought to get you in the right mindset to slough off your boredom.
- Nature music:Just because you can’t be outside doesn’t mean you have to shut yourself off to all the sounds of nature. Nature music, while not always necessarily music, per se, typically includes rustling leaves, rainfall, and the sounds of water moving. Huffington Post notes this music can boost your concentration and cognitive function. Hey, it’s worth a try!
- Classical music:Finally, classical music can be your best friend. There are studies that prove that listening to classical music can improve the concentration and mood of the listeners. Why not see for yourself?
- Try Brain.fm app – it’s free and is the best app I use for productivity.
Practice Gratitude
Whether you’re the type who keeps a gratitude journal or you spend some time at the end of the day reflecting on events, gratitude is a good skill to have. After a few weeks of mindfulness, you may just realize that you enjoy a lot of facets of your work-from-home job and that a little boredom isn’t the end of the world.
Gain Perspective
It also helps to have perspective in these situations. On those days when you’re sitting at home, alone and bored, it’s so easy to think that the grass is greener on the other side. You can imagine your spouse or family member at their office job, engaging in watercooler chat, answering phones all day, and generally being so busy they have no time to be bored.
The fact of the matter is that everyone loves their job when they first get it. The longer they spend there, though, the more they can become disillusioned and yes, bored. So while you might think your spouse or family member has a jam-packed schedule, they have downtime, too. They might even be bored at their respective jobs.
Consider a Career Move
All that said, if your boredom and unhappiness at your work-from-home job outweigh any perks and benefits, then you have a very big decision to make. Perhaps working from home isn’t for you. That’s okay, as not everyone thrives at a job like this. Some people think they’ll love having no commute and no dress code and then find themselves lonely and sad. It happens.
If you’ve tried the above suggestions but nothing is getting better for you, then maybe it’s time to consider looking for an office job. You may find that the office environment prevents your boredom. You have to do whatever makes you happy and fulfilled.
Related Questions
Can working from home cause anxiety?
Yes, working from home can cause anxiety, even in those who haven’t had anxiety before. This comes down to several reasons.
The first is just how busy you are. When you work from home, especially as part of a company, you don’t ever want to appear as if you’re slacking off. You might overcompensate then and hang around your computer at all hours so you always seem busy. In the meantime, both your physical and mental health take a toll. All the pressure creates strong feelings of anxiety.
The second reason you might be anxious working from home is due to the uncertain nature of the job. This is especially true if you’re a freelancer. You never know where your next gig is going to come from or if work is going to dry up. You may go through feast and famine periods, the latter of which could create especially anxious periods.
Those who are prone to anxiety and are already diagnosed with it may be especially likely to experience anxiety working from home. Of course, this varies from person to person.
Not only do you have to worry about anxiety when working from home, but depression as well. The isolation and loneliness of being home alone all day can foster depression, especially if you already have the condition.
See also: Working from Home is Depressing Me
How can I work from home alone?
If you’re concerned about being alone at home all day, here are several changes you might implement:
- Take a class or join a local group
- Get a part-time job that’s outside of the home
- Volunteer outside of the home
- Exercise at a gym
- Spend your time at a coworking space
- Go out to lunch with friends and family during the week
- Work from a local café
While you cannot change that working from home is often a solo job, the above methods will get you out of the house and interacting with people face-to-face. Plus, you have to get dressed, too, which can help you shake off some doldrums.
How can I stay sane while working from home?
If you’re struggling with maintaining your sanity while working from home, it probably has to do with the isolation factor. You might also be feeling bogged down by just how busy you are (especially if you tried the above tactics to overcome your work-from-home boredom).
No matter what’s pulling at the frayed ends of your sanity, here are some tips to try to feel a little less crazy:
- If you have a pet, spend time with them. Maybe take 10 or 15 minutes to treat the dog to a midafternoon walk. If you have a cat, give them snuggles or play with them a bit. Both you and the animal benefit, so it’s a win-win!
- Vent to someone. It’s better if it’s others who work from home, as they understand your frustrations best. You can use social media to do this, but make sure no boss or client sees your rantings. Keep it to a private message or closed group only.
- Again, meeting up with friends, family, and even coworkers for lunch is a balm for the soul.
- If you can’t go out to lunch, then chat with someone on the phone. It’ll feel good to hear their voice and yours.