When loneliness hits it can be devastating to your mental state and your productivity. Yet it’s hard to avoid when you’re working at home, alone, in an isolated backyard office.
As an introvert myself, I don’t crave crowds or anything, but I still feel the need for human company at some point in my day. Whether you’re outgoing or an introvert like me, working in any type of home office environment can be lonely. Here are 11 tips to overcome loneliness when working from home.
1| Stay in Touch with Social Outreach to overcome loneliness when working from home
With more than 22% of the American population expected to be working from home by 2025 you’re probably not the only one you know that’s made the switch. Why not stay in touch with these friends and family members?
You can bounce business ideas off each other or at least vent a little and take part in some virtual water cooler talk. Just remember to keep these conversations brief — you don’t want your social outreach to turn into a distraction that ruins your productivity.
2| Work Away from Home 1 Day a Week to overcome loneliness when working from home
Having your own dedicated home office space is great. Whether it’s a separate space in your backyard, in a sunroom or a spare room in your home — it’s a nice feeling to know you don’t have to spend an hour commuting to work every day. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get out of the house every once in a while.
Scheduling one day a week to work at a local coffee shop, the library or even at a picnic table in a park on a nice sunny day is good for your mental health. I confess, it’s something I do a lot. It helps you to feel more connected and be more producitve throughout the week. So pack up that laptop and head to the coffee shop.
The background noise isn’t usually too distracting and you can always put your headphones on. You might not be engaging in conversation, but just being around other people helps reduce those feelings of loneliness and isolation.
3| Use Video Conferencing with Clients to overcome loneliness when working from home
Depending on your type of business, you may or may not have a lot of interaction with clients. Instead of relying on emails and text messages all the time, invite them to video conferences on important deals.
No matter how good of a communicator you are, something often gets lost in translation when you’re messaging with someone. With a video teleconference you get to see each other and communicate your main points clearly. You also get to speak to another live person, which is a great way to tackle loneliness.
With all of the affordable options for video assistant smart displays available today, there’s no excuse not to have one in your home office. They make video conferencing simple and easy.
4| Set Goals and Focus to overcome loneliness when working from home
One of the biggest reasons people feel lonely when working out of a home office is a lack of focus. According to We Work Remotely defining career goals when you work from home can be tough and that leads to feelings of anxiety and depression.
By setting clear goals for your business it’s easier to stay focused. You can then come up with daily and weekly milestones to stay on the right path. When you have a good idea of how you want to develop your business it will remove those feelings of doubt and anxiety.
5| Consider a Backyard Office Built for Two to overcome loneliness when working from home
If your spouse has made the decision to work from home as well you might want to consider a dual office setup. A backyard office built for two can be a good idea, but it depends on your individual situation. If you only have a small shed this may not be practical or comfortable.
We’ve explored backyard office comfort in detail before so we won’t say too much more about it here, but if you’d like to read more feel free to check that article out.
You also have to think about the added noise in your space if you and your spouse are working in the same backyard office. For those that work better without any distractions around it may be better to have separate offices and schedule times for breaks together.
Even if you work in different offices in the home you can still schedule regular breaks. Call them mental health sessions. You can even use that time to seek each other’s advice or just enjoy each other’s company.
6| Take Breaks for Family Time to overcome loneliness when working from home
Sometimes feelings of loneliness are brought on by feelings of guilt. This is a big one if you have young children. They probably don’t understand why mommy or daddy are working in a backyard office, but don’t have time to spend with them.
So take a couple of breaks during the day. Head on back to the house and spend some quality time with the kids and your spouse. After all, the reason you wanted to work from home in the first place was better work-life balance right?
Take advantage of your flexible work day and take breaks for family time. You’ll be happier and more focused when you head back to the office.
7| Bring a Pet With You to the Backyard Office to overcome loneliness when working from home
If you have a pet or you’ve been thinking about adding a new furry friend to the family they can be a big help. Having your dog nuzzled against your leg or your cat sleeping next to your keyboard will quickly make you forget those feelings of loneliness.
Just remember to keep some pet toys and treats in the office for when you really need to focus on a task. Pets make great company, but they can be a distraction too.
8| Turn On the Tunes in Your Workspace to overcome loneliness when working from home
When I really need to focus on a task I like to turn on the tunes. My preference is for instrumental music. I find words too distracting — the temptation to sing along is too much. It’s great for improving the mood, but not ideal for getting work done.
Each of us are different though. I know lots of people that focus better singing along to their favorite songs.
According to the BBC it’s actually a good idea to combine different types of music. Try relaxing instrumental music when you want to focus and more upbeat favorites when you’re feeling tired or lonely.
One thing that does seem pretty clear though, is that music can improve your mood and reduce that lonely feeling when you work at home alone.
9| Schedule Exercise Time to overcome loneliness when working from home
You can’t sit at a desk all day. It’s not healthy for your physical or mental state. Even if you like to exercise first thing in the morning, set some time aside for a break during the day to get up and move.
A 20 minute walk at lunch time will improve your health in every way.
10| Be Neighborly to overcome loneliness when working from home
Most of us have at least one or two neighbors we get along well with. When you feel the blues coming on, a quick chat with the neighbor can really help to improve your mood.
So if you notice them out of your backyard office window working on the vegetable garden, venture over and ask for some gardening tips. You might get some great advice and you’ll definitely enjoy the conversation.
11| Socialize After Work to overcome loneliness when working from home
One other great way to deal with the loneliness that comes with working from home is to schedule some time with friends after work at least once or twice a week.
You can use the time to catch up with each other’s lives, talk about your latest project and plan that next big vacation together. Great friends are always the best tonic when you’re feeling lonely.
