Blurred Boundaries? Finding Work-Life Balance While Working from Home

Yesterday morning, I found myself still in pajama pants at 9:30am, answering “just one more email” while sitting next to a half-eaten breakfast.

The ridiculous thing is, I’m in the middle of writing this blog post about keeping work life/home life separate.

The struggle is real.

When your home becomes your office, setting boundaries for work-life balance goes beyond just “a nice idea” – it’s necessary for survival. After years of working remotely from our little slice of heaven on Balsam Lake, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way.

Let me share what’s worked (and what absolutely hasn’t) in creating actual boundaries when your commute is just 15 steps from your bedroom.

Why Setting Boundaries for Work-Life Balance Matters

Remember life before remote work? You’d physically leave the office and your brain would get the memo that workday = over.

Yeah, those days are gone.

Once you start working from home, those home/work boundaries can get pretty fuzzy.

Your dining table becomes a permanent workstation. You’re suddenly defrosting tonight’s roast during a conference call. You login “one last time” to add a note to that report, while binge-watching Death in Paradise.

Did you know studies show that remote workers without clear boundaries work an average of 10% longer per day than their office counterparts? That’s almost an extra hour!

That’s like working an extra half-day each week.

And do you know why those extra hours are necessary? Because other studies show that those hours aren’t as productive as in-office hours.

There’s a good reason for this: It’s because without clear work/life boundary lines, we’re multi-tasking 24/7.

And multi-tasking isn’t as productive as focused, dedicated work.

Without clear work/life boundary lines, we’re multi-tasking 24/7. And multi-tasking isn’t as productive as focused, dedicated work.

No wonder burnout is skyrocketing among the WFH crowd!

If you’ve been enjoying some of my other home office tips, you might want to check out my post on 15 Productive Morning Routine Ideas for WFH Success.

Establish Clear Working Hours

So how do we make things better? Well, the best place to start is with a clear beginning and end to your workday.

This one shouldn’t be too hard. Just keep to the same schedule you’d follow if you were physically present in the office.

For example: I get up at the same time every day, get fully dressed (9 times out of 10), and “commute” to my work desk by 8 AM. I make sure I’m logged in, have the right apps open and am ready to work.

Also important, I LEAVE (9 times out of 10) at 4:30pm.

Of course, this doesn’t mean I never put in extra time when it’s needed! But those are exceptions, not the rule. When 4:30 hits, I:

• Close all work-related tabs and programs
• Set my office phone to “Do Not Disturb”
• Clear my desk of work files
• Physically walk away from my workspace

Game changer.

Create Physical and Digital Boundaries

But not everyone has the luxury of a dedicated home office. Heck, when we first moved to lake country, my “office” was in the dining room till we got the cables installed for my VOIP phone.

But even in tight quarters (or especially in tight quarters!), physical boundaries are a major help.

Maybe it’s a folding screen or a specific chair you only sit in for work. Or even just a desk lamp that only goes on during work hours. (I use just my LED desk lamps when doing personal work, and then add the overhead light during office hours.)

These physically trigger your brain when it’s time to focus and when it’s time to relax. The more you use them, the more powerfully your brain responds.

And digital boundaries are just as important!

I have a separate laptop each for work and home. Each one holds all the files, passwords, browsers, email accounts and other info I use for that part of my life.

When I’m working, my personal laptop is closed and put away. And when my workday is done, I swap them out.

This prevents work life and home life from bleeding into one another – AND it protects the privacy of each. (Your employer won’t thank you if you email the company sales reports to your garden club members.)

Note: If you don’t have a separate laptop for work and personal life, you can still create separation by using different browsers. For example, Chrome for work and Brave for home. And make sure to keep separate file folders for each.

But be careful with this and NEVER have both open at the same time. It’s way too easy to co-mingle emails and documents.

If you’re looking to tweak your work flow, my article Digital Tools for Business that Boost WFH Focus breaks down what’s worth investing in.

Protect Your Time With Regular Breaks

Remember how office life had breaks naturally built right in? You’d walk to the conference room… chat by the printer… maybe pop outside for a second? (Our building had a giant warehouse that was awesome for walking a quick lap or two!)

But now at home, we end up motionless for hours, hunched over the desk, lost in report edits. Not good, folks.

We need to schedule breaks like we would meetings – non-negotiable time blocks. Your routine could include:

• 10-minute morning break to stretch or step outside (even in January – hello, 10 below zero!)
• Actual lunch away from the desk (revolutionary concept, I know)
• Afternoon “pet time” where you play fetch with Rocky for 15 minutes

A structure like this keeps us sane AND more productive. We return to our desk with fresh focus, relaxed and ready for another round.

Setting Boundaries With Friends and Family

Ah, the well-meaning visitor who thinks working from home means you’re not really working.

“Since you’re home anyway, can you sign for my package?” “Got time for coffee? I was just driving by!” “Can you watch my kid for an hour? You’re just on the computer!”

Sounds familiar, amirite?

I’ve found that being regretful but friendly works great: “I’d love to catch up, but I’m actually working until 4:30. Can we touch base then?”

Also, it really helps if your peeps know your schedule. My mom lives nearby, and she phones before popping in to see if I’m ready for a break or want to share lunch.

And when my kids and grandkids want to video chat, this is when my handy cube timer comes in. I just flip the timer to 15 minutes and we visit till it beeps. That video chat just became my morning break.

Finally, resist the urge to check every “ping” and “buzz” from your message apps. If you need to, put them on DND during work hours.

Or if you’re waiting on something important, take a quick peek and then put your phone down.

Working Around Children and Pets

When you WFH around kids and pets, the boundaries can be tricky. Let’s face it – they don’t understand.

For pet parents, realize that your fur-babies are thrilled that you’re home all day! But if they insist on your attention, you’ll have to figure out exactly what they want.

For example, my rescue kitties Jaxon and Peaches insist on being in my office. If I close the door, they literally claw the woodwork to get in. They also want to be right next to me – preferably on my desk (or keyboard!).

I solved this problem by parking a high, padded table next to my desk. Now they nap happily in my office all day, without traipsing all over my keyboard (and accidentally emailing my coworkers – again).

Is your pet simply bored? Maybe dedicate breaks for a quick walk or buy some new toys.

For human children: visual signals work wonders. Here’s a simple example you could try with your kids: A green door sign means “come in if you need me;” yellow means “knock first;” and red means “emergency only – I’m in a meeting!”

When my granddaughters Presley and Riley visit, I pull two chairs up to my desk and arm them with paper and crayons. They love “working” next to Grandma – and I’ve got the artwork on my refrigerator to prove it. 🙂

I’ve also had their tween-age cousins visit and entertain them while I work. I’m available for emergencies, but am otherwise free while they play.

And sometimes GiGi Jill (great-grandma) will visit with her “magic craft bag” and keep the girls busy and happy all afternoon. Such special times and priceless memories!

But honestly, sometimes you just gotta roll with it. Keep a basket of special toys that only come out during emergency calls.

And when all else fails, turn on their favorite Bluey episode while you meet that important deadline.

The Holy Grail: Achieving Work-Life Balance When You Work from Home

Setting boundaries for WFH isn’t selfish – it’s mandatory.

Without them, remote work becomes an endless grind that’s unrewarding and unproductive.

Of course, our remote work lives will all look different, just like our jobs and our home lives. But our need for “work work, play play” (dedicated work time and dedicated play time) is the same.

(And BTW, if you’re an hourly employee vs salary employee, this may look VERY different for each of you!)

Probably the best place to start is to just define your workday hours. Be ready to go and fully engaged when work begins, and then truly be done when it ends.

Resist distractions and take scheduled breaks. Deal thoughtfully with each challenge as it pops up.

Before you know it, your home will just be someplace where work happens – not a place that work has taken over.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s 7:45am, and Peaches is at my office door. Time to close this blog post and officially start my workday.

I’m feeling focused and productive already. 🙂