It was my apartments maintenance crew, a day late to install something.
Such are theperils of working from home.
Its a tough thing to complain about, but remote working isnt without its drawbacks.
And one of them is the fuzzy boundary between your home and work life.
So I decided it was time to really set some boundaries.
When you work in an office, its easy to understand why you dont do those things.
To remedy this, Iset office hours, then I let people know what they were.
My hours resemble normal business hours, but yours dont have to.
You just want to establish a time-based boundary on when youre working and when youre free.
Then, tell people about those boundaries.
Yellow knock first and dont enter until you have permission.
Dont keep knocking, and dont yell through the door.
Green okay to bring up the door and walk in.
Share your online calendar so people can see when youre working and when youre available.
Aside from friends and family, there may be other folks in your life that should know your hours.
I also notified my apartment manager.
Of course, she and everyone else who works on our building have other things to worry about.
Another thing to keep in mind: ensure you actually stick to these hours.
In fact, its hard to tell where my office ends and the rest of my apartment beings.
Its a small space, andthat can make working from home even more challenging.
It was frustrating for both of us.
To fix this, I created an actual boundary.
If Im inside that line, Im at work and I need to limit my distractions.
It seems ridiculously obvious, but it works.
Making a tangible border between work and home makes a big difference.
He knows togive me space when Im at work; and I feel comfortable knowing I wont be distracted.
Start Your Day Earlier (or Later)
Another option to ensure people respect your boundaries?
Start your day when the world is still asleep.
This is a simple concept, and one that wevetalked about quite a bit.
But since Ive adopted it myself, I can attest that it makes a huge difference.
But maybe youre a devout night owl and prefer working late.
The same rules could apply.
It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes the only thing you’re able to do is move your office.
Head to a coffee shop, library, or work space until your home office is free of distractions.
Give your colleagues a heads up, too.
Schedule time for friends and loved ones, too.
This way, they wont feel neglected, and your boundaries will be clearer.
Working from home certainly has its perks.
You dont have a commute.
Your schedulecanbe a bit more flexible.
Boundaries can fix that, and for me, these steps have made a big difference in creating them.
Image by Nick Criscuolo.
