Feeling Lonely Working From Home? 10 Tips To Keep You Sane

How do you stop loneliness when working from home

Raise your hand if your dream has always been to work from home.

Now, raise your hand if you’ve managed to achieve it (the working from home) and absolutely love it.

Keep your hand up if the same working from home thing makes you go crazy, and you secretly hate it at least for a few minutes a day.

Let’s talk about the feelings in us when we work from home – happiness, excitement, overwhelm, loneliness, isolation, anger, social anxiety, and happiness.

Yes, I know I wrote “happiness” twice.

Here’s the thing…

I’m a blogger. I work from home. I love it.

But that’s a lonely journey, friends.

And sometimes, I struggle with coping with my feelings. I would never choose to go back and give my time to someone else to use it and benefit from it… but heck, I miss having colleagues around me.

Translating the situation in modern times

In 2020 working from home gets a huge spike, and we all know the unspeakable reason for it.

We all understand it.

Yet, we are left with dealing with our own depression and anxiety in a do-it-yourself way.

Thousands upon thousands of people are daily googling “How to protect my mental health when working from home?”

Can working from home cause anxiety?

woman-lonely-sitting — Can working from home cause anxiety?

Here’s the thing…

I’ve been working from home for the last three years. I’ve got my own office at home, my computer, and desk, my chair.

I can go there whenever I want and leave whenever I want. I could work 10 minutes today and 16 hours tomorrow. And I’ve done it many times (the 16 hours marathon more often).

Sometimes I’ve got days in a row when I don’t go out of the house, maybe a short walk to the garden. Most of the time, I communicate with my partner only, and often he’s the only human being I interact with for the day.

As an introvert, I loved it for so long. And I still do.

Staying home for so long has put me in a comfortable little box and made everything outside that box look like it’s a challenge.

And while I certainly do not complain about having my own business (successful, I’d say), there are many disadvantages in staying indoors all day long and working from the “comfort of your home.”

Short answer: Yes!

Long answer…

Changing our daily routines, dropping the old ways, and adjusting to the new ways in a matter of days is a huge mental challenge for everyone, and it’s expected to affect our mental health. (Source)

How To Not Go Crazy Working From Home

Here are 10 tips to help you keep your mental health in better shape when working from home.

Disclaimer: Please, understand that these are very simple ways to treat everyday worry and feelings of loneliness. I am not a mental health professional, and if you feel that you need a consultation with such, please contact the local authorities.

With that said, here’s how to stop feeling lonely when working from home.

1. Focus on the positives

Yes, there are many positives, and you could easily list them on a piece of paper and look at them every morning before work.

In fact, keeping a gratitude journal to start your day with is a great way to have a positive mindset every morning.

Probably you don’t have to commute for an hour every morning and every evening anymore. This means you get to sleep an extra hour or even more.

You might be saving money on lunches and other work expenses such as clothes that fit the dress code. This will allow you to increase your savings, which is always a good thing.

Whatever it is, focus on it.

It’s way too easy to notice the bad in every situation, and we are thought to talk about the negatives.

Instead, try focusing on the good – keep reminding yourself what you actually love about working from home.

2. Get fresh air as often as possible when working from home

Getting that hour of fresh air every day is essential.

Make sure you use your lunch break to breathe some cool air and enjoying the sunbeams.

If you’re struggling to keep up with that type of schedule – get yourself a dog. It will require daily walks, and you cannot simply skip them.

3. Find a hobby

Finding that special activity or thing to do that brings sparks into your eyes is more important now than ever before.

I like to spend my afternoons crafting and playing with paper. I’m not a crafter, but it’s a hobby I discovered a few years ago, and it gets me not that Flow of bliss that frees my mind from any worries.

Find what frees your mind and stick to it.

4. Change your workplace

No, I don’t mean you should leave the company.

But you can change the place you work from.

I often change my desk position, my desktop set up, or even the room I work in (and we have only a living room and bedroom as the kitchen is unsuitable for work). See a few suggestions to make your work from home life easier.

Just by moving the desk a few meters, changing my window view, my chair position, it helps my brain to see things differently, too. I feel a little bit more inspired to sit and do my work. Try it yourself.

5. Connect with others

Just because you are bored at home, it doesn’t mean you should stay like that.

Connect with your colleagues in another way. Create a chat group and log in daily with questions, suggestions, jokes, and so on.

6. See people as often as possible

Feeling lonely when working from home can be excluded by seeing more people as often as possible.

I know we are supposed to social distance, and that’s ok. But there are ways to still stay in contact with many people around you. You still need to do your shopping. You still must communicate with your family – keep them around you. Now they are truly life-savers.

7. Have a small talk with your colleagues

You are feeling lonely working from home. They feel the same way.

I know I mentioned this one above, but here’s the thing.

You probably don’t miss your office as much as you miss those little interruptions in between work – the small talk with your office friends, the short chats, the looks when the boss gives you yet-another-thing-to-do-asap, and so on.

Having small talks throughout the day with them will help all of you to stay connected. It will improve your communication skills and the quality of your work.

8. Call your friends even more

woman-videochat-with-friends — Feeling lonely working from home is less likely to happen if you keep up with your friends.

Yes, call your friends even more. Even the ones you get in contact with just a few times a year.

We are all feeling lonely right now.

We all need that message, “Hey! I was thinking about you! How are you?”

Go on. Please send it to at least two people now and another ten before the end of the week.

Yes, you have time for it.

9. Travel if possible

I know, no need to roll your eyes.

But depending on where you live, you might be able to travel locally.

You could also get creative with your weekends. There are options.

There are still many options. Can you think of at least three ways to fight loneliness when working from home through traveling?

10. Accept it

Anxiety, frustration, and negative feelings are usually a result of not accepting reality.

Things are as they are, and they will be like that for a certain period of time.

We must learn to accept the situation and to let it shape us differently.

Everything in our lives gives us a new perspective and a new way of seeing the world.

What world do you see right now?