Overcoming Loneliness When Working at Home

It’s all very well and good working from home and having the flexibility that that brings to you and your lifestyle. But, the fact of the matter is for some people, it can get very, very lonely, indeed.

In this video I share my top tips to beat isolation loneliness so that you can not only be super productive but also actually enjoy working at home!

If you're like a lot of people right now, you have just started working from home and for a lot of people, it's actually very very new. For people like myself who have been self-isolating for years and years, there's not a lot of difference involved when it comes to our day to day lives currently, other than the fact obviously that we're kind of cooped up into the house, full time.

However, for those that maybe have just started working at home and they're starting to struggle with isolation, that feeling of loneliness, can be a real issue.

I'm going to share my top tips with you to ultimately help you break through that loneliness barrier because it doesn't need to be the way that you might be experiencing things right now. These tips are above and beyond the normal kind of “hang out with your friends on social media thing” that a lot of people talk about.

Tactics & Strategies You Can Use: Tip Number 1

I feel like lots of people building businesses online nowadays, you're also building a tribe, you're building a community of people. And that's exactly what you should do to future proof your business. And if you're not already going live like I have been on a very regular basis over the last few weeks, if you're not already going live to serve that tribe, to show up for that community I absolutely suggest that you start doing so, whether it's quick handheld things with your phone on Instagram or Twitter or slightly more structured Facebook Lives.

The fact of the matter is getting in front of your community right now and being that guide that leads people through a bit of a tough time for a lot of people is going to be a good thing for you and your business when things die down. So that's tip number one, start going live more so than ever before to show up for your community.

Tip Number 2

If you're a boss, like me, now's the time to actually step up any level of virtual meetings that you might already do. A lot of businesses never have virtual meetings, believe it or not, even now in 2020 and beyond. They're still doing everything in person and obviously those employees and those team members are going to be reeling right now, worrying about not only what's happening in the world but more importantly to them, what's happening with their jobs so get those remote workers, those virtual team members together. More so, now than ever before. Set a regular zoom video conference call or Skype call and just go back and forth with water cooler fun conversations via slack or whatever project management system you might use. The fact is, people need to be more social now than ever. So it's important for you to lean into the technology that's right there for the taking. To make things a little easier for yourself.

Tip Number 3

My third tip is to take advantage of the flexibility that working from home brings. Now, I know that every now and then we can get hunkered down at our desk, and we're looking at our to-do lists and we're thinking, I need to get this done, I need to get this done, I need to get this done.

But the fact is, if you work at home, you do have the flexibility to walk away from that desk to get out into the garden, maybe even to go for a little bit of a walk around the neighbourhood, even if it's just on your own sure to cure that loneliness – that feeling of being secluded and isolated.

If you work at home, you have the flexibility to walk away from your desk, to get out into the garden, maybe even to go for a little bit of a walk around the neighbourhood to cure that loneliness - that feeling of being secluded and isolated.… Click To Tweet

I don't know about you, but I love to walk just around my garden, whether it's with my dog or with one of my kids, or just on my own. It's just something about being in the fresh air, seeing the birds, seeing the trees and all that fun nature stuff that can cure a lot of the loneliness that I might feel on a regular basis working from home as well.

Tip Number 4

And lastly, my final tip is to make plans for when you're done with work. For example, make plans to meet a friend at the pub as you would normally do if you were working in an office.

In the last week, I've had at least two or three virtual coffees with friends completely unrelated via Skype or Zoom, we've just sat down and caught up with them and found out exactly what they're doing and how they're handling things. Really honestly there's nothing stopping you just putting something on the calendar, even if it's just with the kids to switch on Disney plus and check out that Lion King movie that everyone's been raving about – whatever it is, get something on the schedule, something to look forward to with those that you love and care for and then go ahead and make it happen at the end of the workday!