Believe it or not, working from home can sometimes be very boring and produce some alone time. I am an extrovert and you can just imagine how I’ve struggled at first to come to terms with working alone at home. As much as I love what I do right now (and I still refuse to work elsewhere) I oftentimes find myself missing the moments I can just turn my chair around to talk to a colleague from the cubicle beside me.
So what do you do when you find yourself with too much alone time?
TIPS TO AVOID TOO MUCH ALONE TIME
Here are some valuable tips to help you manage working from home and get through too much alone time when working from home.
Befriend your Co-Workers
I do crave intellectual conversations now and then. Social self even describes how intellectual conversations are proven to stimulate ideas. It is probably why I find myself chatting with my favorite employers. Some of them are really chatty and I love the fact that they share tidbits of their personal life with me. While keeping things professional is still imperative, it is nice to have friends from across the oceans. My Australian employers are quite dear to me because they are not only great clients, they are also very friendly. These cordial relationships encourage me to work harder so as not to disappoint them.
If you are part of a team, get to know them. You don’t have to be instant BFFs but it helps to keep things friendly with them.
Take a Break when you have an alone time
This is the tip that I often use. I stand up, play with my son or call someone on the phone. It is usually my husband that I talk to because most of my friends are busy at work as well. Sometimes, I go outside with my son to chat with the relatives living next door. There is nothing like real-time human conversation to keep me from getting bored throughout the day.
Make Time for Your Social Life
A popular misconception about working at home is we have time on our hands. What people don’t know is that a particular arrangement comes later when you have established your business. Before that, we are driven to work long hours because we want to earn more. No work means literally no pay when you work for yourself. This is why some work-from-home people tend to forget about their social lives. This is a big NO-NO. It is always good to reward yourself every now and then by meeting up with friends and reconnecting.
My friends can attest to the fact that I am the most enthusiastic among the group when there is a hint of a social gathering in the near future. In fact, I am usually one of the first people to arrive at every meeting place. I also love having friends over. I practically beg them to have dinner here and I am the most willing cook that you can find. That’s probably a sign that I need to reconnect more often, don’t you think? What about you? Are you having too much alone time?