I recently read an article that discussed how more and more people are transitioning from working in an office to working from home, and now they’re running into some challenges. 

They are finding that they are working more than they would have in an office. There’s more work to be done, everything takes longer, they can’t shut it off.

They are becoming depressed, overworked, and tired. 

Unfortunately, this can be very common among VA’s if they don’t have a good plan for making sure they get to rest. 

I’ve had to walk through this very thing myself – and today, I’d love to show you how I make time to rest and relax while working from home! 

If you’d rather watch than read, check out my video here! 

A Plan to Rest

Now that you are working from home, you may find that you just can’t stop working. 

You think to yourself: “Just one more project” or “One more client” or “One more task” and before you know it, you’ve just worked a 12 hour day!

If you don’t want to fall into the trap of working more than you need to, you need to have a plan. You must discipline yourself so that you start working at a certain time in the day and you stop working at the end. There should be little or no work outside of those hours unless it is absolutely necessary. 

If this is a struggle for you, here are a couple of tips for how you can start taking breaks and stop working at the end of the day.

Have a Morning Routine

Personally, I like to start my days with a good morning routine. My morning routine is flexible if I have things come up but it generally follows the same flow. 

First, I like to start off the day clean and fresh. If you watch any of my videos, you already know I don’t like to put makeup on all the time, but I always make sure to take a shower! 

As a part of my morning routine, I always change into my work clothes. My work clothes are normally yoga pants and t-shirt, but it’s not the clothes themselves that are important – it’s the mindset that says “These are the clothes I work in.”

As the last part of my morning routine, I have a set time that I start working. I don’t normally start before then unless it’s a big project that needs more of my attention than usual. 

After I change and shower, then it is time to start my work. 

Have an Evening Routine

The second tip I have is to have an evening routine to help you wind down at night when it’s time to stop working. For me, I will stop when my husband comes home. It varies from day to day, depending on when he finished up, but I will always stop when he comes home. 

After my husband comes home I will wash my face, brush my hair and change into other clothes. 

Now, since I work in yoga pants and a t-shirt, I could stay in those all day until evening, but I need something that signifies in my mind that I am done working. 

Since I live in Florida I might put on shorts and a t-shirt, or PJ’s – whatever it takes to signify that I am done working. 

It’s all in the mindset of “I am taking off my work clothes so now I can rest.”

Be Unreachable

The third and final step I take to relax is I will turn off all notifications on my phone.  

Now, I could keep my notifications on. I have clients and VA’s all over the world who work in the evening and at night, but it is important that I not be notified during my time of rest. If I’m jumping on all the time to work it distracts from my time with my husband and makes both of our evenings unpleasant. 

I have family and friends I want to spend time with, things I want to do, and places I want to go. I can check my notifications in the morning when I start working again, but before then I am not available. 

What steps would make the greatest difference in your life? Comment below and let me know! 

Like what you read here? Go to www.stephaniebrodt.com to find even more!