Easy Ways to Help Anxiety While Working at Home (and Being More Productive)

“You sit at home and work?” He asked her as he fought the urge to raise a disapproving eyebrow. “Do you get any work done?”

She hated this question. It came up at least half the time she told someone she worked from home, especially if she told someone from an older generation. The stigma surrounding remote work often casts doubt on whether it’s as respectable or productive as being in an office. But anyone who has worked remotely knows that production isn’t dictated by location.

In fact, for many, working remotely boosts productivity. According to a study by Stanford Graduate School of Business, remote work increased productivity by 13% in 16,000 workers studied over nine months. But this potential uptick in productivity may come at the cost of an uptick in your anxiety.

Ways to Help Anxiety While Working from Home

To address this, we’ve put together some easy ways to help anxiety while working at home.

Be prepared While it might be tempting to work in your robe, the mindset shift is worth the extra effort to get dressed. It’s been proven over and over, getting dressed is like making the bed – it catapults you into productivity mode and lowers your mental load. You’ll also be ready for anything that comes your way, including stepping out to your local eatery over lunch or hopping on a quick video call with your boss.

Reduce distractions One of the downsides of working from home is the possibility of distractions. One of the ways to help anxiety is to create a distraction-free, dedicated work environment by removing visual distractions from your line of sight and making your space clutter-free.

If the mind gets distracted easily, set out a notepad to jot things down for work breaks and feel free to plan to get up and grab a coffee or a snack after you’ve completed one more thing off your work list, giving yourself the motivation to focus and finish it.

Create comforts Just as you would do your best to create a healthy working environment at your office, work toward creating a comfortable home workspace. This doesn’t mean lying in bed while you work, as that may hamper productivity. But it is wise to invest in a comfortable chair for your at-home office.

Listen to music if appropriate and even consider an under-desk foot massager. As long as these comforts of home do not hamper your productivity, take advantage of the solitude.

Set a schedule It’s important to be available when your work needs to be done. For this reason, it is important to set a schedule and communicate that schedule with your family or housemates. Being clear about when you are and, more importantly, are not available will help reduce tension in your relationships and help to keep others from distracting and interrupting you while you are working.

Plan for communication fails Nothing can be more frustrating than trying to get a hold of a boss or a coworker with no success. Be prompt in responding to emails, texts, and phone messages to set a standard of practice with your bosses and coworkers.

In addition to walking in your standard, it is okay to make a plan with your bosses and/or coworkers to address communication failures. This may include a plan for if you need to contact them about something you deem urgent, with multiple ways of contacting each individual, or it may simply be a conversation about categorizing priorities and understanding their needs and requirements of you.

Establish boundaries Another one of the important ways to help anxiety is to set boundaries with your family, friends, and co-workers. Be sure to communicate clearly what your needs and expectations are regarding your work and leisure hours. Having clear boundaries will help your loved ones hold appropriate expectations for your schedule and will help keep you from feeling guilty about keeping “off the clock” hours.

Seek help You may find it difficult to balance your home and work life. That’s understandable, especially if you have young children. If this is the case, you may find it helpful to hire a babysitter or nanny to come to your home during your work hours.

This helper can keep your children safe and engaged while you concentrate on your work commitments. Schedule time to touch base with your children throughout the day, such as eating lunch together. Even if you don’t have children, you may find it beneficial to hire a cleaning service or order take-out once in a while, just to give yourself a much-needed break.

Establish a routine (and include breaks) Just because you’re working at home doesn’t mean you don’t need a break. Schedule your allotted breaks throughout your day, just as you would if you were in a traditional office. Consider a standing desk or a walking pad. Have a healthy lunch, go for a quick walk, and stretch to help keep you physically fit and mentally calm.

Plan for pets While pets are wonderful stress relievers, they can also be a detriment to the remote worker. Plan your pet care time around your work time so your furry (or feathered) friend is content during your workday. Use your work breaks to take the dog for a walk or cuddle with your cat. If your best, four-legged friend interferes with your work time, consider hiring a pet sitter for work hours or a trainer to help address the interference.

Work outdoors If practical, consider grabbing your laptop and a cup of your favorite coffee and working from the comfort of your patio. The fresh air, nature’s sounds, and the warmth of the sun can do wonders to help calm you when stressed.

Leverage the power of technology Always be willing to try the technology that your company may offer to you. It may feel intimidating to learn a new app or approach, but chances are that many of your daily tasks can be streamlined through technology.

Even if your company doesn’t offer any tech support, consider introducing project management, communication, and collaboration tools to your superiors. You never know, maybe they will embrace that technology and thank you for your contribution.

Tackle difficult tasks first If you are allowed to prioritize your workload, consider taking on the most difficult tasks as the first part of your workday. It’s easier to do these more challenging tasks when you’re less stressed and rested. Save the easier tasks for later in your shift to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Be deliberate in your communication One of the unfortunate elements of working remotely (and frankly, even in an office setting) is the lack of face-to-face interactions. We all know that miscommunication can happen when someone misinterprets the tone of a text or an email.

Be sure to not only proofread your communications for typos and accuracy, but also consider the tone and emotions that may be attached. Take your time in responding and re-read any reply after you’ve had a break before you press send. Misunderstandings within the workplace can be stressful and damaging, so do your best to communicate with clarity and deliberate words rather than sarcasm or words that could be taken the wrong way.

Educate yourself about time zones While this may seem like one of the more obvious ways to help anxiety, it’s surprising how many people forget about the importance of time zones when they’re working from home. If you’re working remotely, you may have to check in with a supervisor at a specific time or video conference with a client. It’s important to have a good working knowledge of the time zones so you’re not late (or three hours early) to your appointment.

Stay social As mentioned before, a big drawback of working at home can be the lack of face-to-face human interaction. Don’t become an isolated island just because you don’t go to a physical office. Stay connected with work buddies and friends through planned lunches or video conferences instead of only impersonal texts or emails. In your free time, plan to spend quality time with the people who matter the most, your friends and family.

The Bottom Line

With some planning and a few creative solutions, you can be just as or even more productive with less stress working from home than in a more traditional office space. If you need help sorting through the emotions of your dual role beyond these suggested ways to help anxiety, consider talking with a therapist who specializes in mitigating workplace stress.

“Yes,” she smiled. “I work remotely. And while I don’t go into a traditional office, I am still working a full-time job, being productive, and an asset to my company.”