As of the first of June part of the corona measurements have been let go of and others restrictions have been eased: we can go out for dinner, have drinks on a terrace and hang out in the park with a group of friends. As long as we keep a social distance of 1,5 meters. The world is slowly opening back up. But what about your job? According to our Minister President Mark Rutte we are expected to keep on working from home for the foreseeable future, and many have already been told by their employers that their offices aren’t opening up yet. How do you deal with that? Some people might see it as a positive announcement because of less commuting for example, but others find it difficult to keep their work- and private life separate. 

According to research by Nationale Vacaturebank approximately half of the people in the Netherlands who work from home feel the need to go back to the office as soon as possible. They’re having a hard time focussing, feel like their days have less structure and miss socially interacting with their colleagues. The other half also sees quite a lot of advantages to working from home and are planning on doing it more often in the future. Whether you experience it as something positive or negative, for most of us working from home will be our reality for the upcoming months. But how can you make sure this is an efficient and comfortable situation for yourself? We’ve listed some tips for you:

• Having to work and live in the same environment can make it hard to distance yourself from work, but try to keep your work and private life separate. Regularly take small breaks and walk away from your workspace. During lunch, take the time to relax and don’t eat your sandwich behind your desk. Go out, sit in the sun, take a walk or call a colleague or friend. Hug your pets or read a magazine. You need this time to recharge yourself and to distance yourself from your work. 
• Having flexibility in your working hours might sound great, but for some a lack of structure can cause problems. If this is something you experience it is important that you try to regain structure in your life. Of course, working from home increases your flexibility when it comes to working hours, but do try to get up at the same time every day. Allow yourself a daily lunch break, and stop pushing your lunch forward just because you want to finish something. Work will continue anyway, there will always be something new on your plate. 
• While your working you’re using a lot of energy, you’re battery is slowly draining during the day.  Most people need social interaction to recharge their batteries. It is important that, despite working from home, you contact your colleagues or friends regularly. Call your colleagues or friends for an informal conversation that doesn’t involve work, or go on a walk with your friend or neighbours. Besides that, you can also regularly meet with friends or family after work or during the weekend, to fully recharge your battery. Take the time to have a drink in the sun with friends, you earned it!
• Set personal goals. When you were still working in the office that one promotion, or finishing that challenging project may have been more top of mind. The last few months could have had an effect on your ambitions, which is completely understandable since the whole world has been upside down. However, it is important that you keep looking forward: where do I want to be in a year and what will I do to get there? Work on gaining or improving certain skills to make sure you keep developing yourself, or finish up a certain project. This will all help to normalize your working from home situation and to make it more enjoyable.