Working from home tips to avoid loneliness

Running a business from home can get incredibly lonely at times, especially when you’re the only employee. Since loneliness can have a significant negative impact on our mood and productivity, it’s important to do what you can to beat it. After all, you don’t want your work to suffer as a result of your remote work.

To help you overcome these feelings, this guide will share some working from home tips you can use to avoid loneliness, including:

• Socialise outside of work
• Focus on your goals
• Work outside your home once or twice a week
• Connect with other business owners
• Call a loved one
• Get some exercise

If you don’t get to socialise much while working, you can beat the loneliness by making plans with friends or family after work. Doing this can help counteract the feeling of isolation since you know you’ll get to socialise later.

Working remotely can also blur the line between personal and professional time, and having commitments on evenings and weekends helps you shut off from work and relax. This way, you avoid overworking and spending time with others can make you feel more connected to the world. 

Unless you go for after-work drinks and wake up with a hangover the next day, socialising outside work will make you feel much more motivated to take on your business tasks.

Completing tasks can feel amazing, especially if you’ve been trying to get something done for a long time. That’s why setting clear goals and actively taking pleasure in completing them can improve your mental state massively. 

You can also take the time to reflect on your work processes and find ways to increase your productivity to work more efficiently. For example, if you have more energy in the morning, you might benefit from scheduling more complicated tasks in the AM. Or maybe you can focus better with soothing music playing in the background? Whatever helps with your productivity.

The bottom line is that improving your overall workflow will feel satisfying, making you feel more positive and hopefully less lonely.

Another way to avoid loneliness when working from home is to get yourself out of the house at least once per week. Whether it’s a coffee shop, local library, co-working space, or even the park if the weather is nice, getting out in the world is crucial to fight feelings of isolation.

If you have a friend who also works remotely, you can ask them to come along so you can work together. Even if you go by yourself, you might find that simply being in a space with other people helps you feel like you’re a part of the community. And if you visit the same place regularly, odds are you’ll eventually form new connections with staff and other regulars.

Running a business solo means you won’t have any colleagues to interact with even online. So instead, it might help you to find your own team to become a part of. In other words, find and connect with other business owners in a similar situation to yours. 

One way to find connections is to search LinkedIn and Facebook for groups to join. These groups are great for interacting with like-minded people and feeling like a part of something. Attend meetups or arrange your own with other members to socialise or get your heads down and work on your projects separately but together. 

Connecting with other business owners can help you feel less lonely, and you can also learn from each other to operate more efficiently. 

Let’s say you feel lonely, but the weather or your finances keep you from venturing outside one day. In that case, pick up the phone and call your mum, dad, sibling, or friend for a chat. Even a short interaction with a loved one over the phone (or better, video chat) can temporarily soothe the overwhelming feelings of loneliness. 

It’s a known fact that exercise improves mental health. It does so by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood while also improving cognitive function and self-esteem. So try to work some exercise into your daily routine. 

Go outside for a walk or run if the weather permits, or head to the gym for a quick weightlifting session. These activities give you the added perk of being around other humans.

There are also plenty of options for getting your move on in your house. You can dance, stretch, practice yoga or pilates, or whatever you fancy. YouTube is full of videos you can watch and follow along if you need ideas. 

It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you choose. The important thing is to find an activity you enjoy and factor in time for it every day. You’ll feel more energised, focused, confident, and happy overall!

If you regularly interact with clients, a great way to make you feel less isolated is to conduct your meetings over video chat as often as you can. Getting to actually see your clients’ faces and expressions when they talk helps create a feeling of real interaction. 

You can also arrange to meet them in person to get you out of the house. Besides, it’s much easier to build a solid relationship with your clients if you see them in person once in a while. 

Even in the best of times, working remotely can feel isolating and lonely. But these tips should help you fight those feelings and create a routine that makes you feel happier and more productive. 

In order to successfully implement the tips in this article, you want systems that allow you to manage your business from anywhere. 

Countingup’s two-in-one business account and accounting software enables you to control the financial side of your business from one simple app. You can send invoices, scan and save receipts, view business insights, and stay organised on the go. The Countingup app makes financial management easy for small business owners.

Start your three-month free trial today. 
Find out more here.