Excessive overtime is something a lot of the working population has experienced. As the pandemic forced those working in offices to work from home, and the line between work and home was blurred. This resulted in so many of us to continue working long after the working day had finished. For some, the standard 9 – 5 workdays changed to work around home schooling and strange hours which didn’t always result in traditional overtime but saw employees working at unusual hours.

While you may feel you’re smashing goals, it’s essential to know when to switch off from work before it impacts your mental health and intrudes on your personal space.

Here is how to set boundaries to avoid working excessive overtime.

Consider your hours of work

Set a strict timeframe for 'work' to ensure you’re not working beyond your means. This might mean you need to set the alarm, so you don’t get lost in your work at the end of the day. Alerting yourself when there’s an hour or half an hour to go will allow you to tie up any loose ends from the day and check your emails for anything last minute.

Having access to our work in a home environment makes it difficult to create boundaries – especially during lockdowns when it was all too easy to refresh your emails on a whim, simply for something to do!

If you have an iPhone, there are settings to help you limit your use of specific apps during personal hours and silence notifications until you’re ready to see them. Have this setting activated so you’re not tempted to check your emails or task list until the next day.

While your work might be impressed with how much you’re getting through in one day, they might not be aware that you’re doing more than your rostered hours and thus establishing high expectations for once you are back in the office.

Don’t let working from home change your routine

To avoid working excessive overtime (whether it’s before or after work), it’s important to stick to your regular routine in whatever way you can. At first, working from home may have seemed like a great alternative. Wearing pyjama pants in Zoom meetings (with your colleagues being none the wiser!) or waking up five minutes before starting all seemed like luxuries we could get used to. The longer we spent working from home though, the more we realised it wasn’t all pj’s and sleep-ins.

The pandemic threw morning routines into disarray, and unhealthy habits where established. Whether you used your morning commute to catch up on your favourite podcast or hit the gym before heading to work, these seemingly small parts of our day helped create a routine and sense of balance for your day.

Keep doing any normal activities you would before and after work as best you can. If you usually go to the gym in the morning and your gym is shut, try going for a run or completing a virtual workout from home. If the commute to work is when you catch up on podcasts, get up at the same time you usually would and go for a walk whilst listening to your podcasts – this walk can take the place of your daily commute and help you get some fresh air.

If you’re looking for ways to get the most out of your commute, whether you’re in the office or not, take a read of our blog.

Increase your productivity

When we say stick to your routine, we mean every part of it! Wearing your pj’s five days a week may seem like a dream, but subconsciously it tells your brain to relax. Dressing as you would when going into the office while working from home boosts productivity during the day, as your mind is set to ‘work mode’.

Another crucial aspect of increasing productivity is ensuring you have an adequate workspace. Working from the couch or in bed won’t allow you to properly switch into work mode, as this is where you do your relaxing. Your posture will also suffer if you’re slumping into the couch cushions or lying in bed. If you don’t have enough room for a desk, working from the dining room table or kitchen bench can help mimic working conditions. It will also help you to (hopefully) eliminate excessive overtime as moving from your desk to the couch can turn your brain into ‘rest’ mode. If your productivity is boosted, you’ll likely get more work done, eliminating the need to work overtime.

Set boundaries

While working from home, distractions that aren’t normally present in the office distract you from the work at hand. You might be working at the dining room table and find yourself distracted by the large pile of washing that needs to be folded. Or you might be at the kitchen bench and suddenly feel the need to do the dishes. Don’t. Even though you’re at home, this is your designated work time. Limit the things around you that can cause distractions, so you can try and stick to your normal work hours.

If you’re living with others, who may also be working from home, or working different schedules, make sure they understand your hours of work. It can be easy for partners or roommates to expect you to do their shopping or run errands during the day because you’re ‘at home’. Communicate with them to ensure they understand your work hours and that you won’t be available during this time. Good communication will prevent misunderstandings from arising.

Setting solid boundaries for yourself, too, will help you wrap up the workday. Once your day is over, turn off everything work-related. This includes powering down your computer, logging out of any work accounts you manage and turning off email notifications. Putting everything to do with work out of sight will help you begin your unwinding process. Do something for yourself straight after work, whether that’s going to the gym or taking the dog for a walk, reading a book, or cooking a nice meal. Indulging in something non-work related allows your brain to switch from work mode to rest mode for the night.

If you’re working from home, setting strict boundaries and having a work routine will help eliminate the amount of excessive overtime you may face yourself doing. Dressing as you would to go into the office is one easy thing you can do to boost your productivity during the day. If you’re looking for comfortable but functional working from home garments, head into your closest Biz Corporates distributor today to check out our full range.