How To Improve Mental Health In Remote Jobs

Working remotely is a luxury in many ways. It allows you to have more control over your time, avoid painful commutes and be more strategic about how you live. The dark side of remote jobs, deteriorating mental health, is not as pretty. It tends to rear its head at unwanted times and in unanticipated ways. 

Proactively managing your mental health from the moment you begin working remotely is critical to optimizing your performance and productivity. The key is not to wait until there is a problem. Our experience is showing that the following steps can go a long way in promoting healthful habits that will make you mentally resilient as a remote worker in any situation:   

Prioritize Regular and Rigorous Physical Activity 

Physical fitness is the greatest driver for mental health. If you are not in great physical shape, it’s difficult to maintain a healthy mental state. Regular activity allows you to work on cardiovascular health. Rigorous activity builds muscle and helps to maintain a healthy metabolism. Cardiovascular and metabolic health are crucial for mental health. Schedule regular gym sessions, run outside, lift weights, join exercise classes. Just make sure that it happens regularly, at least three times per week.        

Separate Your Work Space from Your Living Space at Home   

We all dream about being able to work from bed now and then, especially when we have to face long painful commutes in cold rainy weather. But this is not a pain point when working remotely. Fight the temptation to work from bed or from a comfy couch. Find an area in your home where you can set up your work area with a comfortable chair, desk and enough space to work and store professional work equipment. Try to work from this area as often as possible. Working from your “home-office” signals to others in your household that you should not be disturbed. Furthermore, your home office allows you to switch gears from performing personal tasks to completing professional deliverables. 

Spend Some Time Outside Every Day  

Your circadian rhythm is set by your exposure to sunlight and other rays that are only transformed by your body when you are outside. If you spend days not stepping a foot outside, your sleep schedule and circadian rhythm will be disturbed. You will find yourself going to bed later and later, waking up with little energy. In addition to regulating your sleep schedule, being outside helps you stave off depression and release toxins. If you get into the habit of walking outside regularly, you will immediately notice a physical health boost. Over the medium term, walking also encourages creative thinking and problem-solving.  

Schedule Regular Social Activities With Friends and Family   

Remote work doesn’t lend itself to impromptu Happy Hours and lunches. We take for granted the extent to which an office existence meets so many of our social needs. Oftentimes when we get home from the office, we would rather curl up with a good book or have a quiet dinner with close family members because we have been around people all day long. Remote work offers of course the opposite experience. If you don’t go out of your way to schedule social activities with your friends and family, you can easily find yourself working straight through the day without seeing anyone in person. The lack of in-person interaction probably won’t bother you the first day, but it will slowly catch up with you. The key is not to get there.    

At Jobkast, we want to equip every remote worker with the tools they need to succeed in their roles. Check out our other blogs on succeeding in remote work, and join our community of global remote talent.