Overcoming Cabin Fever as a Remote Worker

The benefits of remote working are numerous. Firstly you get the luxury of selecting where you work – be it on a remote island, in a rural area or by the beachside. You get to leave the traditional city-scape that is associated with corporate life behind.

You get to live an environment of your choosing which can support your interests outside of work, be it travel interests, community interests or, if you’re like me, simply wanting to bring up your family with a set of values that teaches them more about sustainability and the world we live in while giving them the opportunity to run and play on acreage.

Notably, the obvious key benefits are that as a professional you spend considerably less time commuting. For me, a 60-second commute always beats sitting in traffic or on a crowded train! There’s the opportunity to dramatically reduce living costs and significantly increase productivity as the interruptions from “walk-ups” no longer exist, and the ability to remain focussed is increased. But it doesn’t come without its challenges.

One of the greater challenges relates to the psychological impacts of remote working. Humans by nature are social creatures and throughout our formative years and into adulthood we’re constantly exposed to social groups – be it through school, sports, University or the workplace. These social encounters can be enjoyable, uncomfortable and even frustrating. As much as you rolled your eyes at a colleagues “that’s what she said” comment, and it was awkward constantly hearing about Karen’s cat stories every time you enter the lunchroom, when you start to work from home, you begin to miss the human interaction that comes from being in an office. The “what did you get up to on the weekend” chats, the walks to the local coffee shop for your morning Macchiato, and the beer after work social interactions all disappear.

At home… there’s nobody. Too many days of confinement lead to a feeling loosely referred to as cabin fever. It can get lonely, even depressing, and if you don’t make changes to your routine to accommodate your new work life, it can take a significant toll on your health and well being. For me, two weeks is about my limit of working remotely with no social interaction outside of my immediate family. By the time the third week rolls around, I generally feel flat and sorrowful and start needing to shift something for fear of losing my ability to focus and remain on task. I’m fortunate that I’ve been working remotely for the best part of five years now and have learned how to read my emotional and mental state well enough to recognise the early warning signs and can make sure that I take action to prevent a negative state of mind from affecting my professional performance and overall happiness.

There are several tips that come in handy for anyone embarking on the working remotely journey.

Tip 1: Get dressed.

While it’s easy to sit around all day in your pyjamas and take a relaxed approach to your personal appearance – don’t do it. Get dressed each day like you would if you were going to the office, Sure you might simply wear a polo shirt rather than a suit, or not be as fussy with your make up, but ensure that you “make an effort”.

Tip 2: Vary your workspace.

Work at a café, a co-working space, at the beach or in a park. Find a number of places near you that you enjoy and can work from occasionally that provide an atmosphere that differs from your home office. Even having ambient discussions in the background, as often happens in a café can help your innate human need for social connection.

Tip 3: Find a sport.

Find a local Parkrun. It's free and you can walk or run the course on a Saturday morning. Most will have a coffee catch-up straight afterwards as well! Join a gym, find a tennis club or a local touch footy team that you can join. This will be particularly helpful if you’ve moved to a new area where you don’t know anybody. The feeling of home is an important one, and feeling part of the community can play a huge role in accepting your new location like home.

Tip 4: Check Infrequently and consistently.

When working remotely it is very easy to simply put your head down, accomplish a lot of work, feel positive about it, but neglect to have the regular communications with your manager and/or peers. It’s easy to forget that more than likely, they work in a standard office environment, and are used to informal interactions with other staff in the office, however when you’re remote, you need to drive these interactions yourself – or risk being caught in a state of out of sight, out of mind. A Harvard Business Review study recently found 52% of 1100 remote workers surveyed had at some time felt left out or shunned.

Tip 5: Make technology work for you.

Using technology for voice and video calls will feel and appear to be part of the team. Where possible use Video calls as being able to read and portray body language will assist in ensuring you are being engaged.

Tip 6: Find people around you that also work remotely.

Post an ad on Facebook to find people that also work remotely in an effort to start a social group. Meet once a week at a local café and share stories about how your weekend was, what technology you use to make working remotely effective and how you go about your work.

Tip 7: Delineate between work time and personal time.

Remember to sign off! It can be easy to blur the lines between work time and personal or family time. If you have a young family, remember the only currency they trade-in is time! Therefore, it’s important to have a time in mind when there is a hard stop to your working day. For me, I schedule my start and finish times so that I can maximise the time I have to kick a soccer ball, ride a bike or throw a frisbee with my kids. Sometimes this means I start work at 4am, so I can spend time with them before school, or I take a break when they get home from school and resume my work after they go to bed. It’s important to find what works for you while remaining true to your purpose for choosing a remote working life.

If you’re currently working remotely either on a part-time or full-time basis, please comment as I’d love to hear from you about your experiences and what you’ve found does and doesn’t work for you.