3 Simple Steps to Creating Virtual Boundaries Between Work and Personal Life
Does this sound familiar? You're working from home and have finished for the day, but work doesn't feel done. Or you're getting work notifications when it should be your chill time. Or you're automatically going to Facebook when you should be working on a report for your job. The boundaries between your work and personal life are very fine when you work from home. They're even more blurry when you use the same computer for your work and personal life. It's important that you draw strong virtual boundaries in these situations so that you have a clear separation between your work time and your off time. Here's how you do that:
Use a separate password manager
You should already be using a password manager. They provide a ton of convenience and security benefits. My first suggestion in creating virtual boundaries is to use a separate password manager in your work and in your personal life. This provides some extra friction to log onto a personal website during work time or a work website during personal time. While it is still possible to do, sometimes adding the extra step to login without the information automatically populating can help your brain kick in to think, "Hey, maybe I shouldn't check my work email as my last action before I go to bed."
Use browser profiles
User profiles in the browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc) are typically used to allow multiple people to use the same web browser while maintaining their own settings and privacy (ex. bookmarks, history, extensions, etc). It's a great feature. Instead of only using it for separate people, I suggest having one work browser profile and one personal browser profile. Pair this with the first suggestion, and you can have your correct password manager tied with your work or personal browser profile. Here's how to set up profiles in some of the top used browsers:
Utilize virtual desktops
While browser profiles are perfect for keeping web browsing settings and information separate, you might also want to do the same with other computer applications like Microsoft Excel. This is where the virtual desktop or task views comes into play. Task View is a task switcher and virtual desktop system. It's the closest you can get to having separate work and personal computers while still using the same device. You can easily and quickly set up separate virtual desktops for whatever you need. Here's how to use this feature:
That's it! If you implement even one of these 3 tips, you will notice an instant improvement in limiting distractions, feeling more organized, and having less overlap between your work and personal life.
Let us know in the comments if you have tried any of these tips or have any suggestions of your own. Subscribe if you'd like to receive more helpful remote working tips.
