The deadline is fast approaching. Yet you still don’t have a hang of the project-- and heaven knows you need to be on your boss’s good side. There’s only one solution: work tirelessly after work hours and work late into the night.
Does this sound familiar?
We all bombard ourselves with work one too many times. Sometimes because you are a workaholic that can’t get enough-- or trying to beat a tight deadline. All these may be done in good faith, but it doesn’t make overworking a good deal.
And now that the remote work model is all the rage, overworking has become the new normal. Why aren’t we surprised? The boundary between work and private time is nonexistent in a remote work system.
Unfortunately, the lack of work balance is an easy way to get burnt out physically and mentally. Overworking impedes work productivity and the worker’s health. In this article, we’ll examine the negative effect of overworking and propose solutions. Let’s dive deep.
How Overworking Affects your Health
Fun fact: Overworking affects every aspect of your life. It tampers with your mood, affects your family time, overturns your schedule, and affects you negatively. Quite frankly, you may believe you are spending quality time with your family because you work from home. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Here are the effects of overworking on your health.
Diet
When you overwork, chances are you’d ignore nutritional practices and a healthy diet. Let’s not get started about you having little or no time to fix a meal. Consequently, you’d end up snacking on junks. Overworking causes unhealthy eating, and sometimes, skipped meals.
It affects your diet negatively and you may become obese or worst develop some other health issues. Working for long hours does more harm to your diet than you’d expect.
Depression
This is probably the most shocking revelation. You may wonder, depression from overworking? How? While it may not be a direct cause, it gives rise to factors that would eventually lead to depression. Overworking leads to unhealthy eating habits. It also affects the time you spend with your family.
Let’s not forget how it trumps your social life-- gradually, you’d start feeling burnout or frustration. Eventually, it would cause isolation; probably affect your relationship with people. And finally, you get to the point where it feels like you are all alone before depression slips in.
See how it results in depression?
Behavior
People who work till they burnt out physically and mentally often display weird behavior. Some may start drinking excessively or develop an addiction to smoking or in extreme cases, hard drugs. Additionally, it could lead to excessive unhealthy eating habits causing sugar overdoes, diabetes, etc. In common cases, people who overwork are addicted to caffeine.
Mistakes at work
Your brain needs rest frequently. When you over-stress it by overworking, it becomes difficult to focus. Inability to focus leads to mistakes; it could be as worst as struggling with basic projects. Or being unable to complete little tasks on time. Imagine having a compilation of errors to your name at work. So much for being on the boss’s good side, hun?
Posture
Working beyond work hours makes you stuck in a chair for prolonged hours-- except you have a standing desk. Cramping your muscles on a spot for too long is an invitation to health issues. You tend to have back pain, neck cramps, and dead butt. Besides having multiple health issues as part of your routine, you, ay develop bad posture. Ultimately, overworking exposes you to health risks. Not to talk of how uncomfortable a chair becomes when you’ve been stuck in it for too long.
Can you deal with the effects of overworking?
Do you feel overwhelmed with work? Or are you struggling with getting a life outside work? Then you are overworking. While working has its benefit, having an overdose of it is deleterious. You can stultify the effects of overworking if you find effective methods that work for you.
We have some ideas to help you manage to overwork excellently.
Evaluation
Frequent evaluation of stress levels is crucial in any organization. Even remote workers need this occasionally. The truth is mental disturbance or strain hardly reflects early. Your mental health may be in danger, yet you’d be oblivious to it.
That’s why employers should encourage their workers to communicate their mental health status freely. They should be open about it without feeling uncomfortable. Feeling burnt out at work isn’t something to hide. Communicate it to your employer and make him understand that you are losing it due to overworking.
Additionally, organizations should make it routine to check their employees' stress levels. This reveals all employee’s mental states.
Switch position
Physical fatigue is one of the leading causes of workplace stress and depression. Fatigue affects way more than an employee’s physical abilities. It affects work productivity and efficiency as well. Switching between standing and sitting positions is necessary. Get out of your chair and take a walk whenever you feel exhausted.
To switch positions more fluidly, get yourself a standing desk. This enables you to switch between sit-stand positions healthily and effectively.
Healthy snacking
Working could make you feel hungry. You may feel the need to nibble on something or snack. You shouldn’t deprive yourself of this to avoid hypoglycemia or dehydration. So, whenever you feel the urge to snack or eat while working, don’t settle for unhealthy food like cakes, chips, etc. Instead, opt for healthy snacks like salad, nuts, or fruits.
Positive environment
Overworking is exacting, having an unhealthy work environment is extremely stressful. Examine your workplace and decide how you can improve it to aid your work productivity. Is the office furniture comfortable enough?
Make use of wall paintings and decorations that emits a calming effect. Placing a plant or two around your office can also improve work productivity. Look around you and create an environment that could function as a de-stressor.
Exercise
Let’s face it. Work could take all your time and you’d have little, or no time left to hit the gym or burn some calories. But it doesn’t mean you can’t work something out. You can exercise while you work using some desk accessories. Engaging in some standing desk exercises is a valid way to burn some calories during work,
Alternatively, a workstation like a desk bike by Flexispot allows you to pay attention to exercise while you work.
Ask for help
Seeking help doesn’t make you weak; it only means you are sensitive enough to know when you need one. Whenever you notice you are on the brink of burnout, take time off. Speak with your employer; reject some tasks. Don’t ignore the part of your brain that keeps telling you to take a break.
Hold on for a moment; list all your everyday activities. Prioritize and delegate when possible. You don’t have to take on the whole duty yourself-- give yourself time to breathe. We all need that sometimes.
How to Avoid Overworking when You work From Home
Minimize work distractions
Regardless of how interesting your social media page may be, don’t visit it during work hours. Be strict and disciplined while working. Taking time off to reply to messages or scanning through trending topics is a way to extend your work hours. If you must take a break, grab a bite, or take a walk to ease out the stress.
Leave Your Workspace After work
Learn to set defined boundaries while working from home. When it’s time for work, get to work and use your workspace maximally. After work, shut down your computer and walk away. This requires discipline. Don’t blend your work life with home activities.
We know it’s tempting to get some work done while you should be in bed, but this impedes your productivity. Cutting your rest time for work affects work quality. Most times, you’d find yourself struggling to catch up due to lack of rest.
Say No If Necessary
Over workers have one thing in common: the will to please everyone. Saying no to some tasks doesn’t make you terrible or irresponsible. Take time to analyze each task. Graciously reject anyone that may imperil your wellbeing or any task that won’t help the organization in any way.
When you have too many things on your plate, reject any offer that may threaten to overwhelm you. Learn to prioritize tasks and don’t attempt to bite off more than you can chew. If you can’t take on a task immediately, say it with confidence. Your health matters; don’t treat it like it doesn’t.
Track the Time Your Spend at Work
Working from home makes it easy to lose track of time. Therefore, you won’t have a clear record of how long you have worked and your daily productivity. So, keeping track of the time spent on work helps avoid overworking and allows you to track your work efficiency.
It also gives you a knowledge of how long tasks take. That way you could refine your schedule realistically.
Set A Specific Lunch Time
Missing lunch is wrong. In fact, don’t pass on your launch all because you can’t get away from work. It helps to have a set time for lunch. You may set a daily reminder to make it more effective. Once it’s lunchtime, pause all projects to grab lunch. Lunchtime also serves as a break from work.
Conclusion
Overworking is unhealthy; avoid sinking yourself into work-- even if you work from home. Get help when you need to, have your launch break, do simple exercises, and eat healthily. Nothing aids productivity better than working with a refreshed brain.
