10 Ways to Make Working From Home Less Lonely

So you work from home and at first you’re all “fist pump, I never have to put on pants or see people!” but then over time it turned into “I haven’t put on pants or seen human beings in 9 days”. We get told all the time (and we believe) that we are so lucky to get to work from home, so it’s hard to complain about that luxury. However, there are perks (that may not seem like perks) of a traditional workspace that we miss out on.

It’s definitely a balance in hunker down and get to work (sans pants) and getting out in the real world to have human connections. If this is a struggle for you, you’re in luck! Today, we’re covering 10 ways you can make working from home less lonely.

Have a morning routine

This might seem irrelevant right now, but think back to when you worked outside the home. You would get up and get ready to tackle your day. You would shower, eat, exercise or whatever, but it helped prep you for the day. Having a morning routine will prevent you from rolling out of bed and into the office chair. This alone will create a normalcy to your day.

Schedule a coffee shop meeting

We know that you hear all the time about the benefits of working somewhere new for a change, but we’re taking it a step further. We want you to actually pencil in when you’re going to work outside the house. This will give you something to look forward to in your work week and a reason to see humans. Spend days like this writing content, organize your systems or planning out your month. We don’t advise you to have phone or Skype meetings with clients while you’re out and about.

Consider a community workspace

These are popping up more and more lately and they’re pretty cool. Most places offer various plans where you can reserve an actual desk space to use over and over or just have a membership to be able to use the facilities like the public computers or common areas. These work especially well for people who might be new to their city and need to get to know other small business owners.

Schedule a podcast listen

We do this all the time and it has amazing benefits. First, it’s almost like a meeting (like you actually hanging out with the podcaster) so it still feels work productive. Second, 99% of the time we end the episode fueled with new ideas and things to try in our business. We personally love Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn and The Fearless Launching Show with Anne Samoliv.

Go socialize

If the rabbit hole of Facebook is a real thing for you, you might want to skip this one. We personally use posting on Instagram and interacting on Facebook as a nice mind break from work (similar to water cooler talk in an office setting). It’s nice to have conversations with others or at least peek in on what others are talking about so you feel in the loop.

Hop on a Google Hangout with a buddy

This is our everyday. Granted we currently live and work 300+ miles apart so it’s one of the only ways we can easily work “together”. But even if you don’t have a business partner there’s surely someone in your industry or circle of work friends who feel lonely from time to time. Hop on a hangout with them and “work” together. You will each be working on your own things, but it’s a way to have another human being “in the room” with you. It’s also a nice accountability nudge. It’s harder to watch the latest funny cat video when you’ve got someone on the other side of the screen.  

Put on some clothes

This was a big game changer for us. We would roll out of bed, come into our office still in last night’s p.j.’s and get to work. Sometimes this is a dream scenario, but more often than not it will only aid into the workplace funk. This kind of ties into having a morning routine, but when you take the time to get dressed you’re separating your personal life with work life and this is a big factor into workplace happiness.

Take a lunch break

We’re still working on this one. Sometimes we skip lunch, sometimes we eat at our desks and sometimes we totally shut down to go have lunch somewhere else. As our own bosses it’s easy to let ourselves work through lunch knowing what needs to get done, but trust us it leads to a very work filled and lonely day. Give your mind a break. Go see outside. The world will not end, trust us.

Schedule a day to run work errands

Maybe you need to pick up office supplies or props for a client. Instead of fitting that in on the weekend when you head to Target, schedule a work day to make it happen. Heck, we’ll use any excuse to browse Target for “work”!

Open up the windows

Hey, sometimes the birds can be great company. Many studies show the benefits of getting some old fashioned Vitamin D in your life. Nature is good for the soul so maybe work from your super bright kitchen tomorrow or through open the shades in your office. Head to the light and you will be a much happier boss.