2020 has been a year like none of us have ever experienced before. We have all been stuck indoors for a lot longer than normal. That is starting to change in some places, but many people are still not able to participate in normal activities and a lot of people are still working from home.
This means that a lot of people are spending more time than normal online. This could be for leisure activities such as playing at a kasinot in Finland (an online casino in the native language) or enjoying esports in the US. Alternatively, it could be to take part in a business meeting on Zoom or communicate with family using Skype. If you are spending time online, for any reason, you need to make sure that it’s balanced with time spent offline. Here are four things that you can do to help with this.
Recognize when you “need” to be online
There are times when being online is a necessity. For instance, you may have a zoom meeting with your boss, or your sister may be having a virtual birthday party.
It’s a good idea to keep a record of these meetings and events so that you can prioritize them. This prioritization is important when you are balancing your online and offline time.
Separate your home working from your home life
It’s all too easy to get carried away with working from home. Pretty soon you can find yourself online with colleagues when you should have finished work hours ago.
This is why it’s so important to separate your work from your home life. Find yourself a room, or quiet space, where you can set up your laptop and printer, and any other equipment that you need.
Start and finish work in this space at the times you normally would if you were in the office. This means making sure that you are offline at your normal finish time and ready to enjoy the evening with your family.
Limit your social media time
There are pros and cons of using social media. It can be an excellent way of keeping in touch with friends and family when you are unable to see them in person. However, it can also cause you problems if you let it.
For instance, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by bad news or negative people. For this reason, it’s a good idea to limit the amount of time that you spend on social media. Check what is happening a couple of times a day, and try not to spend more than 30 minutes using social media sites each day, overall.
If you find that you are getting upset by what you are reading, or you are finding it difficult to stay away, consider taking a complete break for a few days.
Allocate offline time so that you use it wisely
One of the most important aspects of balancing the time that you spend offline and online is making sure that you make good use of your offline time. Doing so helps to protect your physical and mental well-being and means that you are less likely to be attracted back online if you have nothing else to do.
There are plenty of activities that you can do offline including:
- Cooking meals from scratch.
- Taking a bike ride.
- Going for long walks.
- Taking care of the garden.
- Playing board games as a family.
- Reading a book.
- Learning to paint.
Setting aside a certain amount of time for each activity means that you make the best use of your time.
Of course, it’s also good to spend at least some of your offline time relaxing. Sit back and clear your mind for a while.
There should be a place in your life for time spent both online and offline. There are positives and negatives of both and they need to be balanced correctly in order for you to get more of the benefits and less of the pitfalls.
Make use of the advice in this article, so that you get the offline/online balance right. Do not forget that, amongst all your activities, you need to set some time aside for complete relaxation.
