Keeping stable and thriving social relations is very challenging for working moms working from home. There is limited time, opportunities, or even the enthusiasm for social interactions outside the home and one can easily become socially isolated.
You can tell you have a poor social life if have rare contact outside your family, rarely meet your friends, you avoid going out, crowds and prefer being indoors instead. Also if you are always finding excuse to meet your friends or has become harder to relate, these are signs of a poor social life and you need to work on your social life.
However you can still manage to have a thriving social life when working from home through making virtual work calls, working on a hybrid arrangement, work from a social place, join professional organizations, and pursue social sports and hobbies among others.
You can easily find, meet and keep friends from random people that you meet online, when on your hobbies, when commuting, and other events. Be open to friendships and commit on walking the journey with your friends.
Signs of a Poor Social Life for Moms Working from Home
- You rarely have any outside contact other than your kids, spouse or other family members.
- You have no scheduled plans with your friends such as on weekends or evenings.
- You start feeling averse to crowds and strangers and this is a major sign of a poor social life.
- You have stage fright and anxiety when you go out, indicating that you need to improve on your social life.
- You purposely avoid people when you go out.
- You start preferring being indoor to going for outdoor social events.
- You are always finding excuses such as work for not meeting with a friend. If this is happening, then your social life is suffering.
- You are always finding excuses/reasons for not leaving the house.
- You are becoming socially harder to relate to. Take this a way of knowing you need to improve on your social life.
How to Have a Thriving Social Life when Working from Home
1. Use Video Teleconferencing with Colleagues
One of the ways that you can ensure you are keeping your social life active working from home is through video work calls. Technology advancement has ensured that if you can’t go to the office, you can bring the office to you.
Likewise, if you can’t go to your work friends, you can bring your work friends to you. Working exclusively from home should not deny you the chance to interact and socialize with your colleagues. Use virtual video calls, and virtual work meetings too see and connect with your colleagues.
These facial and audio interactions, even if they are virtual are powerful and quite necessary not only for your mental health but for your social life as well. In addition the bit of visual human interaction will help you get over the anxiety of actually meeting people physically when you go out of the house.
2. Try a Hybrid Work Arrangement
Instead of exclusively working from home, you can try a hybrid work arrangement instead. It is whereby you work from home on some days and from the office on other days. By doing this , you are not entirely cut out socially from other people.
A hybrid working option is particularly important if most of your friends are from the office. It helps you keep tabs with your friends and still retain the independence and flexibility of time by working remotely.
Ensure that you dress up for a normal office day. Make a point of dressing up daily, even if you are just going to work on your desk all day. Getting ready and dressing up helps improve your moods and makes you feel desirable to want to go out
Also get a pet. While a pet is not comparable to real human interaction, at least it gives you some interaction and motivation when you are working from home. You will feel less lonely during the day as you work.
Read: How to Remain Focused and Productive while Working from Home with your Husband
3. Choose a A Social Place to Work From
The fact that you are working remotely does not necessarily mean that you must work from home. Since working entirely from home alone is the major challenge to a better social life, you can try to change the location.
If your work allows, carry your laptop and take the social advantage of working from a social environment. It may be a library, a coffee shop, or any place with a social environment . Alternatively, you can rent a desk at a co-working space if there’s one available around you to ensure that you are active socially.
Work from such places regularly say for 2 days a week and you will notice a big social change. The option takes you out of the house and into the world where you are among people. Simply being in the presence of other people, hearing them talk, and watching them go about their daily lives is refreshing.
Most importantly make a point of leaving the house every day and ensure it is part of your routine. Even if it is for a walk around the block, aim to never spend an entire day indoors. It may be really hard to get out of the house, but once you do and come back it feels good
4. Join Clubs and Professional Associations
Any form of professional interaction can lead up to great social connections and friendships. Look for professional clubs, groups, and associations in your line of work or field and then you can keep your social life active through these groups.
These groups offer a great platform to meet like-minded people with whom you share key interests. You will learn so much career-wise from such interactions and also as a bonus expose you socially. To benefit fully, ensure that you show up for the physical meetings in addition to the virtual meetings.
5. Schedule Weekends for Family, and Friends
To have a thriving social life, you must be intentional and purposeful about it. Plan out for activities not only for your family but with your friends as well. It could be as little as once a month but the impact on your social life will be tremendous.
Call your friends and plan for lunch dates or dinners. You can also do some of your hobbies such as swimming, music among others together with your friend.
Read: How to Create a Fun Weekend Tradition for your Family
6. Pursue a Social Sport/Hobby
Hobbies and sports are a very nice way of meeting new people because you already have the sport itself as one thing in common. you are therefore highly likely to meet , click and become good friends with a stranger you just meet at the same sports event. Maintaining these friendships is always easier as long as you follow through with your sport.
Identify a sport such as golf, soccer, or any other that you can enjoy and have passion for. Then find a local group in your area and join. Other options include joining the gym. In addition to keeping you fit, they enhance your social life.
Read: Fun Practical Hobbies for Working Moms
Tips on How to Make & Keep Friends when Working from Home
- Feel comfortable making random friends. It is important as you will make friends with strangers you meet at events.
- Start and engage in activities that keep your relations going. A failing or non-engagement on your part means your relations will die out.
- Be sociable. Opt to go for places/events where people are going to meet new people such as bars and networking events.
- Try making friends online. Online is also another great place to meet new friends that you can meet up in person later. It’s a degree of separation from a face-to-face connection but the bond is real when you do get to spend enough time together.
- Take advantage of commute time. If you have a partner, you can drive your spouse to and from work every day and also for daycare drop-offs and pick picks. The commute time and the small talks and unwinding along the way will help you socially.
- Find an accountability partner. Sticking to a social routine is hard and you can easily lack motivation and give up. An accountability partner will help you stick and follow through on your social plans. It can be a fellow working mom also struggling with her social life so you can encourage and keep each other on track.
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