5 Easy Ways To Be Less Frustrated While Working At Home

#3: Get Rid Of Perfectionism

We all get frustrated sometimes. Especially at work.

Working from home was new to most of us at the beginning of the pandemic. People thought this would eliminate all of the negatives associated with working in the office. This might not be entirely true.

Certain feelings like frustration, irritability, and tension are bound to arise at some point. I have come to realize that the workplace location has nothing to do with them. Rather, it’s the work itself.

It might be easy to change the location we work at (one day we can be in our kitchen, the next in the living room, and so on), however, it might not be that easy to constantly change our jobs.

Let’s assume that your current job is a constant, not a variable (hopefully) that changes every few weeks. The only thing you can do in this situation is to change your mindset towards it. Trust me, it is not the tasks itself that drive you insane, it’s how you approach them.

Although sometimes it might indeed be frustrating and irritating at work, be that working from home or in the office, there are some ways we can work around these negative emotions.

Set Your Purpose Straight

People who experience a greater sense of purpose in the workplace tend to be better at what they do. And if you’re better at what you do, naturally, you would experience less frustration.

I think that if we’re more motivated at work, we would be less prone to experiencing negative feelings. But what motivates us?

The behavioral economist Dan Ariely, argues that it’s not money, not even joy, that drive us to be better. Rather, it’s the progress we aim to make and the sense of purpose we feel.

As soon as we find the purpose of why we’re doing the thing we’re doing, then work and our relationships there, become more enjoyable and less frustrating.

Always Take Your Time

Currently, I am trying to get comfortable with the idea that nothing at work should be done “at all costs.”

Certainly, sometimes there are tasks that need to be checked off as soon as possible. However, the key is not to put pressure on yourself and not to set unrealistic deadlines, when often, none are really needed.

Many people today complain about how they find it hard to stay focused and be productive while working at home. I have a friend, who told me, finds it hard to keep up with his tasks, due to the sole reason that he cannot concentrate while working in his living room, away from the office.

Clearly, again, the issue doesn’t stem from the job itself (although sometimes it may, if you are unlucky enough to have a pushy boss).

Often, when we have loads of work, a big portion of which is not urgent, we tend to push ourselves and try to do everything in a day. Even if that means staying after hours (whatever that may mean with a WFH schedule during a pandemic).

What happens then? We stay up until 10pm returning emails, or whatever your job may involve doing. We start to curse the process and get too much involved in our emotions, which ultimately leads to frustration; and there are far more worse things that you can do to your body and mind.

What can you do?

You need to acknowledge the fact that, although sometimes there are deadlines, nothing is that urgent as to the point that you might feel stressed, upset, and frustrated. Finding the balance between not being hard on yourself and doing your job is tricky.

Take your time.

Get Rid Of Perfectionism

This concept is in close relationship with the above one.

I have had this issue for a long time. Perfectionism, often, manifests itself in a way that you increasingly become more and more demanding of yourself.

Let’s take the example from the previous concept — as you start to set unrealistic deadlines and goal for yourself at your job, and then, of course, you don’t meet your own expectations, you become extremely upset and frustrated with your work, and unfortunately, with yourself.

It’s a loop. This practice then crushes starts to constantly crush your self-confidence. However, for you to prove to yourself, or to whoever it may be, you push yourself even more, with more strict deadlines and tasks, which you then don’t accomplish again.

Perfectionism, as I have written in a previous article, may be your worst enemy — in the workplace and in life.

You might have heard the cliched saying that you should always apply the 80/20 rule. That is, give 80% of yourself, in whatever you do. It’s a cliche, because it’s true, as a friend of mine used to say.

You just need to be good enough at what you do (I had once been told this is from a book by Hank Green, and I loved it).

Your perfectionism will not lead to anything but frustration. Just be good enough and push yourself enough to the extent that you still can see your improvement, and in the meantime, leave space for further growth.

Strengthen Your Relationships

Undeniably, when it comes to work, we are keen on having good relationships with our colleagues.

Even if you have the kind of job that doesn’t necessarily involve having an interaction with other employees, you most probably work with someone or for someone (be that your clients or your manager).

The interpersonal connections we make at work plays a crucial role in our motivation, purpose, and ultimately, mood. The stronger the connection, the better we do our job and the more motivated and less frustrated we feel.

A survey by Kaltura, recently revealed that almost 75% of the surveyed workers believe that their social connections with colleagues have been altered for the worst. Non-work related conversations and casual chats were the most missed ones. This clearly shows how important it is for today’s WFH employees to focus more of their attention on strengthening their relationships with other employees in the workplace.

Being physically distanced, does not necessarily mean socially distanced. The home office has not completely eliminated the social aspect.

A global survey by one of the world’s leading employee engagement platforms TINYPulse, argued that the connections we share with our colleagues is one of the most important factor for our motivation at work and our purposeful relationship with it.

Surely, sometimes you might feel you are all fed up with everyone at your job. However, the connections you make with the people you work with, might just be the key to managing frustration and stress.

Ground Yourself

I know one thing from experience — if you’re centered and grounded while you work, you are more likely to be more productive and develop better even better connections with your co-workers.

Sometimes the work you do can get in over your head. In such cases, meditation could be the perfect solution, if we are to have a balanced mind, which is less prone to be frustrated.

Today, many famous CEOs and celebrities use the practice to cope with their fast-paced lives. Renowned individuals such as Katy Perry, Tom Hanks, and Tim Ferriss are known to be practicing meditation and mindfulness. What’s the commonality? They all say it has had a profound effect on their lives.

Although the meditation culture has been on the rise for the last couple of years, it may not be for everyone. Some people just don’t enjoy doing it; and that’s okay.

The key is to find your own way of grounding yourself in the present moment. Be that just taking a couple of big deep breaths, going out for a walk, or whatever it may be that brings you joy and balance.

The Bottom Line

Even though working from home offers many benefits to our work, it can sometimes be quite frustrating.

In order not to get overwhelmed with such unwanted emotions, we first need to acknowledge and be aware of them. We can dedicate a couple of minutes a day just to think about all that. Then, if we implement the steps mentioned above, or at least some of them, we should more easily cope with the hard times.

I hope you enjoyed my article. If you want to read more article written by me, check my Medium account:

I also write about psychedelics and mental health. Recently, I wrote articles on whether being high makes you dumber. Moreover, there is a second part of the interview you just read about, however, this time it was on LSD: