Accountants often credit their clients, employees, accounting software (such as QuickBooks), and all the other things in the world, but themselves, for their success. Thus, it is high time to value accountants, especially when everyone is working from home and facing multiple mental health challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.
I’ve personally seen accountants work day and night during the tax season just because their clients needed them to.
Maintaining good mental health is an essential thing during current ties. Even I try to wrap up my work when the clock hits 5 in the evening and utilize the rest of the time for my mental well-being. It makes me feel motivated, and I don’t feel overburdened due to work. Let me tell you some tips that I personally follow, and accountants can find them too.
1. Take Care of Yourself
Please ensure that while working from home, you don’t sit around all day in your pajamas. Working from home is relaxing, but you should never forget to take care of yourself – take a shower, comb your hair, wear semi-casuals, and put on your shoes.
All these simple actions make you feel good about yourself and improve your efficiency even when you’re in your home office. Out of all these things, my personal favorite is taking a long hot shower before switching my laptop ON.
2. Recognize The Challenges You’re Facing
Whether you’re not able to concentrate because of your family members or something else is the problem behind it, you should realize what’s stopping you. Working from home has a different impact on every individual – some might need guidance on every step while others would become proactive in handling their work.
I’ve seen introverted people isolate themselves even more, and eventually, they find it challenging to socialize even during family gatherings. The right thing to do is to recognize what stops you and improve it.
3. Create a Routine
Accountants get so much involved in numbers that they forget to create a work routine – creating and sticking to a work routine is vital to maintain good mental health while working from home. Especially, during the tax season, work pressure is in full-swing and it might get difficult to cope up with the stress.
Routines reduce your mental stress by limiting the number of decisions you make in a day – once a routine is set, the mind functions according to it without overthinking. This way, you create more mental space and have the time and energy to do more in less time. Another benefit is that you will have the required mental peace in your life.
4. Treat Mental Health as Seriously as Physical Health
Almost 34% of accounting professionals suffer from mental health issues.
There was a misconception that mental health is not as important as physical health, but this attitude is gradually changing. Senior leaders should share stories of the time when they struggled with mental health issues, and it will motivate others to speak up. This way, everyone will feel comfortable in treating mental health as important as physical health.
5. Learn to Say No
Most remote workers work longer hours and feel burnt out; most of them feel that they need to contribute more than their colleagues. It is understandable as unemployment rates are soaring, and people want to hold onto their positions no matter what.
It might seem like the only option to accept more and more work; eventually, you’ll be frustrated. I personally never compromise on my mental well-being just to get some task done. Please understand that it’s not rude to say no – it’s all about understanding what’s best for you.
Summary
With the work from the home culture in full swing, it is essential to value your mental health more than ever. Our lives are now confined to our houses, and there are minimal options for going outside. Even if there are, I would personally recommend you not compromise with your health. I would advise you to go for a walk in the park and do regular exercise.