How to avoid loneliness if you work from home

Lately, I’ve been dealing with some loneliness, which is something that always plagues me when I’m in Minnesota. Especially during the winter, when it’s so cold that people rarely leave their houses. Since I work from home and I just moved into an apartment by myself, it’s been worse than usual.

I miss how much easier it is to feel connected to people in Italy—you see the same baristas every day, your fruit guy, your favorite bartenders, the neighborhood nonni sitting outside on benches. It makes life less lonely on the rare days I don’t have a chance to get together with friends.

Anyways, I thought I’d write a post and share a few tips with how I’ve been combatting loneliness as I work from home. Because don’t get me wrong, I love working from home! And I wouldn’t trade the freedom it gives me for anything. But there are definitely some days where I crave the human connection, and I’m sure others who work from home feel the same. These are a few things I’ve found help me find connection and give some life to my days…

And if there are others you do, feel free to add them in a comment below!

Coffee dates with friends

This one is probably the most obvious, and it’s one that I love and that I do on a weekly basis. Even if we don’t work at the same company, it’s still so nice to work together with someone and it keeps me motivated to get everything done while we’re at the cafe.

Join a co-working space

This is one I’m hoping to do soon! Co-working spaces can be so nice for those who work from home, but struggle with always being productive in the same environment day after day. Look into the co-working options around you and try them out to see what you vibe with.

Schedule regular meetings with coworkers

Even if they’re over Zoom, this has been so helpful for me to feel less lonely throughout my day, and it’s one of the things I love most about my job. I have at least one meeting every day, and it helps to anchor my schedule for the day and gives me fresh inspiration and motivation for work that day.

Do enriching activities outside of work

If you aren’t socializing during the workday, what about at night? Join a recreation sports team, take language classes, do book club, host weekly meet-ups with friends to watch a TV show. Whatever you’re doing, it’s nice to have things scheduled in, to look forward to each week.

Join a gym

I hadn’t been a member of a gym since before the pandemic, but this fall when I got back from Italy I decided I wanted to start swimming again so I joined a new gym. Having another place to go after work has been so great for my mental health, and provides interactions with other people (sometimes in the sauna, on Friday night).

When in doubt, video calls with friends or coworkers

I’ve learned that when you work remotely, you don’t always need a reason for a meeting. And not every meeting has to be completely work related. One of the reasons I love my job is because most meetings include chatting with my coworkers about things outside of work, before we get down to business. When I’m traveling and take meetings and my friends are around, they always comment on how I’m laughing so much during meetings. It’s true though, we have fun and get a lot done because we’re all just happy to be there and to be able to lean on each other—for life and for work.