Working from home, how I love thee! Let me count the ways: I can wear pajamas, I can work at the table, in bed, or on the couch, I can take breaks to walk or shower, I can sing along to music, I can even drink a glass of wine while writing a blog post!

The list goes on, and make no mistake, there are many great things about working from home. But the appeal of wearing what you want and working from your bedroom hides the fact that working from home presents unique challenges.

It’s incredibly easy to get distracted. It can feel lonely and isolating. But what’s especially tricky is this: Without coworkers beside you, it’s hard to tell when the work day starts and when it ends.

The personal is professional

When you are your business, the personal and professional are almost the same thing. When you spend so much time thinking, daydreaming, talking, and planning your business(es), being “off the clock” becomes a foreign concept.

This is especially true when you work from home (this may resonate with students as well as entrepreneurs). When your home is your office, you know that you could always be working. This can create the toxic habit of feeling like you’re never not working...and that treadmill always leads to exhaustion and burnout.

The separation of home and work

If you have trouble getting “off the clock”, I feel you. I spent months this past summer feeling the constant, low-level anxiety that I wasn’t done. Five o’clock would come and I’d go from typing an email on my bed to typing an email in my kitchen, while I tab-switched to a recipe and cooked dinner. There was no physical difference between being at work and being at home, and that made it hard for me to switch gears from professional time to personal time. As a result, all my time felt like a confusing and exhausting combination of both.

This is perhaps the most challenging thing about working from home: separating “work time” from “not work time” when both happen in the same place. When you work in an office, your brain and body understand that it’s a workplace where you get work done. When you leave the office and commute home, it signals to your brain and body that the work day is done and that it’s time to relax. Even if you take work home with you, it’s in your personal space and you’re choosing to do it.

But when The Office is wherever we happen to be sitting in the house, the brain and body receive no external cues that the workday is over and it’s time to relax. Even if we switch from professional tasks to personal ones, we give ourselves no chance to recalibrate. That’s why we might still feel like we’re working while we eat dinner or watch a movie. Without a clear transition, our energy never switches from “on the clock” to “off the clock.”

The solution: Create transitions for your brain and body

So what do we do? We must create other ways to transition from professional into personal time. Here are five effective ways I’ve found to do this:

1. Meditation: Ending my workday by listening to a meditation is a rejuvenating exercise that I always look forward to. The stillness I find in meditation has truly transformed how I feel during my evenings “off the clock.” It helps ease my mind and body from any tension I hold from the day, and signals very clearly that we’re going from one way of being (work) to another (not-work). Try ending your workday with a guided meditation from Insight Timer. My favorite is Guided Meditation and Deep Relaxation, because the meditation closes with an invitation to gently come out of the exercise. For more on meditation, read A Beginner’s Journey with Meditation and Becoming 10% Happier.

2. Walk: For many people, stillness is best found in movement. We spend a lot of time with our bodies sitting and our minds whirring. It’s energizing and healthy to flip that script and to let our minds settle by moving our bodies. Try ending your workday with a 30-minute walk around your neighborhood. Sometimes I listen to a podcast for my walk, but often I prefer to walk in silence and see where my mind goes. (Note: If your mind goes to work, that’s okay! Processing work thoughts while walking can be a great way to end your work day.)

3. Clothing: A simple but powerful signal to the mind and body is changing clothes. Try ending your workday by changing from your “work clothes” (even if they are sweatpants!) into a different set of clothes. If you were wearing pajamas, put on jeans before you go for your walk!

4. Snack/drink: Another way to transition is to have a designated snack or drink. Make it something you look forward to: something tasty or special, that you don’t consume during the workday. This act signals to your brain that you’re done transitioning from one way of being to another. Try ending your workday by eating a cookie or making yourself a cocktail.

5. Say it: This transition is excruciatingly simple: When you’re finished working, say the word “done.” According to this research, this simple act can have a big impact by signaling to your brain that something is complete.

We are our keepers

It will take time to form the habit of closing your work day with a transition ritual. Repetition is what teaches our brains to associate walking or sweatpants with work being over. Try choosing one transition and trying it as often as you can for a month. Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t immediately feel your mind settling down. Patience and self-kindness is key!

No one disputes the benefits of meditation or exercise, but it can still be hard to make them a priority. There are a lot of articles out there extolling the importance of working hard and hustling, and they can make it seem like any time spent resting is time wasted.

Thankfully, more and more research is coming out that that shows that rest, play, and time off are as important to our health as sleep, healthy food, and exercise. This is not really “news”: It is a central concept in athletic training that rest is critical for muscles to repair themselves. Similarly, giving ourselves dedicated time off work is critical for our success. It is in rest that our minds have the space to make connections and process ideas. We are our best when we put as much thought and dedication into rest and relaxation as we do into hard work.

Still, it takes courage and discipline to make “not work” as much of a priority as “work.” We must remind ourselves and each other that work is not better than rest and rest is not lazy. What we ambitious, motivated, creative solopreneurs must do is deliberately set aside time when we’re not working. There are many healthy reasons to do this (physical health, mental health, and more) but if nothing else, remember this: Scheduling rest is good for the health of our business.

You can see from the title that this is all about disconnect. Don’t take that the wrong way. I don’t mean disconnect between people -- interpersonal connection makes the business world go round.

This here is specifically about a different kind of disconnect.

Disconnection: Turning your digital connection off. You know...unplugging.

(That means phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, emails, Tweets, Facebook, Trello, Slack, and anything digitally business-related.)

If this jars against every business particle of your being, don’t worry. Take a deep breath. It’s not so frightening.

Remember: Your solopreneur venture won’t go bust overnight if you take a time out and get a great night’s sleep.

It seems simple on paper, but we all know the lure of email and Trello; the power socket right next to your bedside table where you charge your phone; the promise of client interaction and the certainty of a future in business.

Is it possible to switch off and disconnect from the digital sphere for a while and not lose momentum? What harm can a quick email at midnight do?

Take my example. I’m blessed/cursed with a brain that never shuts off, particularly when I’m trying to go to sleep. (I suspect plenty of you have the same encumbrance.) Apparently the best time to come up with new blog ideas and social media campaign plans is when my head hits the pillow.

Because...“reasons”, as Twitter would say.

Typically, when these ideas would strike, I’d roll over, grab my phone and note them down in Wunderlist. During my hasty scribbling, I’d see my email ping.

“Maybe it’s a client. I should just check that out quick.”

I’d read the email and my overactive grey matter immediately constructed a response, so I’d reply there and then. While I was writing that, I’d start making a plan to resolve the issue. I’d think about who else I had to email to make it happen. I’d remember something else and fix that too.

You can see the trend here. I wasn’t losing hours on YouTube or scrolling through Pinterest -- I was being productive. But I was still losing hours that my body and brain needed to disengage and heal.

Being a solopreneur can consume your life, pixel by pixel. All hours are working hours. It’s the downtime we struggle to fit in, not the hard grit.

My addiction to work nearly broke me. I was plagued by headaches at all hours of the day. Everything hurt and sometimes it would evolve into a full body shut down with violent nausea, photosensitivity, horrific pain and general incapacity. I’m predisposed to migraines anyway, but they were spiralling out of control.

My perma-headache also meant I never got any sleep, so I tossed and turned, checked my emails, suffered my headaches and wondered when the pain was going to end.

I’d read somewhere that blue light affects your circadian rhythms and had dismissed it as another bubble-wrap response to the human condition. It couldn’t have that much of an effect, surely?

Wrong.

Consider this: Disconnection isn’t a matter of personal habit. It’s a matter of health and wellbeing.

Eventually my 24/7 brain and crippling headaches brought me to my knees. Pain medication wasn’t taking the edge off and I didn’t want to get addicted.

At my wits end, I figured I’d try ditching my phone (and blue light) for just a little while. I wasn’t producing any worthwhile work in that condition so I wasn’t losing anything.

You might’ve guessed, but the cure was almost miraculous.

I still get headaches but they’re so infrequent that I forget them. I am falling asleep quickly when it used to take three hours. I am sleeping soundly and not waking through the night. I am powering through my work every day, all the way up to bedtime, but I have a golden rule:

Once I’m in bed, the phone turns off and I don’t touch it again until I rise the next day.

Everyone is different and electrical blue light will affect everyone to varying degrees. Some gadgets are designed to eliminate blue light, which is fantastic up to a point.

But that means you’ve still got your business brain on when you’re in bed, the one place in the world you need to relax entirely and recharge yourself (figuratively speaking).

Turn your phone off. And your computer. And your tablet. (I see you trying to squirrel it away.)

I’m not saying burn all your electricals, pack up, move to the forest and become an off-the-grid spoon whittler. We’re solopreneurs and every client is in some way digital now. We can’t work (for long) without social media and the internet.

However, we’re also human and we aren’t designed to function 24/7. Working for yourself is great, but you need to be able to enjoy it or you’ll lose motivation, determination, and heart.

Clients also deserve a little more credit. They understand the world is round and timezones don’t always sync up. If they really have a problem with you sleeping, maybe they aren’t a client worth keeping.

Your business truly won’t end if you don’t respond to emails immediately.

You also get the benefit of a fresh pair of eyes. When working on a blog, I’ll write a draft, abandon it for at least a few hours, and revisit it. Re-engaging with my work with a different mindset shows me where I can improve and what needs changing. This applies to any kind of work.

Getting sleep, even if only for a few hours, will condition you for the day ahead. You’ll be happier, healthier and more productive.

The better you feel, the better your work will be. The better your work is, the better you’ll feel.

The only missing component is getting some shut-eye, and if all it takes is switching your phone off for a few hours, it’s very much within reach.

P.S. Rest does not equal rust.

The feeling of stress in today's society is unfortunately rampant. Long hours and high demands at work contribute to this dreaded feeling for many people. Stress comes with many physical symptoms — from upset stomach and migraines to trouble sleeping. Anyone who experiences it can agree: Stress is terrible. Stress can be even more detrimental for the solopreneur. While we enjoy feelings of independence and are not bogged down by the mundane aspects of office culture, creating our own schedules and managing our own clients without the guidance of any superior or support of reliable co-workers can lead to even higher levels of stress. Combined with unpredictable income, the prospect of stress is very real and it can have a resoundingly detrimental impact on relations with clients, friends and family -- not to mention your own self care. Your first step? Becoming aware of the side effects you’re up against when you succumb to the hazardous pitfalls, so you can get better in preventing solopreneur stress in the first place.

Six primary side effects of stress, witnessed as a solopreneur

Six issues that can occur when solopreneurs neglect to place stress management first are:

1. Unhappy clients who can tarnish the reputation of your brand with word-of-mouth criticism
2. Poor sleep habits and an unhealthy diet, which can lead to a lack of focus and positive energy
3. A lack of accurate sales projections due to disorganization regarding clients and goals
4. Strained relationships with friends and family
5. Lack of time for personal development and new relationships
6. Increasing likelihood of failing to find willing co-workers to expand the business

I’m sure you could even think of more, but one thing remains common amongst all of them: Each side effect of stress detrimentally impacts you and/or your clients. Fortunately, solopreneurs with prudent planning and organization can successfully evade the stressful pitfalls of being an independent worker. Here are a few ways to get started.

Commit to a schedule and get organized

Robotic, automatic memory retention is not yet an add-on for humans, so in the meantime we have to rely on our standard memories, which can be forgetful no matter your intelligence. As a result, it's a good idea to record everything you deem important, ranging from ideas to tasks. Whatever your favorite form of notetaking is, start a brain-dump doc -- whether it’s a list on Asana, a board in Trello, a note in Evernote, a standard Google Doc, or a blank page in a notebook. Even if you don't use all the information, it will alleviate your stress-prone mind to know that the information is there in case you need it. And, it gets it out of your already-full head. Next, consider maintaining a daily to-do list. Keep it short. Write down the most important one to three tasks for a day, with the potential to add bullet points under the broader task. Keeping your list to no more than three will help prevent feeling overwhelmed. Planners and folios are great for keeping to-do lists and schedules organized in one place.

Build an effective client management system

Solopreneurs need a mindful qualitative and quantitative approach to their clients, to make the client process run smoothly from start to finish, and avoid over- or under-booking. I have three tips for building an effective client management system:

1. Design a proper onboarding process, from the kick-off call to contract signing and right into getting the materials you need to start the work. Kicking off projects on the right foot can alleviate a lot of stress along the way.
2. Maintain a spreadsheet of your current clients, along with personalized data like campaign start/end date, project goals and current status. This will help you prioritize, making it easier to allocate duties between clients equally and effectively. Project management apps like Coach, Dubsado, and 17Hats make client workflows more manageable by helping you track everything in one place.
3. Designate specific times to follow up with and update clients on the current status of their project or order. Whether automated or personalized, knowing your clients are aware of the project’s current status will relieve any doubt that they’re unsatisfied with the amount of communication. Clients enjoy transparency and results, and organization and scheduled communication are important to making that a reality.

Give yourself time throughout the day

Working ceaselessly can lead to procrastination. Studies show that people work better in intervals. Some studies find a 52-minute-work, 17-minute-break protocol to be effective, though it doesn't have to be precise. Find a timeline that works for you. (Editor’s note: At One Woman Shop, we love the Pomodoro Technique.) You need to work and focus, but still have time to refresh your mind with a brief break. Giving yourself time throughout the day can prevent stress, bad moods, and boredom. When taking time for yourself every hour or so, remember to breathe — specifically, with your belly for one to two minutes, and focus only on the air you're breathing. Tell yourself to take care of the current day, limiting your information intake to what matters immediately. The best breaks are those that don’t take place in front of a screen.

Stress doesn’t have to be inevitable, solopreneur

Your constant state of overwhelm doesn’t have to be so constant, solopreneur. It's extremely important to practice stress-avoiding techniques thorough scheduling, organization, management, and frequent personal breaks to not only help sustain a successful solopreneur business, but to maintain a healthy relationship with your clients, family, friends -- and yourself.