If you feel like you're working more since you've started working from home, you're probably not wrong.
A study by Atlassian found that since April, our workdays have become longer. That's around the time many people started working remotely.
On average in the United States, people worked about 30 minutes more. People start work earlier and wrap up later.
A separate report by LinkedIn found more than a quarter of people are checking in on work during off-work hours.
However, this isn't necessarily leading us to be more productive. Often, we're working longer days because we're getting distracted while we're at home.
“Everything's getting pretty mushy, so what that looks like is Netflix might be happening at 2 o’clock in the afternoon or you might be doing laundry at 11, instead of being fully focused on your work during the day, and I do think that is creating working longer hours,” said Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a time management coach.
Saunders says there are additional distractions now.
For instance, if you're a parent, your child may be learning from home. Sometimes you need to step in to help them, which can take time away from your work. That's completely okay, as long as we're still managing our time efficiently.
Another thing that's changed is we may not necessarily have something to look forward to after work.
Happy hours and going to the movie theater with a friend aren't really happening, so we may feel less motivated to work throughout the day.
These longer work hours are giving us less of a chance to recharge for the next day, so it's important that we draw the line between work life and home life.
Saunders says to pick a time where you only work... And don't do things like personal chores or take long breaks.
“Those work hours are times when I’m devoted to work, and I’m really focused, and I’m not getting other things. That gives you the freedom and flexibility to feel like, I got work done today, I got done what I needed to get done and I need to do something refreshing or recharging at night.”
We can still create things to look forward to after work, like having a time where we call friends and family, or plan to do something else you enjoy like crafting.
