As I’m typing this, many people are suddenly working from home in order to avoid spreading a microscopic virus. For some, this is an enormous adjustment.

And all of the other days of the week as well, actually. But I couldn’t resist using this glorious Street Fighter quote by Raul Julia. Anyways. Since I’m used to working from home, I want to share with you my own challenges and how I’ve come to adjust to these with this article. Maybe it can help you as well.

My Situation At Home

I live with three of my family members in a three-bedroom apartment. I’m the only one employed right now in this house, and I work from home as already established. 

Set Work Hours

It may seem counterintuitive to stick to a daily routine when working from home. “Come on,” you might say, “You get to choose your hours!”

Yes, you have room to be flexible, but consistency is key here. Humans are creatures of habit. Create your hours, but then stick to those hours consistently. Here’s the thing: When working from home, you’ll soon realise that you may not be able to “switch off” work the same as when you do commuting between work and home. Do yourself a massive favour and create a schedule, stick to it, and ignore work when it’s not your work hours. Else you might just end up working all the time or not at all. 

Your Own Space

Part of the inability to switch off work and switch over to a home task is due to people working on their beds. I’ve done this before… pajamas and all. Very stereotypical. That’s why I’ve learned a long time ago to go to a space in my house that isn’t my bedroom, and work from there. This helps tremendously with the switch between “being home” and “being at work” since you’re physically going somewhere, even if it’s just your kid’s room, a home office (lucky!) or even your own personal library. (Luckiest!)

Get Your Family And Friends On The Same Page

You’ve set your work hours, you made a work space… but then the phone rings for a personal chat. Or your kid comes to talk to you when you’re writing and you lose all of your concentration. (That last one happened to me a lot. Still does sometimes. Ah, the joys of working from home.) This is why you need to let all your loved ones know that work hours are to be respected and then stick to it. 

Invest In Your Work Equipment

Working from home usually means you’re working on a computer. (If not… well, I’d love to know. How do you work from home if not with a computer? Comment Time!) 

If your computer is a slow piece of junk that has to think for five minutes before it opens a document, your productivity will take a nosedive out the window and you might just end up throwing your computer after it. I’ve been there. Well, I didn’t go through with chucking out my computer, but trust me, I’ve been veeery close to that. All of that frustration, anger, and lost hours can be avoided if you invest in an upgraded computer that you keep free of viruses. (I’m assuming here, of course.)

How about you? Any work-from-home tips you can share in the comments?