5 Tips to Create a Successful Work From Home Routine

In the age of “social distancing” and COVID-19, many companies have gone fully remote. Knowledge workers are dusting off their home office desks and creating makeshift work spaces in dining rooms and on coffee tables across the country and around the globe. 

While many aspects of work can be neatly transitioned to home, telecommuting uses muscles that aren’t often flexed at the office. Today we want to share five tips to create an effective work from home routine.

5 Tips to Create a Successful Work From Home Routine

1. Start the week off with clear goals and a plan. Your work from home cadence will likely come with interruptions and distractions. This means it’s even more important to have clarity around what is most important for you to accomplish in the next day, week, and month. It’s also important to pair this with agility. Your company is likely pivoting during this time. However, anticipating change does not mean you shouldn’t have a plan in place. Get clear on what matters most and be ready to adjust as needed. 
   
2. Create consistent patterns. It’s easy to feel a little lost when first working from home. After all, you associate home with time away from work, not “clocking in.” So create a new work from home routine. Set work hours. Create a new morning routine. Get dressed. Make the bed. Wake up at the same time every day. Sit down at your desk at the same time every day. This consistency will help you adjust. The routine signals to your brain and body “it’s time to work.” 
   
3. Take advantage of the perks. It’s hard to think about the “positives” in a crisis like this, but consider all the time you are gaining back by not commuting. Can you sit down to breakfast with your family daily? Can you walk your dog for an hour when you would normally be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic? Use the time you would’ve spent commuting doing something meaningful to you. 
   
4. Set personal limits on how often you check notifications, social media, and the news. When you work from home you can keep literal tabs on social media all day. But that is a major distraction and can increase anxiety. Consider downloading the plugin News Feed Eradicator to cut down on some of the social media noise. Also consider adhering to the recommendation some experts suggest: only check the news once per day. 
   
5. Get some fresh air and some exercise daily. If possible, stop to take a break two to three times per day. You need to stretch your legs and get the blood flowing. Stepping away from your desk and getting fresh air can help you come back to your project reenergized with a problem solved or a new approach to try.

Transitioning to working from home exclusively can be challenging. It’s important to remember that you are not going through this change alone. So give yourself a little grace as you try to fit work and home together in the same four walls. Creating a thoughtful routine should help you thrive working from home in no time.