This spring, many people found themselves working remotely for the first time in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Bill Murphy Jr., a writer for Inc. magazine, asked people who have worked from home for years for tips and assembled their comments in a March 16 online article. Universally, they advised finding a dedicated space to work, structuring the day and keeping the feeling of isolation at bay.
Here are five other tips:
1
Get up. “Don’t work from bed. You want your bed to be a place of peace and calm, not work stress.” — Liz Grossman Kitoyi, co-founder and chief executive officer of Baobab Consulting
2
Get ready. “Wake up and get ready just like you’re going to work. If you stay in your slippers all day, you will not be as productive.” — Elijah Schneider,
CEO and founder of Modify
3
Close the door. “The most important thing is to have dedicated office space where you can close the door and have set office hours. … I did the opposite and allowed work to swallow my home life for a while. … Stupid mistake.” — Kathy Kristof, editor of SideHusl
4
Create routines. “Establish a prework routine and an after-work routine. Working in the same place where you wake up, eat and sleep can make anyone go crazy without proper boundaries in place.” — Marissa
Owens, Opportunity Business Loans
5
Set up a place not to go. “Not everyone has an office, so it’s all right (to work at) your dining room table or couch. My advice is to … try and create some space between the places you are working and the places you are relaxing, even if it feels a little silly to be on two different sides of the couch.” — Haily Griffis, communications lead at Buffer and podcaster
