In light of recent events, I know that many people are finding themselves working from home. As many of y’all know, until recently I worked from home for over a year. I also did majority of Bachelor’s and Master’s online (i.e. from home). If you have taken online classes, the best way to be productive and work from home is pretty much the same concepts. I’ve heard that research suggests to dress up and act like your physically going to work, but you take full advantage of working in your PJ’s with some of these tips:

• Stay in routine. Work your normal hours. If your job doesn’t give you specific times to work, then work your normal hours. Have your mind set to think that your doing everything as normal: take lunch at the same time you normally, only take breaks when you generally would, etc.
• Block out distractions. Just like if you were at work: don’t turn on the TV or play music. Make sure pets don’t become a distraction (this is the hardest one for me, personally).
• Set a space for work. Have a designated area where you will work and work from there. If you can work from bed with a bed table/tray then work from bed. If you notice that you get distracted or tired then work from the kitchen, if you don’t have an office.
• Make sure you have everything you need. Similar to when you first get to work, make sure you have everything you need before you start working: stable internet connection, laptop/computer, charger, pens, notebooks, notes, etc.
• Manage expectations. If you are working from home and have kids at home, or your significant other, or roommate, etc. Set schedules, routines, and guidelines. Make sure your kids have something to do, your roommate doesn’t distract you, etc.
• Stay connected. Keep in contact with coworkers and your boss as if it were a normal day. If it helps you and another coworker, then maybe use FaceTime or use Google Hangout to talk/”work together.”
• Adjust as needed. You may find it easier to prepare like you’re going to work the first few days and work at a designated area. But a few days, once you’re in routine, you may realize that you can efficiently work from bed in your PJ’s.  Or vise versa, if you started working from bed in your PJ’s then it may be time to get dressed and work at a desk. Know your self and know what works for you.

When I worked from home, I had a simple routine down:

• Wake up, make coffee, & let Mera outside.
• Depending on the day, I either worked from bed or from my office. If there was a lot to do or if I knew I was still tired or could be easily distracted then I would work in my office. (This is where the adjust as needed tip came in)
• Begin working once settled and prepared.
• Lunch: generally I eat while working (even now) and skip lunch, but sometimes if I just wanted a lunch then I would take a 30 minute lunch break or hour if my boy friend was home and I would eat lunch with him. Or I would use my lunch break to work on blog tasks, online shop, or if there was something tempting to distract me like Mera wanting to play or a package being delivered then I would use my lunch to essentially get rid of what was tempting to distract me.
• Finish work for the day & prepare for the next day with a to do list. Sometimes the roughest part of working from home, is getting started, so preparing yourself for the next day can really help in the mornings.

I hope that this helps and that everyone stays well and safe! ♡