Establishing boundaries to adapt to a work from home setting

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) -As many of us settle into the work from home life, many will find the transition difficult as we try to keep the discipline of working at an office while typing away in the comfort of your own home.

If you’re used to working in an office, surrounded by people, working from home can definitely take some getting used to.

The biggest key to success when working from home is sticking to your routine and communicate your schedule. This means wake up at the time you would regularly wake up to go into the office, shower, eat breakfast, and get dressed for the day in appropriate clothes.

This probably sounds pretty straightforward, but this can help mentally prepare you for the day making it easier to transition from your office to your home. You also should communicate your schedule to your spouse, children or anyone else that will be home with you. That way you everyone is on the same page about everyone else’s needs.

“When you have some sort of order in your life, your brain works a lot more efficiently, and you have to make a lot less decisions," says Kate Jones, organizer at Kate Waldo & Co. "This is a schedule that I ended up printing out for our family and has been working really well, where we write when we have calls. Having more than one person work from home, or anyone work from home, and there probably aren’t a lot of places that are quiet and that you’d want to be on video for, and when you already have it planned out and you know who needs the space when then it makes it a lot less stressful, everybody in the whole house knows to be quiet. Allows us to know when we have work time and when we can take a break.”

You also want to make sure you set up your home office for productivity. Try to pick a space that isn’t in a busy part of your home. Look for a quiet corner or room to avoid distractions. Also, try to pick a space with a window so you can have something peaceful to look at.

“I would highly suggest staying in the same spot when you work because mentally our brains can turn off," Jones advises. "If we’re working where we’re also relaxing, like your couch or your bed, then your brain doesn’t turn off when you’re supposed to be relaxing, so you always kind of feel like you’re in work mode.”

Make sure to get up and move around. Since you’re not commuting back and forth to work you’ll have some extra time during the day to take breaks, maybe go for a walk during your lunch break or do an at-home workout. anything to prevent sitting at a desk all day.

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