Working from home may seem ideal at first, but once you get started you may notice that you are struggling. Working from home is an adjustment that can be a wonderful thing, but it also presents unique challenges that need to be addressed. Working from home is much different than working in an office, so it is important to balance your productive work life and your mental health in a way that will support your overall lifestyle. Here are some tips you can incorporate into your day to help you navigate through this transition.

Create a Space

While you do have the ability to work while sitting on your couch if you work from home, it is probably not the best way to go about your day. Creating a designated workspace is going to go a long way towards helping you separate your personal and work life.

It will also help you be more productive. Your brain associates certain places with certain activities. When you go to an office every day, your brain knows to switch to work mode when you get there. If you are working at home, it can be harder for your brain to associate spaces with certain activities. If you try to work sitting in bed where you should be sleeping or sitting on the couch where you normally zone out to watch TV, your brain will have a very difficult time focusing on work.

Creating a designated workspace will help you train your brain to switch to work mode when you sit down. It can also help you create a setup that will help you work more efficiently because everything you need will be right beside you.

Health

When you work from home, it can be easy to blur the lines between work time and personal time since they happen in the same space. You need to make sure that you leave work during work hours so you don’t get burnt out.

You need to prioritize getting enough rest and taking a break from work in the evenings. You should also make sure to have tasty lunch ideas to keep you upbeat and healthy whilst working from home. When you take care of your body, your mind will work better.

Eliminate Distractions

When you are working from home, it can be easy to get distracted. Since you are sitting in the place where the rest of your life happens, there are distractions everywhere. You don’t want to get sucked into the list of things to do around your house or for other areas of your life during work hours.

If you worked at an office, you would get up to take a break every once in a while and clear your head so you could come back to work refreshed. This is okay to do at home too. You may even be able to switch over that load of laundry while you take a break, but don’t let a simple chore turn into reorganizing that pesky hall closet.