“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” – Vladimir Lenin

As business leaders and experts, it’s the responsibility of the employers to balance the growth of the brand and the wellbeing of its people. Standing at the forefront of this pandemic situation, everyone is concerned about how do we make this transition of working full-time to working from home effectively? While working from home seems like a dream come true for many, it’s certainly no holiday and being as productive from your couch as you are from your cube can be a real drag.

Here are some tips to working from home effectively from the people who are successfully doing it for years (not to forget, these tips will help you stay both productive and sane).

Stick to a Schedule

The most wonderful and dangerous thing about working from home is that you get to relish the comfort of your home all day. Since you’re not commuting to the office, it gives you more time to plan your day effectively and efficiently. It may sound trivial, but wake up at a set time, dress well (say no to PJs!) and mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead.

It’s easy to lose track of time while working from home, so a set schedule can help you avoid that and maintain a work-life balance.

Fight the Urge to Multitask

If you’re a newbie to remote working, it’s easier to get caught up in multiple things at a time. This is not the time to do dishes or laundry as these chores will hurt your work productivity and efficiency.

Set aside a few breaks for personal tasks and make sure that nothing comes in between you and your office work.

Build a Permanent Workspace

Regardless of whether you have a six-bedroom flat or a studio apartment, setting up a separate workplace is quintessential. According to people who are successfully working from home for years now, having a dedicated workspace at home helps you maintain a good balance between work and personal life.

Besides giving you an “office feel”, this helps you keep good posture, stay away from unnecessary distractions, and leave work behind while sitting down for a lunch break with family.

Look the Part

Just because you’re working from home, there’s no excuse for a poorly lit video call with lousy audio. Consider working from home as professional as to when you work in a conventional office set up, especially during important conference calls, online meetings, and webinars. Such a simple tip can do wonders for your career while working from home.

Be in Constant Touch with your Colleagues

Just like your work as a team in the office, make sure to do the same while working from home. Check in regularly with your teammates and colleagues to avoid missing out on any important information or update.

Create a daily task list and share the status of the same with your seniors or manager to stay organized and on the top of your game. Besides slack and hangout, it’s effective to set up regular check-ins via conference calls through apps like FaceTime, Skype, etc.

Put these simple yet functional “working from home” tips into effect from today itself to streamline your everyday routine and improve work productivity while taking care of your wellbeing. Also, it’s time that the business leaders make a thoughtful plan to enable flexibility in this dreadful situation, as well as for other future emergencies.