For years, I wanted to have the opportunity to work from home.  People who work from home always seemed so happy to me.  Research was beginning to tell us that people who work from home were more productive.  To be honest, there were some work tasks that I preferred to do at home instead of in the office, there was something about sitting on my couch in my leggings with a pair of comfy socks that made me more productive. 

However, I also remember that there were many, many times that I brought home a bag of work that I never opened. When I started working from home full-time it did not go so well.  I was always distracted by something…laundry, meals, deliveries, phone calls, social media, cleaning, television, a gnat that flew by, a dust bunny…  It seemed like the slightest anything captured my attention and my time. 

As a result, I had to talk to some people that were doing well at working from home and dig deeper to figure out how to be successful without tying myself to a chair. 

1. Maintain as much of your usual routine as possible – Human beings need a certain amount of structure and regularity to be productive, if you are accustomed to working a specific schedule don’t change it. You have the muscle memory to operate within that time frame.
2. Designate your workstation and use it for nothing else if possible – The human brain is much more controlling than we sometimes realize. When you designate areas for particular tasks your brain is conditioned to do the thing that the space is assigned for.  If you don’t believe it stand in a restroom with a full bladder and see how your body responds!
3. Have a household meeting about what you need to be successful – Working in an office comes with a set of norms and operating procedures that everyone understands. When you work from home you have a new set of coworkers.  These coworkers have their own norms and its’ going to take a household meeting to set work from home expectations that work for everyone.
4. Be clear on your employer’s needs during this time – The shift to working outside of an office or even a location different from your boss takes clear communication and defined responsibilities. Make sure you know what is expected of you and that you have what you need to rise to the occasion.  
5. Get dressed and go through your usual morning routine – Muscle memory is a very real thing. If you continue to sit around in your lazy day clothing and don’t give attention to your appearance, your brain thinks that it is a comfy day and not a work day. Your exercise routine, morning devotion, breakfast pattern and anything else that you do is still just as important. It’s all a part of what gets you ready to perform for the day.
6. Make sure you eat, hydrate and move around – Just as it’s easy to ignore work, it’s also easy to get lost in work. Working from home blurs the boundaries between your two realities. The same breaks that you took in the office are necessary when working from home.  If you were anything like me, you may have been horrible at taking breaks in the office.  If that’s the case set an alarm to remind you to take breaks and move.  Reduced activity, nourishment and hydration are all enemies to good physical and brain health. 
7. Background noise is ok, but don’t look at the tv – Binging on your favorite show is not allowed during work time! If you need noise and can’t resist watching television, try music or minimize a computer screen playing videos. 
8. Ignore household chores – Unless you have a secret helper, the chores will be there. They can wait until the day is over or you can use the time that you would be in traffic to get them done.
9. Avoid the trap of “adjusting” your hours – Having flexibility in your hours may seem like a win (and it is), but it also takes discipline to manage that time without bleeding over into your non-work time.
10. Resist the urge to disappear into your social media thread – You probably wouldn’t get lost in your social media thread in the office and you shouldn’t when your location changes. Social media is such a time zapper, that you can be there for hours before realizing it.  Reserve your social media tours for the breaks that you are going to take each day. 

Working from home shouldn’t present the absence of structure, instead what happens is that the structure is now your responsibility to develop, implement and safeguard.  Even if you are working at home with an employer (as opposed to being self-employed) when it comes to how you govern yourself and your work environment, you are your own boss. Win, lose or draw, you have more control than you may realize.