Remote Work is Here to Stay. Here’s How to Keep Focused 
by Emily Machovina
Due to COVID-19, many office-based companies found themselves allowing their employees to work remotely. For most of us, working remotely was a new and almost immediate transition with limited preparation — we had to overcome various challenges and adapt to a new way of communicating with our teammates and completing work.
Many of these changes are now a permanent switch from the “old normal,” so if you still find yourself struggling to find a good work from home routine, I have created an easy guide to follow:
Establish Ground Rules
Does your employer allow flextime or is it a strict nine-to-five schedule?
Discuss what tools you need to effectively work remotely such as, Zoom for video conferencing or Slack for group chats. Even writing down tasks to check off throughout the day can help to increase productivity.
Take Breaks
Burnout is a real thing even if you are working from home. Allow yourself to take a 30-minute lunch away from your workspace or go on a 15-minute walk during the workday. Changing your scenery and working outside can also be helpful.
Establish Good Communication
It is important to make sure that you have a weekly or bi-weekly meeting scheduled with your team to discuss new or current projects going on. Using Slack or Microsoft Hangout can be a great place for work conversation and banter.
All conversations with teammates do not have to be strict work chat, though. Having a chat thread filled with pictures of everyone’s pets or conversations about post-quarantine plans can be a nice break from the workday!
Start a Hobby
With the weather starting to get nice (finally) gardening or planting flowers can be a great way to get out of your normal routine. A few of my favorite things to do are starting my morning with meditating or a yoga practice and taking the time in the evening to learn a new recipe.
Whether you are completely remote or just two days out of the week, establishing a routine and staying engaged with your work is important. Working remotely can increase productivity and have a lot of personal perks.
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