Are you lucky enough to be able to work from home? Whether you are new to working from home or have experience with it, it can be challenging. We have a lot of experience with working from home. Here are ten tips that we find the most beneficial to improving the work from home experience.

At first, one of the things I found most exciting about working from home was not having to get dressed. However, the novelty of that eventually fades and staying your pajamas does not promote productivity. I always feel more ready to work when I’ve gotten dressed like I would for a day at the office.

Try to work in a similar way to how you do at the office. Do you check emails when you first arrive? Set a time for that. Do you have any appointments or calls? Block off the time you will need for the call, the prep and any follow ups afterward. Planning your day will help you focus.

This is similar to what we said in Tip #2. Once you know what you want to accomplish, you should schedule that out. Things like appointments and phone calls will be pre-determined, but other tasks may be more flexible. You have the opportunity to adjust your schedule to how you work best. Are you most productive in the morning or the evening? Adjust your schedule accordingly.

Many people that work from home will not be alone. They may be at home with others, such as a spouse, children, roommates, etc. Setting expectations for the other people in your house is one of the most challenging parts of working from home. If you are consistent and upfront about your schedule, it can help reduce the distractions from others. But to be honest, we still struggle with this at our house!

Not everyone will be able to have their own office in their home. But created a dedicate space is still important. Having a specific table, desk or area of the house where you work can help you get in the right from of mind.

It can be easy to skip breaks when you are working from home, but don’t do it! Taking a few minutes or even an hour to recharge can be really helpful for your productivity. And we don’t mean by scrolling social media feeds. Get up from your work space, go outside for a walk or eat a meal in another location. It will help!

One of the things I struggled with when I starting working from home was meals. I like to cook, but making breakfast and lunch at home really cut into my productivity. Between the prep, the cooking and the clean up, it was taking way too long! I started to plan breakfast and lunch for the week on Sundays. Having the meals ready to go made it much easier to use my breaks to focus on eating. I also waste less time on non-work tasks.