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How to work from home (and not lose your mind)

When most people find out that I work from home they almost always respond with “Oh wow, that’s awesome. You’re so lucky.” I nod and say “yes,” but I know that they’re thinking of those snowy days where they work from home, curl up with their coffee and Snuggie, and lounge. Maybe they’ve turned your phone off. Maybe they’ve kept their pajamas on. Yeah, well, it’s not really like that.

In fact, working from home is absolutely nothing like that. After a few days the novelty of keeping your pajamas on all day wears off and you want to, well, work. If you’re used to working in an office, though, you have to change your routines. So here’s a few handy tips if, like me, you suddenly find yourself working from home…

1. Get dressed.
   Yes, it’s easy to stay in your pajamas all day, but don’t. Shower, change, do you what you need to do to make sitting down at your computer to work the real deal.
2. Evening exercise.
   When I worked in an office I would go to the gym in the morning, before work. But now, I go for my runs at the end of the day. It provides a clean break from work time to personal time and it gets me out of the apartment.
3. Chores.
   Or any task really. I try to give myself one 10–15 task every morning and every afternoon. Nothing crazy—just a little thing to give me a quick breather. When you work from home there are no distractions, no pop-ins, no water coolers. It can be hard to step away. These little chores help me do that.
4. Remember how lucky you are that you don’t have to commute.
   Ugh, commuting. I’ve had a number of different commutes in my life. (The worst being a 75-minute drive—EACH WAY!—from Northampton to North Adams. It was terrible, especially in the winter.) I know some people like their 30-minutes in the car or on the subway, but think about it: I take that time I’d normally spend chained to my car folding laundry or doing the dishes (see tip #3).
5. Don’t live alone (and I don’t mean roommates).
   If I lived alone, I don’t know if I’d ever stop working, but when Lex comes home from work I shut it down.

There are more, sure, but I find that these five tips keep me sane and happy.