Coronavirus work-from-home survival guide: What you need for success
These tips will help you succeed while working remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak
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To avoid spreading the coronavirus, many companies have instructed their employees to work from home.
For some, the opportunity to work from home is exciting without a commute to suffer through or a boss standing over your shoulder.
Others could be intimidated -- particularly people with children who are staying home from school or younger workers who have gone back to their parents' houses -- because of distractions or unfamiliarity with working remotely.
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However, with the right equipment and mindset, working from home is possible.
Some of the most important tools for working from home are, of course, a laptop, charger and a good WiFi connection.
Here are five other things you’ll need to survive working remotely.
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Your own workspace
Even if you don’t have an office, setting aside a specific place for you to work -- ideally with a door that closes, if possible -- can help you avoid distraction.
“It’s important that you find your own space where you can close the door and not worry about interruptions as you go about your daily work,” marketing strategist John W. Hayes wrote in a Medium post in 2018.
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According to Tom Popomaronis, a VP of Innovation at Massive Alliance -- and someone who has worked from home for 10 years -- it can take some time to find the perfect setup, but it should “resemble your office setup as much as possible.”
“You don’t even need a private room; it can be a designated area in your home — far away from the bed and couch, if possible — that basically says: ‘NO RELAXATION ZONE,’” he wrote on CNBC.
A plan for your day
According to Hayes, making a to-do list and prioritizing tasks properly can help you stay focused and “keep procrastination at bay.”
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Proper clothes
Even if you don’t wear a full-on suit to work from home, Kim Lyons from The Verge recommended not wearing pajamas regularly.
“This might sound a little odd, but I find that in addition to jeans and a comfortable shirt, wearing shoes (instead of slippers or just socks) helps me keep that sense of work vs. relaxation,” Lyons wrote. “I’m not talking about the most expensive shoes in your closet; sneakers, flip flops, or other comfortable footwear are just fine.”
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Good communication
One mark of a successful remote employee is overcommunication, Popomaronis said.
“Treat it as a casual update, rather than a formal meeting,” he wrote. “It will also help you build more sustainable relationships with people you work with.”
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Good boundaries
Having good boundaries between your work and home life while working from home means not doing regular chores (like cleaning or laundry) during work hours but also turning off your laptop once work hours are over.
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