4 Tips to Help You Work From Home During COVID-19

The recent worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has changed virtually every aspect of our day-to-day lives, requiring us to make adaptations that keep life as normal as possible while staying healthy. 

For more than 41 million people, or over one-third of the job force, this also means working remotely. While working from home may sound like an ideal situation, many people are finding it can actually be difficult to adjust to—especially when your kids and spouse are also home as well. 

If you're not sure how to work from home, don't worry—you can stay sane and productive at home with these 4 work from home tips: 

1. Maintain your routine

You may not be dealing with a morning commute or getting kids ready for the bus anymore, but that doesn’t mean you should sleep in until just before your first meeting. 

Keeping a daily routine not only improves creativity and productivity, but it also provides a number of health benefits, including lowered stress and anxiety levels and better sleep schedules. Maintaining your regular routine will also make it easier to go back to work when the time comes.

Your exact routine depends on your needs, but easily repeatable activities like exercising, showering, grooming, putting on comfortable professional clothing, and eating breakfast can help your body and mind wake up and get in the groove before you get to work.

2. Keep your regular working hours

Flexibility is one of the benefits of working from home, but that doesn’t necessarily mean setting new hours. When you keep your regular hours, you don’t have to decide when to work; you simply stick to your regular schedule. If you work 8-5 with an hour-long lunch break, keep the same schedule at home.

At the same time, it’s important to respect your work/life balance, so be sure to stop working and replying to emails at the same time you normally would.

3. Set aside a dedicated space to work

You may not have a separate home office, but setting aside a specific work space in your home will make it easier to stay on task and reduce distractions. Psychologically, a dedicated workspace also makes it easier to get into “the zone”; when you step into your workspace, your brain knows it's time to focus. 

A few things to consider when creating the perfect workspace include: 

• Comfort. You'll want to make sure your working hours are comfortable, so make sure you have things like an ergonomic office chair or a fan or space heater, depending on your temperature preferences. 
• Working environment. Do you need to be in a perfectly quiet space to take client calls, or do you work better with background noise? 
• Space. Creating a workspace in a small home requires a little creativity on your part. Consider setting up a desk in a corner of your home, repurposing a closet, or creating a workspace on a landing.
• Move around. While you may have a central workspace, it doesn't hurt to move to different areas in your home to work for a bit. If you normally have lots of meetings in the office, working from different locations in your home can help things feel more normal. Also, new areas may spark new creative ideas.
• Take breaks. Regular breaks are important for keeping your mind and body refreshed. Aim for a 5-15 minute break every couple of hours, whether it's a quick trip to the kitchen for a drink or a 15-minute walk around the block. 

Make sure you don't forget to take a lunch break, too. This is an ideal time to step away from the computer, relax a little, or help your kids with their schoolwork. 

4. Let your smart home devices help

If you have smart home devices in your home, you can put them to work for you. Not only will they help make the transition to working from home less stressful, but they can help with tasks around the house. 

A few ways they'll come in handy while working from home include the following.

Stay on task with smart speakers

For many people, staying on task can be difficult. You can use your smart speaker, like Google Home or Amazon Echo, in a number of ways to help you stay focused and productive, including:

• Make a to-do list, with the most important task of the day first on the list.
• Set reminders for meetings, checking on the kids, or taking a break.
• Set timers for tasks that tend to eat up your day, like replying to emails.

Answer the door from your phone

Shelter in place orders around the country mean deliveries are at an all-time high. Downloads for grocery delivery apps, for example, have seen increases of up to 218%. With that in mind, it’s safe to say you’re probably getting more deliveries to your home than usual.

With the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro, you can practice social distancing and stay on task. Once motion is detected, you’ll receive a notification on your smartphone. From there, you can use the two-way talk feature to ask the delivery driver to leave your items on the doorstep for a contactless delivery. It's that easy.

Use your outdoor camera to keep an eye on the kids

With the kids out of school, it can be difficult to keep an eye on them while trying to get your own work done, too. With the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro, you can use your smartphone to check in on your kids while they're playing outside, no matter where you're working in the house.  

The Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro also helps keep your kids and property safe, too. Its Smart Sentry feature identifies potential lurkers on your property, and then warns them they've been spotted by playing a warning sound and activating a red light around the camera. You'll also be notified on your smartphone whenever the camera spots a lurker, so you can check and see what's going on outside.

Talk to other family members with the Vivint Indoor Camera

You can talk to family members or kids in another room from your Vivint app thanks to the two-way talk feature on the indoor Vivint Indoor Camera. It's a great way to check on family members without leaving your home office. 

The indoor camera also features one-touch callout, so your kids can reach you on your phone without barging into your office. 

Let Vivint help you work from home 

Even if you're fortunate enough to have a job that allows you to work from home during the pandemic, it can take some getting used to. These tips and smart home devices can help you adjust to your new arrangement so you can stay as productive as possible.

If you'd like to take advantage of smart devices in your home, let our Smart Home Pros help create the perfect smart home system for you. Contact us today at 800.646.1469 for a free quote.