On Monday, March 16 my coworkers and I entered the second week of a remote working environment. Although I love working from home and have longed for a partial remote working schedule for a while, I have faced several challenges that I’m making efforts to overcome this week.

I’ve listed my challenges, how I’m navigating them and some tips I’ve used to stay productive below.

1. Staying Stagnant

My kitchen table has been my office since I started working from home and with less than ten steps to the kitchen and bathroom, getting movement has been a challenge. Because I try to achieve the recommended 10K steps daily, on a normal workday I average 2k steps without trying, but I aim for 4k when I report to the office. Although I made up for them after hours, there were days during the first week that I worked through breaks and lunches and ended the day with less than 50 steps. We’re halfway through this week, and I’ve already increased my movement. On Monday I ended the day with 527 steps, which is still not great, but much better than several days last week.

2. Fighting Cravings

Because I love junk food, I swapped the things I love like Oreos and Little Debbie Snacks for healthier options like nuts, slim jims and popcorners (popcorn in potato chip form) last year. Although I don’t have lots of snacks in my apartment, I have been craving sugar and carbs more than normal. I haven’t given in to the urges to consume, but I definitely satisfy my tastebuds on the weekends, as usual.

3. Working Beyond Limits

As I mentioned before, I love working from home; with much of my work centered around writing, editing and technology, if I have my laptop and wi-fi I can work from anywhere. On days when I have no meetings and have many writing projects I spend my time “in hiding cranking out content”. Although it’s not a luxury I get often, when I do get to work from home I take advantage. While many leaders don’t favor remote working because of the potential to slack off, one of the biggest disadvantages of it for me is working too many hours. It’s easy to get comfortable and spend 10-12 hours getting work done. Sometimes its hard for me to close my Mac. Last week I didn’t work one eight-hour day.

Although these are some challenges I’ve faced there are also several practices that help me stay productive.

Start early.

In my world, last minute projects often appear in my inbox often and take sometimes take priority over things on my ongoing to-do list. Starting my day before my supervisor has always been an effective practice for me because it gives me a head start and an opportunity to get things done on my to-do list, communicate my needs and start working before chit chat begins.

Take your breaks.

This practice was a challenge for me last week, but breaks are a huge part of my day. I usually take a 15 minute break for a walk before and after lunch, in addition to my meal period. I’m a terrible multitasker and I often need to disconnect from the staring at the screen all day (more on that here) and get out of the office. As a writer and editor stepping away from projects helps me come back with fresh eyes, thoughts and a boost of energy. Although I could take a walk down the hall or around my apartment complex, one day I took a dance break and felt great. It’s a great alternative to taking a walk that would likely never happen if I were at the office.

End each day with a plan for the next one.

“If you fail to plan you’re planning to fail. “

I read that quote in middle school and it’s one I’ve never forgotten. Ending each day with a list of priority tasks for the next is a practice that helped me immensely during college and grad school. It’s one that still works for me to day. Often times if I don’t write it down it won’t get done.

Although these tips work well for me, it’s important to find what works for you and stick to that. I’ve read several social media and blog posts that list practices that I don’t agree with, but it’s great to see what works for other people and try new things.

Have you been able to work from home lately? If so, what do you like and dislike about the arrangement? How are you staying productive? Share below.

(Virtual) Hugs & Handshakes,

Jasmine C. Tate