3 Tips to Productively Work From Home

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If you are new to working from home, you may have a few questions as to how to make the most out of taking care of your professional responsibilities.

For many of us, our homes are a mix of comfortable, distracting, busy and relaxing places to be. If you are used to working away from home, in an office-setting, it's going to be important to be mindful of what boundaries you will need to set to stay focused. Here are 3 ways you can work productively from your home:

Create (and stick to) a routine.

You may feel tempted stay in your pjs, prop your feet up on the couch and turn on your favorite streaming service, but a major key to working from home is organizing yourself and your schedule.Continue to engage in your personal hygiene routine, get dressed and prepare yourself for your day. Take a look at your schedule and set up your virtual meetings and conferences calls. Intentionally think about the tasks you need to complete and prioritize what is urgent and important. This journal prompt can help you organize your work day so you can get the most out of it.

If you can, designate a space in your home to working.

If you're able to, find a spot in your home to dive into your work. Try to avoid working from your bed -- find a space in your home where you can sit upright.It doesn't have to be a formal office desk that you work from. Choose your dining area or a space that has a table and chairs. If you are sharing a living space, see if you can discuss with your roommates, friends or family that you will be working from home and prefer to use this space. If the folks you are living with are also working from home, see if you all can create a group agreement on how you share space, take phone calls, etc.

Limit distractions and take your breaks.

It can be incredibly tempting to play video games, turn on a movie, or take random naps throughout your work day when working from home. And you can, when you schedule them in!When creating your schedule, set intentional times where you can practice self-care. Try to schedule a morning break, lunch break and afternoon break.When you are not taking a break, make sure you limit distracting items and activities. If you need to, turn off your TV, quiet your social media and set alarms and/or timers for yourself. It can be easy for time to slip away when you don't have a plan -- create your plan so you can limit your stress and continue to be productive.

What tips do you have for productively working from home?