Working from the comfort of your home has its own perks – more flexibility, no time-consuming commutes, increase in work-life balance, and a happier you! However, working from home can pose some challenges – distraction due to household chores, kids, friends, or neighbors. You need to keep certain things in mind so you can work from home effectively.

What Experts Have to Say on How to Work from Home Effectively

We asked a few professionals and experts for their advice and tips on how to work from home effectively. Let’s hear it from them.

  1. Start with a Remote Project 

    Stephanie Thoma, Networking Strategy Coach stephaniethoma.com suggests, “Start with a remote project. To gauge how you work from home - try it out. It can be as simple as transitioning your fulltime role to include one work-from-home-day per week, or if you're between things, a paid project, or pro-bono volunteer project. 

    She advises, “Create a space to work in, whether it's a designated room or chair, and structure your time as you would at the office, taking breaks to exercise and eat.”

  2. Organize Your Day and Set Work Hours

    Ciara Van De Velde, Career Engagement Manager for Employment BOOST explains, “Organize your day by creating weekly goals. Plan out each of your days with the tasks you want to accomplish and the time it should take to complete each task - this will help you prioritize your day and prevent you from getting off-track. 

    She suggests, “Be sure you set standard work hours - set your hours from 8-4 or 9-5 and ensure you stay committed to working those times. Working from home does not mean you can treat every day as a weekend and occasionally check your emails. Create a set schedule and adhere to it.”

  3. Display to Your Boss the Value You Are Adding

    Stacy, Business Coach, Stacy Caprio Inc. shares, “In order to become successful in a work from home career, it is important to carefully measure and display your value to your boss and the entire company. If no one sees the value you are adding, and they don't see your face in person every day, it will be hard to build a successful career.”

    She adds, “To be organized and productive, while maintaining work-life balance, make sure you have a specific area of your home or an outside co-working space you can work inconsistently so you're not distracted by your home to-do tasks such as laundry, dishes, and messes lying around the house.

  4. Trust Yourself

    Kal, Resume expert @ Enhancv shares, “To become successful in a work from home career environment, a key prerequisite is trust. The company you've chosen to work for should be able to take a leap of faith and trust you'll be performing well without constant supervision. What's more, you have to also trust yourself that you'll be laser-focused on delivering the performance expected of you.”

Use these insights and working from home tips to streamline your work from home routine. Do you have any tips you want to add to this list? Let us know in the comments!