Whether you are self-quarantining or practicing social distancing, we all are adjusting to a new normal amid the pandemic. There’s no denying that working from home offers many advantages. In many ways it’s the ultimate freedom; you get to set your own hours, working when, where and how you want. However, before you get too excited about your new remote opportunities, there are some pitfalls you’ll need to be aware of—and watch out for.

Failing to keep business and private life separate

This is one of the most common issues for people who work from home, especially those who are self-employed. When the home office is “right there”, it can be hard to stay away even if you should really be off work for the day. Before you know it, you’ll have spent another few hours of your precious weekend on work. This is the fast track to burning out, and something you must learn to avoid if you want to be successful working from home.

Not planning your work

This mostly applies to people who are self-employed and may not have a boss telling them what to do every day. When you’re working on your own projects, planning is an absolute must. If the first thing you ask yourself when you start your day is “Ok, what am I going to do today?”, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. It’s much better to plan out the next day before you decide to stop working in the evening, so you’re ready to get started first thing in the morning.

Working at irregular times

When you’re free to set your own hours, it doesn’t mean that you should only work “whenever you feel like it”. Chances are after a few months that you’ll rarely feel like it at all, especially when there are so many fun distractions around the house. That’s why it’s better to try to stick to working the same hours every day, even if it might resemble you having to leave the house and go to a physical office. You can always take breaks during the day if you need to recharge, but try to at least to start your work day around the same time as if you was going to the office, if you want productivity levels to stay high.

Distractions at home

It’s super hard to avoid all interruptions from your family, pets, delivery people, and neighbors but some of these tips can help:

• Set up a kind of signal that lets others know when you’re in focus mode. Maybe it’s a do not disturb sign on your door or when you put on your headphones. (Or maybe you have to actually lock the door and imagine/pretend you’re not home.)
• Train older kids and significant other to be self-sufficient and occupy themselves. It’s frustrating to be interrupted because you’re the only person who knows where the purple bouncy ball is.
• It’s especially hard if you have very young kids.  They don’t understand that they can see you but you’re not available to play. Repeatedly saying, “no, I don’t have time now” is painful. Brian Cooksey, an engineering manager at Zapier, adds that “finding a good place to take conference calls so that family doesn’t interrupt and so that I don’t wake a napping baby” can also be an issue.

This video perfectly explains the challenge of working from home with kids:

Not getting out of the house regularly

When you work from home there is usually very little motivation to go outside. You’ve got everything you need at home anyway, right? That’s true, but after a whole week of isolation due to the Pandemic we currently have; you might be feeling isolated. That’s why it’s so important to make time for little things like having a virtual meet up with friends, start a Google hangout with your co-workers, or FaceTime with family members – simple activities like that can really boost your energy and make your working week easier and feeling less isolated.  Make sure you make time to Relax, Relate, and Release.

Start putting these tips into practice now to streamline your routine and increase your productivity while working from home.