Working  from home for some people can be a challenge though. The feeling of isolation and the presence of distractions can lower our productivity, which can eventually be as stressful as actually going to the office. Staying focused on the job and staying mentally healthy requires some deliberate mindfulness and a little extra effort.

Begin  with designating a space that you can associate with your work and leave when you’re done for the day. This is a great way to define your work routine. For obvious reasons, your home office should definitely be away from your couch AND your bed. Dedicate as space where you can shut out distractions and work efficiently. If you don’t have the option using an enclosed space to be your home office, you can let people you live with or potential delivery personnel know not to disturb you at designated times during the day.

Structure  definitely helps. It is the abstract version of physical space. When you are used to heading out the door and to your workplace, you know that your day will be largely shaped by other people. You have meetings internal and external, sites to visit, deadlines to meet, calls to make and so on and so forth. When you’re working from home, you’ll notice there’s much fewer outside elements defining your day. Except for some conference calls and deadlines, there’s not many meetings, and other people interrupting you for something they need you to do. Without these usual structures, it may be more difficult to stay on task and be productive. To avoid falling into this trap, create a structured daily schedule to help move you along from one task to another. Include frequent breaks to help your mind reset and refresh.

How  you connect with your team, clients and suppliers is also an important factor in maintaining a healthy and productive work from home lifestyle. Going beyond texting and emailing is a step in the right direction. Know that there are many communication platforms that help replicate the in-person office experience and help make communication clearer. There are screen sharing apps like Sharepoint, Google Drive, Drop Box and OneDrive that help you collaborate by allowing you and your team to view and work on the the same documents and screens at the same time while you toss ideas around and edit together. Video conferencing platforms like Slack, Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Skype Business, BlueJeans Meeting, Microsoft Teams, Zoho Meeting, Google Hangouts Meet are excellent at bringing people and teams face to face.

Working  remotely doesn’t mean that your connection has to suffer. Some managers treat their teams to lunch once a week. The same pizza is ordered for delivery to everyone at the same time during the meeting to help maintain relationships among colleagues, managers and direct reports. Managers should also encourage all their employees to share their opinions and concerns about certain projects so they feel included and not dismissed. It helps bond and create that feeling of being and working together in the same room.

Lastly,  do the buddy system. The usual challenges at work combined with the indefinite and possibly prolonged work from home situation can make anyone feel isolated, lonely and anxious. Having a buddy that’s in the same situation as you can help release some of that tension and anxiety. Make time to call and unwind after you’ve clocked out or during self-imposed breaks. As the saying goes it’s a marathon not a sprint. It’s therefore essential that you not only maintain your team bonding, but its also crucial that you take good care of your mental well-being.

Without  the certainty of knowing what exactly lies ahead, it’s possible that some things won’t go back to exactly how it was when we last left it. We probably won’t be able to go back to the way we used to do things. We will have to create new processes. This is the future of work and we will need to create a new normal that works.