At the beginning of the Covid-19 virus crisis many women found themselves suddenly working from home. Employers want to keep their employees safe by distancing them from someone who may be infected with this virus. For many women working from home is a dream come true. They don’t have to fight traffic or dress for work. For others, though, being stuck at home is very stressful. They work better when they are in the company of others and leave their residence for work.Some of the things that make working from home stressful are lack of structure, lack of focus, setting boundaries and making a schedule. There are ways to make this new normal more pleasant until your office opens again

Set Up Your Work-Space Pick a spot in your residence to designate as your work spot. You could choose a room in your house for your work- space or designate a portion of a room as your work zone only. This will help you create mental space from your home and work. Make this space comfortable by adding personal touches. This could be a picture of your pet or child, your favorite coffee mug or even a plant.

Use Time at Home to Your Advantage Working at home you can play around with your schedule a little bit. Not having a commute allows you to use what was your driving time to shift your work hours a bit. If you are an early bird use the time you would normally be on the road to start your day. If you like to sleep late use that time that would be your evening commute to finish up your day. Do not use this time to just get up and get to work while you are in bed. Set your work hours and use your designated work-space to so you are not thrown off by the separation of work and home. Also, at the end of the day write out what you want to accomplish the following day. This will help you focus on what you are doing instead of spending time figuring out what needs to be done.

Stay Connected Working from home can be stressful because we feel disconnected from our coworkers. If you live in an area where you are sheltering in place the isolation can raise your anxiety levels tremendously. You don’t have to schedule a meeting in order to speak with the other members of your team. Create a Zoom event to check in with everyone or message a coworker to say hi. If you are not sheltering in place leave your residence for a few minutes to pick up a coffee on your break. Interacting with the associates at the coffee shop will also help you stay connected to the world.

Take Care of Yourself The most important thing to combat stress and anxiety when working from home is taking care of yourself. Use your break time to meditate and make something to eat or drink that will nourish your body. Stretch to combat a stiff and sore back that comes from sitting all day.