I've been working from home for 3 years now - here are my 5 biggest survival tips for staying happy and productive
- I've been working from home for almost three years now, ever since I moved from New York City to Toronto, Canada, in July 2017.
- Working at home for extended periods of time is not easy, but it's the reality most of the world's population is looking at right now due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
- Having done the work-from-home thing for so long, I now recognize many of the pitfalls people are now experiencing for the first time - and want to offer up some advice so others don't make the same mistakes I did.
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Given the quick spread of the coronavirus, most people around the world are being told to stay home right now - and work remotely, if possible.
While many of my colleagues at Business Insider are still getting accustomed to working from home, I've actually been doing it for about two and a half years now - it'll be three in July.
In other words, I know what a lot of people are experiencing for the first time right now.
Working from home can be a challenge both mentally and physically. It's mental because it's about keeping yourself happy and focused while trying to ignore the distractions that come with living at home, like ordinary chores: keeping the place clean, doing dishes, and making food (on top of actual work-work).
But it's a physical challenge, too: Sitting for long periods of time can be stressful on your body, looking at screens for too long can give you headaches, and realizing that your home is now also your work office could make you feel claustrophobic sometimes.
I'm here to tell you that you can overcome these challenges - and you can be just as productive at home as you are at an office with all your coworkers around you. In some ways, the freedom of working from home can do wonders for your productivity.
But it's also important to avoid the pitfalls of working from home. This can include some incredibly basic things that a lot of people manage to simply neglect when they make the transition from a physical office to a life at home.