Before working from home became a public health mandate in the late winter of 2020, remote work was on the upswing. A 2019 survey of 2,500 remote workers found high satisfaction, with 99% of respondents preferring to have the option of remote work throughout their careers and 95% of respondents saying they recommend remote work to others. Companies are increasingly taking notice of the potential for mutual benefit, with evidence emerging that allowing flexibility in workplace arrangements reduces turnover and improves productivity.

Of course, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, these metrics may be of diminished relevance. The ideal of an individual making the choice to work remotely has been upended, as has the notion of quiet workdays in a home office. Children and teens have been displaced from school. Workers must adjust to a changed pace and new modes of communication. Outside of work, stress is elevated as routines are interrupted and worldwide news remains a focus.

The good news is that we’re all in this together. Being aware of your personality, including the strengths it brings to the current workplace climate, can be empowering. Keeping that in mind, here are some tips for working from home amid partners, roommates, and children.

Be vocal.

At this point, it’s clear that shelter-in-place lifestyles and distributed workforces are not a brief moment in time. If something about your at-home workday isn’t working well for you, don’t try to be a trooper and wait this out. Get ahead of your situation and discuss expectations with your colleagues and supervisor. If the old practice of conducting lengthy morning meetings has now become difficult, for example, discuss alternatives. Better to explore creative workarounds than to chronically underperform -- which is itself a risk to mental health.

"I've adapted the mentality of ‘protecting my time’ right now. This means saying no to some meetings or offering a different time that works for me, blocking time in my calendar to get tasks done without interruptions, and structuring my day in a way that helps me be most productive. It's taken some iterations, but I feel like I've finally gotten into a groove."

Lynn Morton, VP of Marketing at Traitify

Structure “me time” into your weekly schedule.

Many have lost the spaces they once experienced as comfort zones -- the solitude of a morning commute, the familiarity of a workspace in an office, or the privacy of time alone at home. Seek ways to restore some “me time” into your weekly routine. Work behind closed doors for some of your day, or take the laptop outside to the patio or balcony if you can. Go for a drive or a solo walk during your lunch break. Let the people in your household know that you’re in a personal “Do Not Disturb” mode, and add this time to your work calendar so meetings don’t conflict. Spend the time being yourself. The goal of “me time” doesn’t need to be self-improvement; it’s self-preservation.

“As exercise and outdoors tends to help my mental state the most, I am carving out time each day to run, hike, or bike. And if I have the time to get out of my immediate neighborhood and into the woods, all the better! I simply block that time on the calendar with both my colleagues and my family in order to make sure it happens.”

Chris Heine, Chief Operating Officer at Traitify

For homeschool: think short deep dives.

You’re likely to get more value out of short, focused time than a drip-drip-drip approach throughout the day. Schedule in one or two dedicated spans of time each day in which your sole focus will be acting as an educator for your children. These don’t have to be extensive -- even a single 30-45 minute session can make a difference. Think face-to-face interaction, with your work laptop closed. The goal is to engage your child, give them (and you) positive feelings about their schooling, and “fill up” their reserves to make the rest of the day easier. Don’t forget too that young children are accustomed to two or more recess periods a day. Nonprofit advocacy organization Action for Healthy Kids has resources for getting kids up and moving.

“We have implemented a homeschool schedule that allows for schoolwork while I am not on calls/meetings so that I am available when my daughter has questions or needs help. When I’m on work meetings, she chooses an activity like puzzles, art, or tablet time. At lunchtime we go outside for an hour, weather permitting, and then back outside again at the end of the day for another hour before dinner time.”

Andrea Donellan, Customer Success Manager at Traitify

Build new rituals.

The old weekday routines of both adults and children don’t map well to our new daily realities. That can leave everyone feeling disoriented, without the usual anchors. As Harvard Business School professor Mike Norton explained, “We feel out of control when we experience loss – we didn’t want it to happen, but we couldn’t control it. That is, in and of itself, a very unpleasant feeling, that sense that you’re not in charge of your life. Rituals restore some of that control.”

Think about additions you can make to your stay-at-home day. Maybe you’d like to create a predictable morning routine, with a set wakeup time followed by a visit to a favorite website, a check of the weather, and a check-in text with a friend. A ritual can be quite simple: dig out an old pair of slippers and put those on every day as you begin work. Or spend 10 minutes of every hour working while standing. Have an afternoon snack. End every Tuesday with a favorite podcast. Add a Friday online social hour to your work calendar. And don’t forget: help children and teens establish their own rituals, as well. Whatever rituals you choose, make them ones that are easy to implement and true to yourselves. You’re not trying to change bad habits. You’re making an effort to add comforting predictability to your daily lives in the midst of uncertain times.

“Since my wife and I both worked from home before the virus hit, we really valued our time ‘away from the office’, and had a solid routine that included going to the gym together on certain days, having dinner and a movie out every Thursday, and using the weekends to visit family nearby. We’ve stayed sane by keeping these alive as best we can. We work out at home, order takeout on “Date Night” to support local businesses, and then use the weekends to meet up in an empty parking lot (spread out, of course) to do a ‘sanitized’ puzzle swap with our family.”

Scott Tremper, Creative Director at Traitify

One size does not fit all

Most importantly, recognize that there’s no one “right” way to get through this pandemic. Remember too that human beings are adaptable overall. As time goes by, you may find yourself and those near you acclimating to the temporary normal. We’re in an unusual era in which we don’t have the ability to look forward with as much certainty as we’re accustomed to. Instead of visualizing family and career plans for months at a time, think about simply nailing Wednesday morning instead. It’s an era of Wednesday mornings. By shifting focus and expectations, we can make it through and be ready for a return to more even-keeled times ahead.

If you’d like to learn about your personality and how its strengths can benefit your work, check out our five-part series.