Are you working from home for the first time in your career? Afraid of how much having the kids at home will set you back from what needs to be done? Unsure of whether you can manage task after task with the temptations at home? If so, then you need a work from home kit in order to not only help yourself survive but thrive during this time.

It just takes a combination of diligence and consistency to succeed at working from home. Here are several tips on how you can successfully put together a work from home kit that will help you stay on top of your job.

1. Create a Setup

First things first: If you’re going to successfully transition from working at your office environment to working in your home, then you need to make it as close to the “normal” as possible. Start the transition by staking out an area of your house, preferably an office or spare room, to be your new work space for the foreseeable future.

Next, try to grab as much equipment as you possibly can and place it on a desk or table that you have in the room. Many companies are allowing their employees to take essential desk technology home with them to their house. Also, make sure that you have a comfy desk chair that you can stand to sit in for 6 to 8 hours each day.

Having as familiar a setup as possible will help you not to struggle on daily office tasks such as when you need to edit text in PDF file or fill out an invoice for a client.

2. Keep Consistent Hours

It will be weird for you to find a regimen that works for your at-home work routine at first. However, it’s vitally important that you keep close to the same hours each day. Consistency is key to success when you work from home. It helps you get into a rhythm and manages your expectations every single day.

However, you can also use this time to try and dial back the workload a bit to enjoy more of a work-life balance than you’re used to. Try to find a mixture that allows you to enjoy the freedom that you have, but not so much so that it deters you from your work.

For example, you might find that there’s a window in the afternoon where you aren’t receiving many emails. You can take that time to do read a book, play a video game, or any other hobby where you can stay close to your email just in case something occurs. Keeping a consistent schedule is especially important for those of you that have pets and children. They’ll adjust to whatever schedule that you give them.

3. Create a Snack Bowl

If you have kids, especially little ones, then you’ll find that a significant portion of your day is spent retrieving them food from the cabinet. You can become more efficient for your workload if you just find ways to cut out those brief stints of getting up every few minutes.

For that reason, it’s a good idea to provide a “snack bowl” or “snack box” for your kids when you work from home. Simply fill the bowl with a week’s worth of their favorite snacks, then lay some ground rules. Sit them all down and let them know that a) they have to ask before taking snacks from the bowl and b) once it’s out, it won’t get refilled until next week. The snack bowl will hopefully help the kids to ration out their snacks a bit more and buy you a bit more time to work.

4. Schedule Frequent Breaks

Don’t expect yourself to sit down for 6 to 8 hours at your home desk without getting up to take a break. You should provide yourself with as long of a lunch break as you’re used to when you work from the office. The trick is to try and stay as close to your routine as possible so that there are no setbacks when you move back to the office.

However, be sure to also give yourself time to take quick 10 to 15-minute breaks every hour and a half or two hours. You can use that time to use the bathroom, refill your water, grab a snack or anything else that you might need to recharge.

5. Prioritize Your Health

This at-home routine will be an adjustment for you whether you work out all the time or not at all. If your job has been getting in the way of your workout routine, then use this time to find at-home workouts you can do during your lunch break.

If you’re used to going to the gym for your workouts, then try to incorporate more body weight workouts and methods of cardio to keep that same intensity. You can also take advantage of this time to prioritize your diet by tracking your calorie intake, counting your steps, doing a certain amount of daily pushups, etc.

Build Your Work from Home Kit Today!

Now that you’ve seen several factors that go into making a successful work from home kit, it’s time to create one that will set the tone for your at-home routine. Remember that this adjustment will take time. It won’t happen overnight. Find a rhythm that works for you and stick with it until it’s time to return to the office. Be sure to browse our website for other articles that pertain to both your career and other helpful topics as well.