Working from home is a blessing – if you have the right habits and tools in place to stay productive. When you work remotely, you can take snack breaks any time of day, you can listen to loud music, and you can even wear pajamas if you want to (though we don't recommend it). Conversely, working from home can be harder for extroverts, people with young kids, and anyone with a social media addiction. You also have to be extra disciplined about managing your time, because your manager won't be looking over your shoulder. To get you on the right track, we've shared how to work from home online with some practical tips and technologies to minimize the distance between you and your coworkers.
 

Set Up Your Home Office Space

First and foremost, having a dedicated home office is essential to productivity. If you're trying to work from bed, the couch, or a lawn chair outside, you will inevitably fail. Any place that encourages rest and relaxation isn't conducive to getting work done. Your work-from-home space needs to get you into a working state of mind. To that end, we recommend setting up a desk with an external monitor and an ergonomic desk chair. And if that's not feasible, you should at least be able to turn a kitchen table into an impromptu desk. Make it feel as professional and organized as possible, and you'll feel primed to get to work. 
 

Dress for Success

Learning how to work from home successfully is all about keeping your normal office routine in place, including your dress code. Of course, you can technically spend the day working in slippers, but you'll be selling yourself short. Generally, we suggest wearing comfortable pants and shoes every day while you're clocked in, because it'll get you in a productive headspace. We also recommend waking up around the same time every day and building as much routine into your work-from-home lifestyle as possible. Plus, you never know when a coworker will want to set up a last-minute video conference, and you don't want to be caught wearing pajamas. 
 

Take Enough Breaks

When everything in your house is a few steps away, there's a temptation to take too many breaks and not get work done. On the other hand, it's also easy to push yourself too hard and burn out if you're not careful. Learning how to work from home online is about knowing when it's time to take a 10 minute breather, unplug, and rest your eyes. Go take a walk, make some tea, and feel grateful that you're one of the lucky people who can do their job remotely. And if you're managing a team, make sure to encourage them to take breaks regularly as well. It'll help keep their spirits up. 
 

Set Boundaries

When work and home life are clearly separated, it creates a boundary in your day-to-day life that gives you time to rest and recharge. However, when you work from home, this isn't as clearly defined. So one of the best work from home tips is to set strong boundaries and value your productive time. For instance, investing in a Bluetooth speakerphone can be helpful to block out background noise if you're working in a loud household with kids running around. And with the YVC-330's SoundCap technology, you can eliminate noise within a 3-foot range and mute the microphone automatically when you're not speaking. Meanwhile, a work-from-home speakerphone like the YVC-200 is also a great option for a shared workspace where two partners are trying to be productive.  

At Yamaha UC, we're committed to making your WFH life as easy as possible. Click here to view a curated selection of our work-from-home products, as well as some useful tips to facilitate your remote lifestyle.