Let’s face it, 2020 has been a year of significant change.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals all over the world have had to make the decision to work from home.

While you might enjoy the routine of working from an office, 2020 has shown us that staying home to work isn’t as bad as we thought it would be!

In fact, there are plenty of benefits. When you work from home, there’s no need to worry about long commutes or showing up late to meetings… plus, you can wear sweatpants all day!

So, how do you navigate working from home while co-living with a roommate?

From Zoom meetings to business calls, it can be hard to stay focused and keep work private while living with another person.

Here are a few tips to help you work from home effectively while living with roommates!

Create a schedule

Creating structure is an absolutely crucial part of working from home efficiently when living with a roomi or roommates. Why? Because can be super easy to get distracted when sharing a space with another person! If your roommate is on a different schedule than you and spends their days watching Netflix on full volume while you’re trying to make a business call, things can get tricky.

In order to avoid schedule clashes with your roomi, try and map out your days during the week in terms of what time your meetings fall, or when you really need some quiet time to knuckle down. Let your roommate know when it’s okay to make noise in the kitchen and when you really need the apartment to be quiet. Creating a schedule for yourself will help you and your roommate structure your time more efficiently.

Be flexible, life happens!

Sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to, and that’s okay!

When working from home, there are a number of distractions that can arise compared to when working from an office. We can’t always control outside factors, so we need to be able to be flexible with our schedule and structure! Maybe there’s construction going on in your apartment, or your roommate is working out in the living room? if you can’t block out the noise and focus. why not head to your local coffee shop to complete your work instead of working from your apartment that day? Try and remember that life happens and issues can come up unexpectedly, and sometimes you just have to run with it!

Take a deep breath and try and remain relaxed and flexible.

Create a daily routine

Making a routine for yourself will help you feel more normal amongst these challenging times. Just because you’re working from home, it doesn’t mean that your professionalism has to go out of the window (the sweat pants can stay of course!). Make sure that you go to bed at the same time as you would normally, wake up early, and eat breakfast before you start your day.

It’s a great option to incorporate daily planner templates into your daily routine to plan your day effectively and maintain a structured schedule. Be sure to wear a professional work shirt in order to make you feel the part, and if you can, encourage your roomi to get into a work routine with you – it’ll make creating structure much easier!

Communicate with your roommate

As with any relationship, communication is key! Working from home is a huge life change for everyone, and it may take some time for you and your roommate to get used to your new routine. Be sure to communicate with your roomi about what you need from them in order to work efficiently and effectively. Your job depends on it! Set aside blocks of time when you need the apartment to be quiet and decide which area in your apartment will act as your office space, even if it is a corner in your bedroom. It’s important to separate your relaxing area from your work area.

Let your roommate know if something isn’t working for you, and make sure that they do the same with you! After all, you’re in this together!