People are surprised by how much I actually work from home. Yes, I am a fitness instructor who trains and teaches in person. But I am also a coach and a content creator. This means I have emails to send, meetings to attend, and classes to plan.

I know many of us are experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety at this time of change. There is a global emergency and most of us are feeling confused about how we can help. If you're able to work from home, that is one way you can absolutely help.

Working from home can be intimidating for a lot of people, especially when you don’t feel prepared. Here are some inexpensive ways to make working from home work for you!

5 FREE Tips to Make Working from Home Easier

Respect your schedule

When I plan to work from home, I treat it like working from home as an actual job...because it is. You cannot just clock in and clock out at any time, you have to be at work. This means, getting to “work” by a certain time, taking a lunch break, and “clocking out” at a certain time. Yes, somedays I am inspired to work into the night and other days I can only work for about 12 minutes before I wanna quit. That is going to happen to everyone. The important thing is just having a plan of action for your week and not letting your laundry and dishes come before your work!

Clean Your Space

I live in a small apartment and my desk is in my bedroom. It can feel like it is impossible to keep this stuff separate. Take all the extra stuff down. Put it somewhere else...even if that means at the foot of your bed. Things I suggest you leave on your desk: planner, pen and paper, a glass of water, and maybe your diffuser. Keeping this space open and lovely will help you stay inspired.

Feed Yourself

When you stay home all day, you think it would be easy to eat all day long. That is the exact opposite experience I have noticed. You will end up grabbing a handful of almonds, refilling your coffee, eating a piece of fruit and then...it’s dinner! I suggest you plan your meals out and actually eat them. You will be able to sustain your work longer if you are well fed.

Forego distractions

I am a huge fan of tv, podcasts, and Spotify. At my office job, I used to listen to podcasts and audible books ALL DAY LONG. At home, it is not so easy. I can easily get sucked into watching The Office (again) or into some dramatic dating experiment on Netflix...you know what I’m sayin? One thing leads to another and I am nose deep in twitter memes and conversations about who said what on a show that makes me absolutely NO MONEY. Again, I would like to mention that chores are not work. We have all been conditioned to keep these super clean houses and I get it. But skipping out on work to fold clothes is going to get old AND expensive fast.

Build your Network

Being an entrepreneur is always a wild ride but when you add in working from home, it can get rather lonely. Sometimes, you have ideas and deadlines that you just wish you could flesh out with a coworker...but you don’t have any. This is where building a network can help. I have a weekly meeting with another friend who is a freelancer. We read each other to-do lists, ask each other about payments and resources, and just generally outline our goals. It is always so great to get off of a video chat or a call and feel like you have direction