By Chetrice Mosley-Romero

So, you're working from home until 2021. What now? How do you manage to work from home and managing distance learning with the kids? As working from home long term becomes more of a reality for Hoosiers, it's important to make sure you have all the tools you need to be successful, as well as safe and secure, during these unprecedented times.

First, it's important to maintain a solid schedule throughout the workday to keep yourself on track. Making a schedule and keeping to it will help to make it easier to work in an environment you'd prefer to relax in (come on, we'd all prefer to relax at home than work). Keeping to a schedule will help you be more productive and create an environment that is more conducive to work. And, if you can, finding a specific place in your residence, whether it's the kitchen table, guest room, or a designated home office to work from every day will make every morning seems "normal". It will also help you seem like you are "going to work" rather than just working at home.

Another way to make working from home long term a little easier to put in place cyber protections. Protecting your work information from cyberattacks will make it easier to protect you and your company's files and resources. Creating strong passwords and updating them frequently will provide greater protection against attempts to access your work, as well as your personal email and social media accounts.

Making sure your personal and work laptops are equipped with anti-virus and anti-malware programs is an easy and effective way to protect your information and your hard work from cyberattacks. Most new laptops come with some sort of anti-virus software already installed, but it's important to be sure to check that it is updated and actively working. Many employers require their employees to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when working in databases, but if your employer doesn't, it's a good idea to purchase a VPN in order to maintain a greater level of privacy when working on important documents. Keeping yourself and your work safe from cyberattacks will make working from home a little less stressful, and you won't have to worry about losing any of your hard work.

Many people working from home these days are working alongside their children while they work on their remote learning. As families have taken on the new responsibility of managing, along with teachers, the education of their children, it can distract from working from home. It's important to set boundaries within your family of when it's time to work and when it's time to play and it's a good idea to create a functional schedule for the day; it will help increase both your productivity and your happiness.

The main piece of advice for working from home is to have a plan and go with the flow. Current health situations are changing every day, and it's important to be flexible and work with your employer and your children's school to stay current on the latest protocols and concerns. Working from home might not be ideal, but it's part of our "new normal".