Companies all over the world and in Nigeria are rolling out mandatory work-from-home policies amidst the coronavirus covid-19 pandemic.

While some people can’t wait for it all to be over so they can resume their ‘normal’ life, it is safer and more realistic to assume a lot of the changes effected by this pandemic are here to stay; working from home being one of them.

If you’re working from home for the first time, you need to figure out how to stay productive in a totally different environment. Until now, your home is associated with meals, rest, sleep and fun, but not work. That is now changing. How then do you ensure you still get enough work done at home?

People always assume working from home would be fun – until electricity fails or a neighbor engages in some loud repair works. There are many things that can go wrong – thereby distracting you and reducing your productivity – when you opt to work from home.

The greatest challenge you’ll face however is not the noisy neighbor or the lack of electricity (since you can improvise for such). It’s yourself. It’s quite easy for you to become your own worst enemy when you work from home. Since you’re not surrounded by your colleagues, you’re likely to relieve yourself of some inhibitions. Since no one is watching you, you won’t necessarily feel that same pressure or communal obligation that drives you to get stuff done.