With remote work on the rise, here are a few ways you can stay focused and productive at home.

Companies have made the health and safety of their employees a top priority with the COVID-19 pandemic. While we all monitor the short- and long-term effects, we are also focused on the ability to serve our customers.

As the world embraces the new norm of working from home, it’s important to stay productive and engaged in the move to a remote work model. Here are a few ways you can maintain a routine and stay productive while you work from home.

1. Follow your usual morning routine.

With no daily commute, it’s tempting to use that extra time to sleep in. But you may actually decrease productivity. Instead of getting an extra hour of sleep, it’s best to wake up at the same time you would if you were commuting to work.

One of the best tips for working remotely is to follow your daily morning routine as if nothing were different: Get out of bed, eat a healthy breakfast and get yourself ready as if you were going to leave the house. Sticking to a routine will give you more energy and help you stay productive as the days pass.

2. Make sure you have a designated workspace with little distractions.

To maintain a routine and increase productivity, it’s helpful to allocate a specific area in your home as your designated workspace. While there may be a lot going on with kids at home who are also adjusting to remote learning arrangements, it’s best to choose a quiet, clutter-free area with limited distractions. Do your best to replicate your work location office set up.

3. Create a to-do list to keep yourself on task.

Creating a to-do list starting with priority tasks can help you stay organized even if you feel like you have a million things going on. Keep track of what actions you need to take to complete your to-dos and most importantly, hold yourself accountable. It can even be helpful to set daily, weekly or monthly goals, so you have other objectives to work toward, ensuring that you stay productive.

4. Maintain strong communication with your team.

Just because you’re no longer a few desks away from your teammates doesn’t mean all communication should be lost. It’s not only important to stick together on business as usual projects, but you should also make it a point to be there for general support. Don’t be afraid to communicate — the more communication there is among a team, the more connected everyone will feel despite not being physically together.

Leaders should make it a priority to organize multiple touchpoints with their team throughout the week. Video conferencing tools, such as Cisco Webex and Google Hangouts Meet, make it easier than ever to stay in touch and hold productive virtual meetings. Keeping contact with each other and sharing how you’re coping with your new productive work-from-home arrangements will help everyone feel supported while making up for the lack of constant presence that comes from being out of the office.

During these unprecedented times, Verizon is taking the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our customers and employees. Visit our COVID-19 resource page to learn more about how we’re taking action.