Working from home during the coronavirus pandemic may be getting hard for some. With family or roommates around constantly and not being able to get out and unwind, it’s tough on many of us. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been at this for a week or nearly two months, it may be time to refresh your work from home routine.

According to Kourtney Whitehead with Forbes, you can start by reclaiming your commute. While you never loved traffic jams or trying to find a spot on a train or bus, what you may miss is the commute. The time from home to work where you can shift from your morning routine into work mode.

You need to feel that separation between your morning routine and the start of your workday. That could be as simple as listening to the same music or audiobook you would on your commute while you get dressed. Kourtney suggests leaving something special to look forward to each morning like bringing back your favorite childhood cereal or a fancy coffee creamer. It also could be as easy as walking outside before logging into your computer.

Not sure what week it is anymore? We get it. To break up the monotony of working from home, try giving each week a self-care theme. As an example, Kourtney says one week might focus on fitness, while another on sleep. You can assign a week of humor where you watch your favorite comedy and send memes to your friends. The themes don’t matter “as long as they help you focus on building and maintaining your capacity to work in your new situation at home.”

In the Forbes article, Kourtney also suggests creating a sensory experience. Before working from home, we experienced different spaces, scents, sounds, etc. Now, these experiences are not available to us. Instead, you have to do that yourself.

The easiest way to do that during the workday Kourtney says is through music and scent. Picking a different genre playlist on Spotify can help change your mood each day. Adding a different scent with oils or candles can change your focus. Don’t have those around the house? Use food and drinks- take a second to smell your coffee or glass of wine, or enjoy the smell of dinner or dessert.

We hope you enjoy refreshing your workspace. Let us know what tips work for you.