After more than a year into the pandemic, the remote workforce still struggles to find a healthy work/life balance. After all, when you work in your personal space, instead of your usual professional environment, it’s only natural that the two clash. If you get up from your work desk to take a break, a family member might accost you to ask about dinner plans. A child might ask for help with homework. Or you might remember you forgot to put the dishes in the dishwasher.

Unless you have water tight boundaries, distractions can easily disrupt your productivity. Laundry needs to be done, the pooch needs a walk and the house cleaned. Maybe you want to see The View since you’re always at the office when it’s on, or there’s a good movie on Netflix you’ve been longing to watch. Your spouse keeps yelling questions from another room, causing you to keep loosing your train of thought. How do you walk the line?

10 Tips For Preventing Work/Home Clashes

Here are 10 ways to hold the line between work and home responsibilities so conflict doesn’t crumble your balance and impede your productivity:

1. Establish a designated work space. Confine your work to a specific area in your home so your job doesn’t intrude into the lives of other household members and you can concentrate. Have a space that you designate as your workstation instead of checking emails, voicemails or texting in front of TV or spreading work out on the kitchen table. Make your space a stress-free zone of quiet and solitude where you can focus. If you don’t have a separate room, find an area away from traffic flow or a corner of a room off from the main area.

2. Define your schedule and stick to it. Avoid sleeping in or lingering over breakfast, and get to work just as if you’re driving across town to your office, although you might be walking into the next room. Establish water-tight psychological boundaries so you’re not constantly reminded of temptations (there’s chocolate cake in the fridge) or unfinished personal tasks—such as doing laundry, vacuuming or organizing your spice rack—that otherwise could compromise your productivity. And complete these personal activities outside of work hours as you normally would.

3. Put limits on distracting sounds. Block the neighbor’s barking mutt, excess noise from household members or ambient traffic with noise cancelling devices such as head phones, white noise machines or ear buds. Studies show a delicate blend of soft music combined with soothing nature sounds—such as waterfalls, raindrops, a rushing brook or ocean waves—activates the calming part of your brain, helps you concentrate and lowers heart rate and blood pressure.

4. Set water-tight physical boundaries. After hours, keep your work space at arm’s length. Resist the temptation to check texts and emails after logging off at the end of the workday. Treat your designated work space as if it's five miles across town, and ask house members to consider it as such (e.g. no interruptions from another room when you’re engrossed in a project unless an emergency). If possible, only go to your designated space when you need to work. After a long workday, make it a practice to put away electronic devices and work tools just as you would store carpentry tools after building shelves or baking ingredients after making a cake. Putting work reminders out of sight keeps them out of mind and helps you relax and recharge your batteries.

5. Practice the acronym W.A.I.T. Since being at home 24/7 you might find yourself toiling overtime on the job long after you usually would have called it quits at the office. If overworking becomes a pattern, use the acronym, W.A.I.T. (Why Am I Toiling)? The answers could be that you’re avoiding facing the home chores that piled up while working. You might be putting yourself under pressure to finish a project. Or perhaps you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. Regardless of the reason, try to maintain the same hours you log in at the office, so you don’t get swallowed up by the workload.

6. Practice self-care. Many of us have forfeited our daily self-care routines during the pandemic restrictions. It’s important to keep them or put them back in place. A new study recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of extra light activity per day and five minutes of movement each hour throughout the day to mitigate Covid-19 restrictions and inactivity. Research also shows the value of what scientists call “Microbreaks” throughout the workday. After hours of sitting, short breaks—I recommend five minutes or less—are effective energy management strategies and can be as simple as stretching, walking up and down stairs, gazing out a window at nature, snacking, deep breathing, yoga or having a five minute mindful meditation.

7. Discourage personal intrusions. It’s important to let friends, family and neighbors know your work schedule to prevent intrusions into your work space. Although the location of your job has changed, it’s no different from any other profession requiring privacy and concentration. If you’re a teacher or doctor, friends don’t just pop in the office to chat, hang-out or interrupt your work. Interruptions and drop-ins can cause you to lose your focus, procrastinate or get behind on a deadline. Notify others the at-home work hours you’re unavailable, and let them know the after hours when you’re available to connect.

8. Employ your video communications. Make sure you have your company’s telecommuting devices—such as Zoom—hooked up and ready to go to stay connected with team members or office mates and you’re available for video calls and teleconferencing. If you feel lonely, consider setting up a support group of friends and colleagues who also work at home by satellite. Make plans to meet on a regular basis and share creative ways you’ve adjusted to the restrictions Use Facetime, Facebook or Skype with friends and family members so you feel connected to the people in your life that you care about.

9. Develop a “visibility strategy.” Studies show that employees and managers acknowledge keeping a visible team takes extra effort when going remote. As the workforce attempts to adjust to the pandemic and remote work, visibility isn’t always easy to maintain. Yet, visibility strategies—such as lending a helping hand to a co-worker, volunteering to go the extra mile or offer new ideas—are hugely important for career advancement. If you want to be seen and heard effectively, finding the right role that matches your personal set of skills and a visibility strategy that puts you in the spotlight is the ticket to keep your job on track and advance your career.

10. Avoid cabin fever. Now that you’re spending a disproportionate amount of time at home, get outside as much as possible with gardening or walking around the block. Mounting research has found spending a minimum of two hours a week in nature—parks, woodlands or beaches—clears a fatigued mind and promotes physical and mental health and well-being. It doesn’t matter how the 120 minutes are achieved. It can be done in one block or spread out over the entire week to get the benefit. It doesn’t matter what activity you’re involved in, either, as long as you’re outdoors: sailing, biking, kayaking, walking or tennis—or simply sitting. shows that spending time in nature lowers stress, helps you relax and clears your mind.

A Final Word On Balance

When it comes to work/life balance, your overarching ally is your perspective. It can victimize you or empower you. Tunnel vision can impede your tranquility, happiness and productivity. Instead of focusing on balance problems, keep the big picture where healthy solutions lie. When you look for the upside in a downside situation and figure out what you can control and what you can't, it’s easier to accept circumstances beyond your control. Your power lies in finding the opportunity in the difficulty during an uncontrollable situation instead of the difficulty in the opportunity.

Bryan Robinson Ph.D, is a psychotherapist who writes for Forbes. His latest book is #CHILL from William Morrow.

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