If you just started working remotely, you probably have some doubts about your new work from home setup. That’s completely understandable, especially if you are used to the office vibes, commuting, and packing your lunch for work every day. This remote work guide is intended to help you get started, not overwhelm you with all the things you should change, buy, or habits you need to adapt. For starters, you just need a reliable Wi-Fi connection, and everything else will fall into place eventually.
Remote work trends in 2026
We see people working from coffee shops, on the beach, and when visiting their friends in another country. The number of people working remotely reached 52% of the global workforce. That’s more than double the pre-pandemic level, when approximately 20% of employees globally worked remotely. This includes both working fully remote and working in a hybrid setup (which most seem to prefer).
The ability to work from home (or anywhere with a power adapter and internet) is now more than a perk, as many employees only accept jobs that offer it.
I won’t go into great detail about statistics (if you are interested, you can check it out here), but I find it fascinating how much our work preferences have changed in just a couple of years. One thing is sure: having the option to work from home is crucial when people are looking for a new job.
Where to start if you just switched to a WFH setup
Starting to work from home doesn’t require much of you. I know that you are wondering how to work remotely, and depending on your job, there are certain requirements: equipment, internet stability, and speed. Most employers ask for these. Others might require more privacy settings, but every employer will tell you that when you start.
I wrote a couple of tips for beginners to help you ease your transition from going to the office to staying at home. Grab your coffee or tea, and let’s start!
Choose a designated place
As I mentioned, this remote work guide will not focus on things you “need” to buy to work from home. It’s enough to think of a place in your home where you can work from. And no, I’m not talking about your bed. It is great that we can sit on our comfy beds and have a quick call, but working from your bed for a couple of hours straight is not ideal (your back will thank me later!).
This can be your dining table, if you don’t already own a work desk. You surely have some extra pillows lying around to use as support if your dining chair isn’t comfortable. It’s important to have one place where your work laptop goes, so you can associate it with work. This will help you have more focus and be more productive.
Remember, we are talking about the beginning, when you are just settling in, but in a couple of months, you should start browsing for a work desk, or at least a supporting work chair.
Set your working schedule
This depends on your job, as most companies have a set work schedule that you need to follow. But for those who have a more flexible schedule, this is very important, because you could easily lose the line between life and work.
If you have a set work schedule, you can also think about the hours before and after you finish work. Since you won’t be commuting anymore, you can set your own daily schedule around work, so you manage to create a good morning routine or an evening one. Or both!
When you have flexible working hours and you are working remotely, a set schedule might be useful in the beginning. It can help you get used to being more at home, prepping lunch on your break, or walking your dog mid-day instead of running to do it before you head for work. After you get used to it and see what works best for you, you can adopt a more flexible setting and start organizing your day differently.
Plan your day in advance
Another one of my tips for beginners is to plan your day. If you are not used to planning and organizing your days, don’t overthink it. It can be as simple as picking out an outfit for the next day (working in your pajamas sounds nice, I know, but trust me!), and planning what you’ll make for lunch.
If you are an avid planner, I’m pretty sure you already have a new system in place, and you’re ready to plan your day hourly. Just remember not to put too much on your plate, working from home doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have time for ten extra chores every day.
What are the benefits you can see immediately?
In my opinion, working from home has lots of benefits. I want to mention a few of them in this guide to working remotely, the ones you will notice as soon as you start:
Having more time when you stop commuting
You know how it is, having to wake up a few hours earlier, to make breakfast, get ready, and then commute to work. When you start working from home, you get that time back. Yes, you can sleep longer, but you can also use the time to make new habits stick. Build new routines, start reading in the morning, or even squeeze in a quick workout.
Fewer distractions make you more productive
When you’re at the office, there’s hardly ever any peace, let’s be honest. Yes, you can put on your headphones and assume that everyone will know not to disturb you, but that’s usually not the case. You want to grab a quick coffee, but then start chatting with a colleague who just came back from vacation, and before you know it, you’ve lost focus again.
Better focus
Research has shown that around 62% of people working remotely are more focused and productive at their homes. This is closely related to the benefit mentioned before, having fewer distractions, but also feeling more comfortable in this kind of setup.
Become familiar with potential challenges
Working from home comes with a few challenges, too. For example, you might not have a separate home office yet, or there’s no room for one. In that case, “having fewer distractions” might not be the case for you if your family or pets interrupt you constantly.
If this is your first job working from home, you might feel isolated or miss chatting with your coworkers in the morning. It can also be hard to separate your personal life and work, especially when you have a flexible schedule.
You should take all of this into consideration when deciding if this remote work is right for you.
Useful tools to help you organize
There are a lot of great tools you can use for free, and find the one that is right for you. Let me recommend a few I like to switch between:
- Google Calendar – great if you are a work from home beginner. Use it to add time blocks and have a visual representation of your day.
- Trello / Asana / Airtable – all of them offer free versions, but these are more complicated to use. I would say Trello is the easiest one to use if you are a beginner.
- Printable templates – I offer a ton of free printables you can use to organize your days, weeks, or months.
FAQ
Here are some questions you might have:
It can increase your productivity, but you also have to consider other factors like possible interruptions from your family, pets, and even noisy neighbours.
Start by organizing your day according to your work schedule. You can use a calendar to add time blocks, or a paper planner to list all your chores.
Make sure you include hobbies, some form of exercise, and meal prep so you have a healthy meal ready for a busy day.
Get a stable internet connection, designate a place to call “your office”, and let family know about your work schedule to reduce distractions throughout the day.
Conclusion
I hope this remote work guide gave you a glimpse into the benefits and struggles of working from home. If you have the option, I suggest trying to work from home for a day or two before going fully remote. And if you decide to do it, here are more useful tips to read!
Let me know if you have any other great productivity tools (or books!) to recommend. I always appreciate a good recommendation!
