Conference keynote speaker Jan McInnis shares her tips on how to avoid the pitfalls of working at home full time. She points out that many people are choosing to continue to work at home even though their office is opeing back up. And while it was easy to not go anywhere during lockdown, you do not want to continue that trend now that you can travel. In order to force yourself to take a break, McInnis offcers these 3 tips.

McInnis quips that "there was a woman at my last day job who used walk up and down the office halls while talking loudly on the phone (she had a long phone cord). Boy was she annoying and boy do I miss her . . sometimes. There are advantages to aggravating co-workers or endless in-person meetings . . . they give us a break and sometimes make us look forward to ending the workday and going home. But if you work from home, you won't get disruptions like these, which means 8 a.m. can turn into 8 p.m. with you still at your desk, too tired to even watch your favorite murder show on TV."

McInnis offers up some ideas to ensure you take a break from work. These tips are from her over 25 years of working from home.  

1. Schedule personnel stuff during work. Do the laundry, drop the dog at the vet, or volunteer to be girl scout cookie chairwoman. ANYTHING to break up your day so that you HAVE to look at a clock or pay attention to an alarm. You'll still get in a great workday, even if it's a little less than 8 hours, because you're saving time by not chatting with your office mate or racing down to the kitchen when they announce free cookies. The more important your task is, the more you will be forced to stop working and do it.

2. Cut your daily "to do" list in half. We make huge lists because there's no one to stop us since we can work until midnight. Half a list means you may actually get the whole thing done which makes you feel great. But a large list plants you in your chair day and night, or worse, has you kicking items down the road to the next workday, which makes you feel like you are constantly behind the eight ball.

3. Make time for social media and get jealous! Getting jealous of what your friends and colleagues are doing is kind of the idea of social media right? Okay maybe not, but it seems that way sometimes, and that's a good thing. When I see what people from around the world are doing, it reminds me that there's life outside my home office, which reminds me to plan a trip or take a stretch break or do something besides sit at my desk. So get social and get jealous.

"Working from home is a wonderful thing! Just remember more is NOT better," cautions McInnis.