Five Tips for Sharing an Apartment with Newly WFH Housemates

I adore writing at home, and the internet hosts enough articles about working from home (WFH) to give anyone the tools they need to solve their own WFH problems. But what if you were already working from home, and your newly quarantined housemate is so stir-crazy that they can’t read a single article? My spouse is stuck at home with me now, so here’s what I’ve done to accommodate my new coworker.

First, major disclaimers: We don’t have kids. You’d know better than me how these tactics might work with children involved. And if you're one of the essential few who cannot work from home, thank you. What you do is important, whether or not you're able to do it during a pandemic. Stay safe out there.

Make reminders of your goal more prominent than ever.

However you usually inspire yourself to sit down at your desk/instrument/easel/adjustable bed to do what you do, make it even more obvious to yourself now. Highlight due dates on your calendar, set reminders on your phone, print out inspiring quotes, whatever it takes. A new coworker, even one you love, is more distracting than you might expect, and you have dreams to realize.

Keep and communicate your schedule.

My spouse knows I write during the same hours every weekday and I use the Pomodoro method. Whatever he wants to interrupt me about is either an emergency or something that can wait 25 minutes. He knows this, so he chills out while I continue using the schedule that works for me.

Model healthy behavior.

I’m better at going to bed when I intend to than my spouse is. When I loudly announce, “I’m going to bed!” it reminds him to get enough sleep too. If you’re better about exercising, eating well, or some other healthy habit than your housemate, call their attention to it in a polite way to remind them that they’d feel better (and stay out of your hair more) if they continue their own healthy habits. This goes double for washing your hands.

Defend your alone time.

Even if it’s just a corner of a couch and some noise cancelling headphones, you need your space. It doesn’t mean you don’t like your housemate anymore! Feel free to gently remind them that it’s not about them or anything they did. You deserve time to yourself when you need it, and they do too. There is nothing wrong with that.

If your housemate is struggling, plan time to help them.

Because if they break down sobbing on the floor between your workspace and the kitchen where the caffeine is, how will you get anything done? Read the WFH articles and share applicable tips, set out their pill bottles so they take their meds, and patiently help them sort out a WFH arrangement which they feel comfortable with. Do not turn yourself into their personal assistant. Just guide them into their new WFH groove. Then you can get back to work.

As a reminder in these wild times, I have two new books out: Gravity of a Distant Sun, the final book in the Shieldrunner Pirates trilogy (which begins with Barbary Station); and Six Lost Souls, a novella set in the same universe. Enjoy!