To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.Erica KasperCovid-19 made Remote work a reality for a lot of people, but for me, it was business as usual. I haven’t worked in a physical office in a long time. In fact, for several years, I’ve worked from anywhere but a physical office. Across three continents and a few employers (including myself), I’ve dragged my workplace with me, and along the way I’ve managed to stay on top of things despite the many distractions that have popped up to challenge my productivity. Here are just a few things I do to stay organized and make remote work a workable option for me.There’s an old saying that beds should be used for just two things. Work is not one of those things. Your sleeping space should be a sanctuary, a place of relaxing and unwinding, and if you’re spending your days propped up against pillows with your laptop, you’re not relaxing. In fact, you’re teaching yourself that the bed is a busy and possibly stressful space.Instead, designate a work area that is entirely separate. It doesn’t have to be a whole office or even a desk. When I first worked from home, I would often sit on my couch or floor and work from the coffee table. I don’t necessarily recommend that—it didn’t do great things for my back—but it maintained the needed distance between my bed and my business space. That distance kept me focused on my work, and at the end of the day, when I crawled under the covers of my bed, it was much easier to leave those work thoughts behind.If you want to go a step further, do what a friend of mine does when he works from home: He wakes up at the same time every day, takes a shower, and then dresses in business casual clothes before sitting down at his computer. He says the process of getting dressed in work-type clothes, rather than rolling out of bed and going to work in his pajamas, helps him maintain a hard barrier between his job and home life. He is entirely focused on work when he’s in “work mode,” and he stays productive all day.One big complaint many people have about remote work is the isolation. Some people miss socializing at the office, talking across desks to coworkers, even having break-room birthday parties. I’m a raging introvert and don’t miss any of that, but I understand the lack of connection. Feeling isolated can mean feeling scattered, unproductive, and unorganized. To remedy this, take advantage of the apps your workplace provides for connectivity.When I worked in a corporate setting, we used Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, GoTo Meeting, and other tools for text chat, group calls, and video conferencing. (I cringed every time we had a “cameras on” meeting, but that’s just me.) While working for myself, I leaned heavily on Discord for connecting with people all over the world. It was comforting to know I could reach out to different people at different times for help, advice, or even a casual check-in.Need a file for a task? Want feedback on something you’re working on? Confused about whether a project is still on track? Messaging tools are key. Being remote doesn’t have to mean being isolated. When we work to maintain connection across platforms, we communicate better, stay more organized and on task, and feel a lot less alone. You can even have break-room birthday parties, as long as you don’t mind getting your own cake for the occasion. Besides, if you really miss being around other people all doing their own business, you could always head to a library or coffee shop.I’m a compulsive list-maker by nature, so this one is easy for me, but speaking to other remote workers, this seems to be a key element of their organization, too. One of the hardest things to do while working remotely is staying on top of your tasks. Not everyone is great at keeping track of their own workload, and with no manager on site, it might be a challenge not to let anything fall through the cracks. To that end, maintain ongoing lists of tasks and prioritize them as needed.When I say lists, I mean any format that works for you. In my case, I have a notebook with a master to-do list, color-coded Post-It notes with smaller lists of more immediate tasks, a Notes app on my phone that catches the things I might otherwise forget, and a master calendar on my computer for all deadlines. I also keep a spreadsheet of past tasks and completion dates so I can go back later and see where various projects stand. You may prefer to use Trello or a similar app for organizing tasks. I’ve had some success with those as well. Use what feels best to you, or what your workplace recommends for ease across the company.Amanda HooverAngela WatercutterMax G. LevyWill BedingfieldEven more important than how you make your lists is how you prioritize them. A single list of a thousand tasks can be confusing and daunting. Instead, use colors or numbers to indicate which projects must be done first. Add things to your calendar not just by when they’re due, but also by when a reasonable starting point would be so that big tasks don’t sneak up on you. Sort tasks by category and prioritize those categories depending on what’s pressing on any given day.Most of all, communicate with your team to ensure that the right tasks are on top of your list. In one of my past corporate roles, I kept a shared list of tasks where my manager could see it, and each time she assigned me a new project, I asked her to help me place it on my list according to priority. That way, I knew how much weight to give each part of my workload, while she had a clear view of everything on my plate. Open communication about the importance of various tasks is vital for staying organized with your lists.If your manager says “everything is vital,” that’s a red flag.Working remotely can mean working in airports, kitchens, parks, or even cars. I have worked in all of those places and more, and it’s not always easy on the hardware to set up shop in random spots. I’ve had more than one laptop give up on me after putting it through its paces, so I can’t recommend enough that you back up your files regularly.Back them up to the cloud, back them up to an external hard drive, back them up anywhere you can. There’s nothing quite like lost or corrupted files when it comes to ruining a perfectly good remote work situation. Backups also mean you can access your files from anywhere at any time, which is ideal for staying organized no matter where you are or what computer you’re using.For additional clarity and organization, use a consistent naming convention for your files. In my case, I make sure the names I use are clear and include a date in the filename. This format is a great way to keep your file lists clean, organized, and very easy to navigate. When I’m working on a graphic that’s been through multiple versions, for example, it helps to look at a list of filenames that say “XYZGraphic09072023,” or “ABCLogoSummer2022,” and know exactly which is which. It definitely beats the traditional “ABCLogofinalfinalFINAL” format we’re all so familiar with.Make the flexibility of working remotely work for you by keeping everything you need in multiple places and by using a file-name convention that keeps your files clear and organized. You never know when you might need to pull a particular file in a hurry while you’re sitting in an airport waiting area.For many of us, remote work means having some flexibility in our hours. If that’s the case for you, use that flexibility to maximize your productivity and organization. Are you the sort of person who does their best work before 7 am? Are you a night owl who barely stirs before noon? Whatever your most alert and productive time of day is, use that. Set yourself a schedule that’s compatible with your workplace’s flexibility and stick to it so you can be on your game when you’re working.The flip side of this is acknowledging when you’re not at your best and taking breaks accordingly. When you work remotely, it can be tempting to be “on” all the time. After all, you live and work in the same space, so your tasks are right there, beckoning you at all hours. There’s no clocking in or out for the 9-to-5 grind, and no one is standing over you to tell you to stop working at the end of a shift. You don’t need me to tell you that work-life balance is key and that overwork is bad for everything from your health to your productivity, but I'm also familiar with that siren song of “maybe another hour of work and then I’ll walk away.” Just because you can work at all hours doesn’t mean you should.Just as there are times of day when you’re at your best, there are also times when you are probably not very useful. Maybe you’re too tired to focus, maybe your brain is just fried, but whatever the case, tasks will take longer and quality will decline. To make the most of working remotely and staying productive and organized along the way, be sure you’re using your time the most efficiently and effectively you can, and take breaks when you need them.No one is a machine—not even those of us who work from our couches.WIRED has teamed up with Jobbio to create WIRED Hired, a dedicated career marketplace for WIRED readers. 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