When working from home during COVID-19, it's important to create clear boundaries - both socially, and between your work and home life, writes CityMag and InDaily reporter Angela Skujins.

SPECIAL REPORT: COVID-19 ADELAIDE

Working from home is comfortable: you can wear whatever you want from the neck down, eat whatever you want and listen to whatever music you want, all without being judged.

But what I’ve found to be most challenging is being comfortable.

After a week of working from home, I miss my colleagues and the buzz of the newsroom. The adrenaline of people shouting at deadline, asking why there are typos in headlines, or whether we need to switch a main story – it almost makes you work 100 times faster. It also makes it more real.

To alleviate some of the challenges, setting personal deadlines and goals in my diary has helped, as well as scheduled breaks. I’ve also been going for hour-long walks every morning and listen to the ABC to get my news fix. I wake up at the same time I usually would if I was coming into the office, too, which helps maintain normalcy.

I make sure I listen to community radio throughout the day — the live voices keep me company — but put on fun mixes (big emphasis on not listening to emo if you, like me, may be feeling a bit emo right now).

I found this mix from New York studio Beats in Space particularly joyful.

A portrait of the journalist in-situ

However, the biggest hurdle is that I’m often working late into the evening, as I don’t want to be pulled away from my work. Figuring out how to seperate home time and work time is challenging, but these are challenging times.

To try and fix this I’ve bought a yoga mat and a badminton set, so I’m treating myself with ample exercise, sweat and gritted teeth when I finish work for the day. Also no news!

I’ve been quarantining myself from my mum because she’s 50+ and lives with my Greek grandparents who I love more than anything. But this pot plant she gifted me, and the icon my Yiayia and Pappou gave me for protection when I started a new job, reminds me why it’s important to work from home right now.