COVID forced us to learn how to work from home, and overall we prefer spending at least some days with no commute... But it's not easy. To get things done, we're faced with three intimidating dragons that need vanquishing. Read on to meet each dragon and learn what strategies our Programming Knights use to conquer these crafty beasts.

Shaun - I keep a separate office space in the basement. I batch personal tasks separately from work tasks.

Nathan - Phone spam calls have gotten bad; I set my phone to only ring if it's someone on my Contacts list.

Jeff - My home office is at the top of the stairs, and I put a remote control colored light on the landing. Green means my family can knock on the door and interrupt. Red means they should pretend I'm not here and text me if they need to communicate.

Stephen - I had way more interruptions at the office with random people stopping by to discuss stuff like sports scores. I keep standard work hours and take 15 minutes after lunch for personal calls. I can do small personal interruptions if needed, but bigger tasks like repairing a toilet can be put off to non-work hours.

Nathan - If I am interrupted, I write down one sentence about exactly what I'm thinking about and doing before I switch my attention to the phone or person. When the interruption is done, I can read that sentence and jump right back to where I was mentally.

Mary - I have a separate computer account for work versus personal, so I don't see my personal emails while I'm working.

Trevor - I have a separate computer for work that I rarely use for personal stuff.

Shaun - I look at my list and don't think about the future; I get tunnel vision and just focus on doing the next thing.

Kat - I set an alarm a few minutes before each scheduled meeting so I can concentrate on the task at hand without feeling the need to check my calendar.

Nathan - As a manager I juggle IMs, emails, phone calls, virtual meetings, and then the stuff I'm supposed to actually get done myself. Having many tasks gets overwhelming, so several times a day I make notes about who needs to be notified and what next steps are, sorting my next 3-5 actions to the top. This allows me to mentally be at peace doing those next tasks without the back-of-mind worry that I'm letting something slip.

Craig - I've been trained to deal with a noisy environment, because in the past I had to work in the same room as a call center.

Dean - A change of scenery is sometimes helpful, but it depends on the type of work. For example, I don't like doing meetings from a coffee shop.

Nathan - If I'm putting off a task because it's not urgent or I'm having trouble getting started, I'll schedule a meeting with someone to work on it together. Then it's on the calendar so it's urgent, I have to focus on it to make the time valuable, and the work is improved because of having another person's perspective.

Kat - To help myself get started, I'll begin with an easy task.

Trevor - To get some physical variety, I use a tall desk with a stool and alternate between sitting and standing.

Nick - Dressing up like I'm going into the office helps me establish a productive mindset.

Stephen - When I think about financial goals, that's motivating to work.

Jeff - If I can't figure out a bug, I'll ask someone to look at it with me. Sometimes I discover the answer when I describe the problem.

Shaun - I work out regularly and take a walk mid-day; good personal health improves my work motivation.

Obviously your choice of weapons and armor are personal. Start with just one of the tips above, and try it out for a week. See how well it works for you. Remember that the goal is improvement, not perfection. Add other tips or variations as needed, and continue testing until you hit an optimum level.

May you be glorious and victorious in your fight for true work-from-home freedom!