The Office
For many, this is not a practical solution; however, finding a dedicated space can be a big help.
One more thing, you need a good office chair. Using the dining room chair is not going to be comfortable when sitting in it for hours at a time.
Monitors
In addition to improving the process of moving and viewing data, multiple monitors provide a screen to keep open the office chat program. The separate monitor makes it easy to stay in touch with co-workers. Glancing at the chat screen and a quick response keeps office communications flowing.
Collaboration Platform
For us, this has been a great addition to our workflow. Simply ping someone in a chat and meet anytime quickly. Microsoft Teams collaboration platform can extend to people in organizations outside of your own. Recently, while working with another firm on a joint project, we used Teams to meet, collaborate, and share files. The collaboration was all done with the security of Teams allowing the outside organization access only to the project.
When meeting with people, video can make a considerable improvement in communication. Invest in a good quality webcam or use the one on your laptop or phone. To make it easier for others on the call with you, try to book meetings when the house is less active.
Most online meeting services today allow custom backgrounds. These backgrounds are a great option if you can’t set up a clean physical backdrop.