Working from home with your partner for the first time? Here's what you need to know

Or maybe you've just realised - after overhearing many conference calls - that your partner is the one who says "let's circle back round to this"? Or maybe they're the "one more question" person at the end of meetings?

Jokes aside, as social distancing sees more couples working together from home for the first time, there's a chance that you have seen a whole new side of your partner.

And with this comes extra hurdles in your relationship.

So what exactly do we need to do to adapt to the new (and temporary) normal?

We asked Relationships Australia director clinical governance for Canberra and region Bernadette Carroll for her top tips.

But before diving right in, it is important to note that these tips are for a healthy couple, without any preexisting issues between them. With that in mind, here is what Carroll has to say.

One of the things that come to mind is balancing time alone with time together. Partners will generally know each other the best and someone might need more time to themselves than others and it's important that they communicate their needs.

Try and set boundaries around your work times and your time together as a couple, just like you would if you were going to work. Whatever routines you had to switch off from work and come home and be with each other, think about what those rituals might have been.

It will be different for everybody but try and schedule your work time and your switch-off time. Depending on where you set up - hopefully, you have an office or something you can close the door and leave your computer, but if it's an all inclosed space it's a bit more difficult - but in your mental and emotional state, have that separation.

Don't forget to have fun and be creative around whether you play some games or watch movies together and talk about the movies. Really check in how the other is going and what they need.

I imagine cabin fever will sort of come in a little bit if they're forced to be quarantined together. If they're just working from home then they have things that they are both occupied with. That will automatically create a bit of balance.

All of our advice is telling us to keep our distance and certainly respect all of that safety advice. But if neither person is at risk of the virus and they're not showing any symptoms, I would say it's not the time to withhold hugs.

We know affectionate touch actually increases our immune systems. It's a crucial element of our lives so don't put yourself in danger or compromise safety but try and live your life as normally as you can in these very abnormal circumstances.

Have joint agreements about how much of the news you want to take on board to inform yourself but then try to switch off.

It can be tempting sometimes to just tune in case you're going to miss something but those messages will be repeated and you will have the latest information and there's no fear of switching off from that from time to time.

In a couple, one might be a more anxious kind of type than the other. Hopefully, as a couple, you'll be able to be mindful about self-soothing in terms of yourself and help reduce your anxiety. As a couple, you might be able to support each other in keeping a reality check and not get too involved in the worst-case scenario and projecting too far into the future.

There are at least two pieces to this. One is managing the anxiety of your children during this crisis and how we as adults hold that information and react to that information, directly impacts our children.

The other part of it is, with the children suddenly at home and depending on how the house is set up, that is quite unusual for some families. So again, thinking about what you can do to keep things as normal as possible.

We often don't get enough time with our children and there's a real opportunity to check in with them. Have games, be creative with having some fun but also give everyone space to chill out on their own or self regulate at that time as well.

In terms of helping them with the anxiety, if you speak to them about the coronavirus, do it in a calm manner. Ask them what they already know - it can clarify some misunderstandings and letting them know that it's normal to experience some stress and anxiety.

Give them a sense of control by letting them know what they can do to stay safe - the usual things about washing hands.

Don't overwhelm them with unnecessary information that can increase their anxiety but answer their questions as honestly as you can at the level that the child is at.