Working from Home (the extended edition)
Depending on where you are reading this, you might be into your fifth, sixth or even seventh week of working from home. And perhaps you’re also juggling home schoolers and working with other new ‘co-workers’ in your home. And maybe this working situation is starting to get really old at this point.
Here at Collabry, a few newly-working-from-home clients have asked me “How do you work from home ALL the time?” It certainly can have its challenges, and this unique situation we find ourselves in has the added uncertainty of a pandemic at hand.
Our agency is 100% remote and has been since we opened our doors (virtually!) more than five years ago. We have 22 people working with us now in various cities and towns across the country. It has allowed us to be efficient, nimble—and healthy save for the occasional cold!
When I asked our team for their tips on making working from home more manageable, there were a few new ideas even to me—and I’ve been working from home for more than nine years.
Workspace: Create a dedicated workspace or office space away from daily home life and other people, with a door that closes if possible. While the desk in the kitchen may be handy, it will soon be piled with everyone else's stuff. If you’re short on space, look for an overlooked area that might serve as a work lcoation. A few ideas on that at this blog post from Modsy.
Scheduling. Keep (and stick to) a set work schedule whenever possible. Meticulously maintain your online calendar(s) even if just for yourself. Another tip: Use a timer to stay productive—25 minutes on, then a 5-minute break, and repeat 4 or 5 times. During the 5-minute break, you can refill your coffee, scroll through Instagram, text your mom, pet the dog, unload the dishwasher, walk, etc. Take a longer break (20-25 minutes) after you’ve gone through at least 4 cycles. For more on scheduling, consider reading The One Thing.
Time blocking. Block out time for exercise, lunch, meditation, yoga, etc. And keep your blocked time sacred if you can—no exceptions! (I am learning this myself).
Refreshments. Dehydration is no joke. There have been times after working in my home office all day that I feel like I’ve been on an airplane—the tunnel vision of staring at screens and not drinking enough. One fun idea—choose a selection of work beverages, the ideal number is three. Your water beverage, your caffeine choice, and your fun drink! Fun can be anything unexpected—maybe a sparkling flavored water, or a rehydration drink, or a hot chocolate—a little something out of the ordinary that will keep you and your taste buds entertained. I personally like to put a drop of lemon or lime essential oil in a glass of water—refreshing!
Can you hear me now? Invest in a really good headset with a handy mute button for calls and web meetings. Yes, a lot of folks are going to ear pods, and that is great. But sometimes they can cut out, or the charge dies in the middle of a call. Me? I have my trusty old-school Plantronics headset that I replace every five years or so.
Take a No Screen Day. Remember what I said about feeling like I was on an airplane all day? Staring at a screen in front of you without the typical at-the-office breaks like going to a conference room, a colleague’s office or the kitchen can leave you feeling more tired by the end of the day. Add to that the trend of doing Zoom or FaceTime happy hours, and you’re adding on more screen time. Take a break. In fact, take a whole day away from screens—a No Screen Day. I recently took a Friday off and did this exact thing—left my laptop at my workspace, put my iPhone out of constant reach and didn’t watch television or streaming. It was great! I felt rested and re-energized.
I hope some of these ideas for coping with an extended work-from-home are helpful—they have certainly made a difference for our team. And as far as the uncertainty of these times, our approach has been this—daily gratitude for the work we have, a wish for good health for all, and taking it one day at a time.
Be well!