Whether you’re a seasoned home office pro or new to working from home, there’s no doubt that working in the place you live can present some unique challenges. Here at Network to Code, we’re no strangers to working from home – we’ve had remote workers across the US and EU for several years now. But given the sudden increase in people working from home, our team wanted to share some of our best tips and tricks for being productive outside a traditional office setting.
My number one recommendation would be to switch to video calls for all your meetings. Video calls help you engage in conversation more effectively (just make sure to resist the urge to read emails or engage with other distractions during calls).
I also recommend finding a way to engage in “water cooler chat” remotely. Since you can’t get up and have conversations with colleagues, make sure you have an appropriate place where these conversations are accepted (Slack channels are great for this). At Network to Code, we also use virtual donuts – a service that sets you up with a new colleague each week for a conversation. Leave work out of these chats and use this as an opportunity to meet your coworkers!
Working from home means setting boundaries, both with the other people you work with and with your colleagues. If possible, try to have a separate workspace to enforce this boundary. When you are working, you are working – communicating this to those you share a space with is key to your success.
It’s also critical that you speak up on the communication mediums provided to you (Slack, email, telephone, etc.) Make sure to regularly reach out to others and pay attention to building bonds (something those in office buildings may take for granted).
Keep something healthy around that you can snack on. You will, at some point during the day, find yourself drawn to the kitchen. Try to make sure it’s much easier to reach for the carrots than donuts.
Don’t forget to take a break every once in a while – you do it in the office and it’s important to make space for free time at home as well. Something as simple as starting laundry can give you the mental break you need, and it probably takes less time than when someone randomly stops by your desk at the office “for a chat.”
If you normally go out to lunch when in the office, make sure to completely step away when working from home too. Eat lunch in the kitchen instead of your office. Your mind needs that change of pace and scenery.
When you work from home, “work time” and “home time” tend to blend together. It’s crucial to establish a dedicated workspace to help demarcate the two. Dedicating a specific room within your home is ideal, but even if you’re short on space, try carving out a corner of the living room or a specific chair and desk that you reserve for work functions. Be sure to avoid the bedroom: working where you sleep can cause difficulty sleeping.
Also be sure to bear in mind that work is still work. Don’t succumb to the temptation to “settle in” at home. If you’ve just recently made the switch from an office job, be sure to keep up your previous morning routine: shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc. It also helps to designate a specific start time each day and abide by it. There are no excuses for being late when you work at home!
When it comes to working from home with kids, I can’t say this enough times: SCHEDULE! SCHEDULE! SCHEDULE! Everyone else has already keyed into why to split your time for your own mental health but also this isn’t your every-day working from home. Odds are your kids are home now, and for most people both parents still need to work. This is OK. Communicate with your respective bosses and coworkers what your current working situation is and what you’re willing to do to work around it. But you can’t do that without at least identifying what your children’s needs. Younger ones need more structure than older ones, so work on identifying the times you need to be away from your desk. Everyone is going to have to move around schedules and communicating that before it becomes a problem will help diffuse a lot of frustration.
Setting up an appropriate workspace is also key. Working on top of milk cartons wouldn’t fly in an office, and the same applies at home. There’s no need to break the bank and there are a bunch of DIY standing desk instructions you can find online. Define your space and respect it. Work with your employer to see if they will help purchase or offset some of these costs as well. If your business has a lot of synchronous conversations (calls, video chats, etc.) invest in better equipment. This means a better microphone, better webcam, and more comfortable headphones. If you have a noisier home office setting, I suggest looking at cardioid style microphones which are very directional (I’m personally a fan of this one—they help cut out audio not directly in front of them.
We hope these tips have been helpful for those of you who are working from home. Make sure to take care of yourself and those around you! We’ll close with a tip near and dear to all our hearts: If you have a pet (or office manager as we refer to the around these parts) make sure to schedule regular walks meetings. They’ll love it, you’ll love it.
-The NTC Team
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