What started out as individual LinkedIn posts turned into a small series. Since then, we’ve had a few requests to see all the tips without having to scroll back to our old posts, so we decided to consolidate them here. We also added a couple more tactics. Here are 10 key tips for working remote that work for me. Let me know in the comment what works, or doesn’t work, for you.
1. Make it Personal
I like to use technology to it's fullest capacity to help with this, and what I mean by that is turn that video camera on! If we can't meet in person, I'll do my best to "show up" fully and be present, visible and audible if those are options.
Doing this felt a bit awkward at first, seeing myself and seeing someone else see me while I'm seeing my self then trying to make sure I look at them or the camera and ignore my own image in the corner, blech. The first several times I felt uncomfortable, a little squirmy, and I wanted to turn the camera off, but at some point it started to feel normal. Now it's part of the routine for me and I think it helps bring a sense of humanity to our technology-based interactions.
2. Fake the Commute
I feel better about my days when I have a clear defined transition from not-working to working. It helps me feel structured, disciplined, and I get into a productive groove easier. My fake commute is typically walking the dog, drinking coffee, and browsing on my phone. Sometimes I listen to a podcast, an audiobook, or some music just as I would while driving to work. Once I sit down with my laptop at my desk, I treat that action as "arriving to work."
In the evening, I mark the transition from working to not-working by leaving my desk and workspace to "arrive" back at home. Occasionally I bring my laptop from my desk to somewhere else at home when I'm done for the day. This action magically transforms my laptop from a work computer to a personal computer where I can mess around online without feeling like I'm goofing off at work. It also prevents me from getting stuck in a strange mode of waffling back and forth between whether I'm done work for the day or not.
3. No Household Chores
When I'm working from home I have a no household chores policy during my work day. I don't do laundry, dust, or vacuum as part of my work day when I'm at the office, so why do that during my work day just because I'm working from home?
I know some people feel like the flexibility to knock out a household chore or two during a break is a key benefit of working from home, but it doesn't work for me. I'm inclined to choose a stack of household chores instead of a onesie-twosie, here and there, approach. My pattern of chore-doing is start with one chore with the intention of finding inspiration to do something else related to that right after. So, I think there's a very real risk that if I started a chore during my work day that I might end up hours later in the back of a closet reorganizing stuff.
The no household chores policy during my work day helps me focus and stay in my work groove. It also differentiates my emotional posture and behaviors during work time vs home time. When I'm "at work" I'm doing work. When I'm "at home" I do my at home things, like chores.
4. Virtual Happy Hours, Coffees, and/or Lunches
It may be more important than ever right now to find ways to connect with our community members, coworkers, partners, friends, and family when we can't visit in person. Without the same serendipitous opportunities to connect in person recently, I was looking for ways to increase a sense of social connection while practicing social distancing.
Virtual socializing is a recent exploration and tactic for me. While I often work from home, I live in the same region as most of the people I work with so I'd see them in person and catch up over coffee, lunch, or happy hour to connect.
Instead, I had 3 successful virtual happy hours last week. We all had our cameras on, a tasty beverage nearby, and time and care for each other. It was great!
Turns out, virtual happy hours can work really well. I have another virtual happy hour scheduled this week and a virtual coffee the next week that I'm looking forward to. Maybe I'll save on gas and time in the future and keep some of my socializing through video chat anyway.
5. Adjust the Camera to See Eye to Eye
I put my laptop on a hefty stack of books so my camera is closer to eye level. If I have my camera on, my goal is to show up in our virtual meetings to as close to how I would show up in person. There's something that strikes me as a bit out of place and unnatural when I see myself from that under-the-chin perspective, looking down at other people in the meeting. Before and after picture included here for reference.
There are more sophisticated methods to achieve this like using a standing desk, one of those laptop lifts or docking stations, or an external camera setup, but my current hack is a Tufte book, a book about bread making, and a book about Jazz. With this thoughtful foundation of reading, we can better see eye-to-eye.
Camera a bit low
Camera at eye-level
6. Take Breaks to Move Around
By taking a moment to mentally reset and physically reconnect with my body, I find it much easier to be present, focus, and return to my work with more intention.
When I'm working from home it's easy for me to pretty much be at my desk for the entire day, except for going to the kitchen for snacks and tea. In an office I'm physically moving from meeting to meeting so that environment helps me be less sedentary without much intention on my part.
What works well for me these days is to take breaks to move around. When the weather is nice sometimes I go outside for a short walk around the block. When I feel like staying inside or only have a few minutes for a short break, I stretch and move about my office. I feel like it's good for my body, good for my mind, and good for my work.
7. Responding to Different Kinds of Disruptions
Murphy the dog, with a crazy look in his eye that can only mean mischief is about to happen. He lets us know whenever anything is delivered to the front door.
A cat leaping onto the keyboard, a dog barking, a child bursting into the room and making silly faces -- disruptions happen and the kind of disruptions that happen when working from home may be different than the social norms of the office. Let's practice being accepting and understanding, of ourselves and others, when it comes to the kinds of disruptions that happen when working from home.
Disruptions at the office happen too, but maybe we're more used to those as I notice people seem to quickly acknowledge and move past an ambulance siren going off, someone breaking/spilling something nearby, or people walking by having a particularly loud conversation.
Let's assume everyone is doing their best to minimize the impact of disruptions and that they're still going to happen. Especially with schools being closed in Washington state right now, let's support each other and not make disruptions a bigger deal than they are and instead focus on what's next.
8. Share Your Working/"Office" Hours with Coworkers
By increasing the visibility of when I'm working, I can better set expectations about when I'm available to collaborate. If we're working together in an office setting, you can simply look over and see if I'm at my desk, if I'm deep into something with my headphones on, if I'm on a call with someone, and whether I seem generally uninterruptible.
With remote work, creating this level of visibility and transparency takes a little more work to setup and maintain, but I think it's worth the benefits. What works for me is to use my calendar to communicate with team members when I'm available, when I'm in meetings, or when I have some work-block time. If I have something personal to take care of like an appointment, or a class I need to scoot off to a little early, I mark that as busy time on my calendar. Another option is to use the status on Teams, Slack, or whatever messaging client you use and state your working hours there as an easy reference point.
9. Experiment with Your Lighting Setup
Peter shared some great troubleshooting examples and diagnostics in the Preparing for a Presentation Delivered over Video Conference that I suggest checking out. For me, I have the benefit of not having to adjust much, since my workspace is directly in front of a large, south facing window. This has the benefit of there being a lot of light, without me being in direct bright sunshine all that often.
On occasion I need to close the blinds when there is bright, direct light which can cause data-loss in the video image. What appears on camera is stark white sections or lines on my face. Other than that, I get the privilege of relying on natural light with few adjustments. I have a floor lamp that bounces some soft light off of the ceiling, which I use occasionally for some filler light in the evenings.
Yes, I know. That’s a lot of plants. The plan is to get a bigger desk to accommodate.
10. Revisit and Review
Even over the last few months of working 100% remote, I revisited some tactics, made adjustments, and tried out some new ones. What works well for awhile might not continue to work well for you. Find the routines and habits that work best for you and plan to revisit and review how those actions impact you and your work. There’s no one right way to work from home. It’s up to you what is going to best support your work from home practice.