#happyhomeofffice learnings from a remote worker who hated to work from home

Working from home for several weeks full-time? You hate it, right? Welcome to my world! I have been through this already and with this article I wish to share my experiences and some practical tips. It has been twelve months now since I began working from home. At first, it was frustrating, especially for someone like me who loves open office spaces, the vibe and energy in an office, the interaction with colleagues and - yes - also the noise and little fun distractions. Sharing my learnings, I want to help everyone who is in a similar situation. Working from home can be enjoyable and fun, there are a few tips and tricks how to achieve this.

A year ago, I started a new job. The plan was to settle in a new office that was expected to open in my city soon after I had started. Our company got into a crisis. Opening the office was delayed, for months we had a travel ban thrown down on to us and I – who was used to travel at least 30 percent of my time - was forced to work from home without personal interaction with my co-workers. Initially, I thought that I would handle it easily having worked from home every once in a while, in the past. Weeks and months passed, my emotions felt like a roller-coaster ride, it wasn’t a good positive feeling that I was mentally expecting. Cut off physically from my co-workers, I felt isolated. Armed with a To-Do’s List and work-goals, I still felt bored at times. It was hard keeping myself motivated. It took me several weeks to adjust. I learned a lot during this time J

6 Home Working Tips That Can Help You Prepare and Adjust: 

1)   Find your individual routine

There are now so many articles about what to and not to do when working from home: there is no one-size-fits-all solution that works for everyone. Try different tips and see what works best for you. Avoid stressing yourself about not moving enough or about working in your jogging pants, even though some advice against it. Everyone is different and individual: what works for you might not work for you and vice-versa. Try out different approaches and find out what works best for you! The same counts for my tips: Some might work for you, others won’t. 

2)   Find the right location

A common piece of advice on various articles on the web is to set up your home office in a separate room with a door that you can close behind you. I had a separate small room in my apartment that I set up with a desk and a comfortable office chair. I started working there and felt terribly miserable. I was missing space around me. So, I sold my desk and office chair on eBay and started working from my dining table in my big living room. I love the air, the light around me now and it genuinely lifts my mood. After work I just close my laptop and put it away. In my former office room, I now set up a meditation corner where I regularly go to meditate. 15 minutes are sufficient for me to get me energized and refreshed again.

I also have a freelancing friend who needs several working spaces depending on the kind of task: a real office atmosphere for video conferences, kitchen or dining room table for phone calls and to take notes. But when it comes to creative work the couch is her preferred place now – she calls this her “sofa office”. 

3)   Take regular breaks and structure your day!

When I started working from home, I often found myself working through the whole day without taking breaks. I worked many hours, but I didn’t feel good or productive by the end of the day. I felt exhausted, tired and I had a headache quite often. Now I plan in breaks where I completely switch off and go outside several times a day (even if it’s only on the balcony). As a result, I’m more productive - and happier.

4)   Interact!

Humans are social beings. Interaction is what keeps our creativity up. It is essential to share information and learnings in a team. When you work from home, use your phone, messengers and other tools to get in touch with your colleagues - not only for formal meetings, but also for an informal chat. How about a virtual team coffee break? And in video conferences: When possible, turn your camera on. Seeing faces and gestures makes a huge difference.

5)   Keep Moving!

Working from a home office the whole day can create a lot of health problems, like stiff muscles, back pain - and you easily put on weight. I always try to move as much as I can. I take the stairs, go out for a walk and most importantly for me: yoga! Just 20min of yoga every other day keep me fit and keep any back problems far away. I know what I’m talking about, because on top of all I also have a scoliosis. If you want to start with yoga, there is a large choice of courses available online for free. If yoga is not the right thing for you, think about other ways how you can move. Maybe dancing through the apartment to your favorite music? Don’t worry, no one is watching you anyway. To those who have kids at home include them in on your dance breaks, I’m sure they’ll enjoy it too J

6)   Make it fun and enjoyable

What are the things that you would love to do while working in a regular office, but you can’t? Maybe it’s taking a 20min power nap? It’s extremely refreshing and helps you to be more productive for the rest of the day. Another thing that I enjoy is listening to my favorite music while working. It helps me to concentrate, to have fun and I don’t have to worry about colleagues who might not like it. Others might need cocooning sounds from nature or lounge music. Try out what works best for you. It’s these little things that make my working from home experience special and fun! 

With this I let you all move on with working from home and hopefully doing it soon with a smile on your face dancing to your favorite song!

Below is also a collection of other tips from colleagues that you might find useful:

OFFICE AT HOME

·      Make a stoplight for family members. Some of you may have kids at home and it can sometimes be challenging to stay focused with little ones running around! A good idea to help with this can be to hang colored construction paper on your home office door: ‘Red light” when you cannot be disturbed and the “green light” when it's OK to come in. “Yellow light” can mean to check first. Kids, no matter what age, understand the message and enjoy playing along. (For more commentary on how to deal with distractions from kids, check out How to Work From Home If You Have Kids – 9 Pro Tips).

·      Track your productivity. If you struggle with staying on task while working from home, even if you have already tried some of the tips above, then you may need to kick things up a notch and use a productivity app. For example, some productivity apps will track the amount of time you spend on each task, and even minimize distractions. Some examples of these types of apps are Harvest, RescueTime and Toggl. Using a time tracker app will help you see your productivity levels each day and week. This will not only provide you with insight as to when you are most productive during the day, but it will also show you how much time you spend on each task.

·      Consider scrum-like updates expected every morning in text such as what your #1 priority is for the day. It just gets people typing.

·      Practice movement. Walking in place or squatting every half-hour or hour makes a big difference. It takes 20 to 30 minutes for your body to feel the benefits of these movements, so dose them out. (If you do a whole bunch in 20 minutes, that doesn’t count!). The simplest thing you can do to work your legs is place a footrest under your desk where you can prop one of them. Switching legs often is strongly recommended, because the body needs stimulation through a change signal. Kneeling exercises are also great for getting the blood flowing. Try swiftly alternating between kneeling and standing five times. Keep it brisk to get the burst of energy you need to bang out those last three keynote slides.

·      Prep your snacks. Look, you’re going to snack. Constantly. It’s something to do! Why type when you can chomp? Make sure to keep something remotely healthy on hand.

·      Shut it down. Some of us might miss the daily commute to work… Yes, this may sound unhinged -traffic is terrible, trains are crowded and the weather is unpredictable- but it seems nice to have a clear separation between when you’re at work and when you’re not, and some time to decompress in between. That doesn’t exist when you work from home; it’s all on the same continuum. There is no great solution for this, but logging off of Chime is probably a good start. People are less likely to ping you if your circle’s not green. Find hobbies you can enjoy at home and take advantage of time off work to spend with family!

·      Consider setting up morning and late afternoon check-ins that include video for small teams, Send them silly tweets. Don't be afraid of italics and exclamation points. It will never be the same as grabbing a midday coffee or a beer after work, but it helps to remind people that you're not just out there in the void. And when the conversation does center around work, know when to switch from Chime to phone. You'll be surprised how much can get lost in translation when you only type.

·      Say hello in the morning and goodbye to people at the end of the working day, just like in the office.

VIDEO MEETINGS

·      USE VIDEO. EVERY. TIME. This cannot be emphasized enough. Group collaboration is super important for people in order to feel connected. Encourage this from everyone! There might be connectivity issues -especially in larger meetings-, so it is totally ok to turn off your video when needed to help allow a better connectivity during your call. Just make it a point to try to use as much as possible.

·      Light it right. Don’t sit with your back to a light or a window—it will turn you into a silhouette. Natural daylight from the front is the most flattering. If that’s not possible, put a lamp behind your screen.

·      Manage the audio. Make sure your sound equipment is connected and working before the meeting starts. Mute your microphone immediately after greeting the group and throughout the meeting, when not speaking.

·      Use a headset. If you are using a speaker, the audio from that will likely be picked up by your microphone and create an echo. Also, the clarity of voice is much better with a headset. You can buy a headset if you don’t have one and expense it.

·      Look the part. Dress for the camera: Solid colors present better than patterns. Don’t move as much as you might during an in-person meeting, and stay within the camera frame. And you know this, but look into the lens, not at the screen. That’s where the people are, and that is how you make eye contact. This requires a surprising amount of practice.

·      When speaking, preface who is talking… ‘This is (name)’. The bigger concern with working remotely is that people will forget you're there at all. You may inevitably miss the impromptu meetings and side conversations that spin little ideas into big projects, so being present makes the team work together more efficiently!

o  Working remotely can also make people shy about speaking up in a VC setting (vs in-person), particularly in larger settings. Make sure you hear from people in the room, and actively seek their feedback if you haven’t yet heard them contribute.

·      Speak slowly and clearly.

·      When making a comment, always reference the page and line number on the doc being discussed.

·      When asking a question, try to ask directly to an individual… ‘I have a question for (name)…’

·      Offer “ringing” like you would knocking on an office door. Just call people on chime. If they are busy, they can always decline and message you later. If they’re not, they pick up. Just like walking by someone’s office. If you set this expectation, you can avoid the 20 Chime messages of “hey do you have a minute? … should I call?”

·      If you are in a conference room, don’t dial in separately to Chime. Instead use the conference room chime to minimize the number of connections.

RESOURCES FOR KEEPING CHILDREN BUSY

Tiktok

create a tiktok dance or learn a dance

parents/kids

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778228004/5-tiktok-songs-from-2019-well-actually-remember

Go noodles

offers both physical dance/movement and meditation videos

parents/kids

https://www.gonoodle.com/

Outschool

online classes

US education system

https://outschool.com/

InterHigh

online classes

UK education system

https://interhigh.co.uk/

Youtube

Cooking and Crafts tutorial

parents/kids

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1W4T2HfKVCJM4ICOjzxoBg

other cooking with kids channels

parents/kids

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/the-best-you-tube-channels-for-kid-friendly-cooking-videos-article

OTHER RESOURCES FOR FITNESS/ MENTAL HEATH

Covid-19 group support

local organising to support the most vulnerable in our communities

anyone

https://covidmutualaid.org/local-groups/?fbclid=IwAR0kQxhsdbBHai5u_ReSfKixR-u7ZjU-610oQ43CxhbMHf_YMDK1sgeyKJk

at home work out

online channels for at home work out (when the gym is off limit)

Yoga

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENr27Q1hKsw&feature=youtu.be

Yoga

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFKE7WVJfvaHW5q283SxchA

Pilates

https://www.youtube.com/user/blogilates

Cardio/HIIT

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBINFWq52ShSgUFEoynfSwg

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ

at home work out

free apps

Fitness

FitOn: Fitness workout plans (phone/tablet and Iwatch options)

Meditation

brief meditation exercises and relaxing playlist

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4jWo5kiyOCt4PnvF4jbaLg

Daily live meditation starting on March 20th for 20 days

9.30am PST / 12.30pm ET / 4.30pm UK / 10pm India

Anyone

Instagram - @JayShetty on Instagram

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbV60AGIHKz2xIGvbk0LLvg