Lessons from a Home Office Veteran - Working from Home Best Practices (aka Maintaining Your Sanity)

I've been working from home for over 20 years now and I've learned a few powerful lessons along the way. In our current rapidly changing environment, I've had a few friends reach out for advice on how to maintain their sanity, here are some of the things I've learned over the years. I hope this information helps ease your transition. Stay safe. Stay sane. We'll all get through this together!

First, prepare yourself mentally! Working from home is absolutely excruciating for some folks, especially if their role benefits from that boost which comes from face to face interaction or if they are very social beings. My better half (the brains of the operation) is both a Project Manager and a social lite so working from home drives her crazy! Additionally, your home office may not be a fortress of solitude either, especially if it now includes children and spouses who are also relegated to the household.

So, you need to prepare yourself mentally for how you will need to approach your working day differently.

• Take one day at a time.
• Breath deeply and often.
• Try new things, learn, and refine.

Second, let's talk environment. If you can create a safe space to work in, do it! Your office is ideally separated from the rest of your house by a door, hallway, hanging beads, or anything to visually indicate to all who pass by, "WORK" happens here! Repurpose that guest bedroom, turn the closet into a little cubicle, make the dining room or den "the Office". If you don't have these options, set up a designate "space" in which you will work. Put yellow caution tape around it. You get the idea. What you DON'T want to do is grab the laptop and plop yourself on the couch. It'll be good for a day or two but eventually, your mentality and your back will suffer.

HINT: Think about all the things you both like and dislike about your office, recreate those items which help you and eliminate as many as those which hinder your progress.

Finally, create RULES. In my years, I've found SERWS* (Sudden Extended Remote Working Syndrome) messes with folks in two ways. They either become completely complacent OR they never stop working. One can avoid both these pitfalls by creating RULES.

See normal workspaces come with their own set of naturally understood rules. When you violate them you are scolded or scorned. Violators typically fall into line in just a few days. (weeks for some) You have to recreate those rules at home for yourself (because no one is there to govern you) and for others who don't spend a lot of time in YOUR normal workspace. This is REALLY REALLY important.

Parents, kids, spouses, family, neighbors, Jehova's Witnesses, when they see you at home they naturally use WEEKEND rules of engagement, so you have to train them to think differently. Do not expect them to immediately get your rules. So, take a breath and plan on gently reinforcing the rules over time. Here are some suggestions:

• When my door is shut please don't come in.
• When I'm on a call, please don't ask me questions.
• It's not OK to put rabbit ears over my head when my boss is on the phone.
• It's not OK to yell at the top of your lungs to your friends while playing Fortnight.
• If you need to interrupt, stand quietly outside the door until I can excuse myself from the conversation.
• I might not hear you if I'm deep in thought, so don't just ask the question louder and louder from the other room.
• It's OK to put a request on a sticky note on my desk. (not my forehead)

You get the idea. Visual cues will help those around you. Ok, now that we've taken care of everyone else, let's talk about you. Here are some suggestions:

• In an office, you get interrupted and distracted frequently, that's gone. This is a blessing and curse so interrupt yourself, regularly. Go to the restroom, get water, walk around the yard, just move at least once an hour.
• At the same time, STAY FOCUSED! When you are home it's very easy to get distracted by the dishes, the laundry, the lawn, that picture that needs to be hung, you know all the sh*t you gotta do on the weekend. You are working from home for a reason, so make that reason the priority during work hours.
• Which brings me to my almost final point, create a routine! Congrats, you no longer have that commute! It's also easy to think, "well I don't have to shower", "I don't have to shave", "I don't have to dress" but the truth is we are creatures of habit. There are activities associated with the weekend and a day off we should be wary of incorporating into our work from home day. So, set your routine! Get up at the same time. Use your commute to get in a quick workout (there are a number of on-demand options). Get cleaned up, get dressed and trot into "the office" early to give yourself plenty of time to check emails, enjoy your morning brew and settle in.
• And the final finally? Quit working at a normal time! It's easy to "stay late" or skip lunch at home, it's REALLY easy! Don't do it any more than you would at the office. Invite co-workers to a "virtual" lunch meeting in which you just catch up on office gossip. When you're done with your workday, shut down your computer, close your office door and leave it all for tomorrow.

Just like jobs, every office environment is a little different and yours will be as well. So try to be patient. Learn from what vexes you, try new things, and before you know it, you'll be a work at home pro!

I sincerely hope this information helps you during these tough times. If you have any other suggestions please post them in the comments. If you want a field guide to setting up a great home office check out this article here.

Good luck! Stay safe and remember, this too shall pass.

*SERWS is not a real thing, I made it up.