Working from Home – Not “At Home, Working”

As a child, I hated sitting at home to do my homework. I wouldn’t do it at home. I would do it during free time at school, on the bus, in the library, and as a last resort at friends’ houses as part of a group. For me growing up, home was the place where I could do what I want to do. It’s where I ate, slept, and sought entertainment. Perhaps it’s how I was raised; neither of my parents – Dad was a Mail Sorter in the US Postal Service and Mom an administrative assistant - had a job where they had to bring work home with them. I always operated with the mentality: “Don’t violate the sanctity of my personal space and make me choose between that which I need to do and that which I want to do.”

This behavior continued into college – until the increased workload and living situations (coffee shops are expensive when you make $100/week) caused me to make some changes and I began to introduce homework to my home/tiny apartment. But then, in my final year of undergraduate college studies, I learned of this wonderful phrase – “the work-life balance.” I had been right all along! People who blur this line burn out. They hate their jobs. They hate their lives! I swore to myself that as I entered post-college life I would always keep strong boundaries between work and life.

That beautiful promise lasted all of a few months.  I was working an entry-level job doing QA for a home inspection company when, one day, they notified the entire office that our jobs were immediately being outsourced to China. However, as a high performer, the company came back to me a few weeks later and offered me a virtual position. With few other prospects, I accepted. That began a long journey to find what works for me when doing work at home.

Work from Home (WFH) policies have been in existence for a long time, some would argue millennia – I mean, we all know the wheel was invented in a home cave, not a factory cave. However, many people still have misconceptions about what WFH actually means. The answer is simple - it’s work. At home. It’s not vacation. It’s not doing your typical home routine with your laptop on your lap or near you as you do household chores. It’s work.

Due to Coronavirus, many of you are likely on a mandatory WFH policy right now. In fact, you may be reading this as you are supposed to be working. Maybe you’ve never been in a WFH situation or maybe you’ve never done more than one consecutive WFH day. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, I want to share the information I’ve learned in the past 15 years of working remotely. I urge you to take this opportunity to strengthen your ability to be a productive WFH employee – who knows what the future holds?

Golden Rule: If you wouldn’t do it at the office – don’t do it on WFH.

This covers a lot of areas – dress – composure – background noise – and more.

For me, I don’t treat the workday differently because of where the work is being done. I do my same morning routine that I would do even if I was going into the office. I have learned the hard way that if I spend the extra hour in bed because I don’t have a commute, it turns my whole attitude for the day into “Hey Brian, it’s not a work day – you slept in.” This mindset can throw off your whole day and makes it nearly impossible to get your energy and motivation at 2 p.m. when you get that one email from your boss. You know the one.

Similarly, get dressed. I have friends who get fully dressed in their work attire – even putting on shoes. While I think shoes are a bit much, getting dressed for work is important to set your mind right. Now, I have to admit, I do think a little bit of comfort is key. No suit jacket or tie for me at home (not too common at the office on a typical day) and my shirt is sometimes untucked. However, there’s a big difference between business casual and too casual. I make sure to avoid workout clothes, pajamas, and hoodies. There were days, I would wake up, log in at 8 a.m. and keep working nonstop past 6 p.m. – still in my pajamas. That’s gross. Plus, if you’re on video calls you should be presentable! See my other post about video calls here.

Would you watch TV at work all day? Probably not. (If you do, email me – I want to know what you do) So, why would you be using WFH time to catch up on your favorite shows? It’s a distraction from your work. You don’t get as much quality work done – or any work done – if you’re emptying out your DVR all day. I’m not saying you can’t turn it on as background noise. I myself will listen to the news in the background (have you heard about this Coronavirus thing?) or simulcast sports talk shows (LeBron really is the best ever). Now, I say “listen” because I don’t put myself in the same room as the TV – there is too much going on across the screen of news channels and sports channels. You will get distracted and go down a rabbit hole. Listen – don’t watch.

Rule 2: It is work, after all.

Just because no one can come up behind you and see you updating your Etsy page doesn’t mean you can do it during WFH time. I have friends who work in industries that don’t lend easy to WFH and there are so many misconceptions expressed.

“I’d get all my chores done.” “I’d love to sit on the couch all day answering random emails.” “It’s like a stay-cation.”

I tell them, “No – I do my work. I have rules. In fact, I sometimes have to actually tell myself to stop and log off.”

Time is crucial. Earlier I talked about a routine. This goes for time management as well. If you can, try to squeeze your meetings together. This gives you less downtime between meetings where you can’t get into your “zone” for productivity. Sure, you might fire off a couple of emails or tweak a slide in the 25 minutes between meetings, but it’s not super productive time. I personally try to plan my day so that my meetings are done by 3 p.m. and I can action out the meetings and get work done for the remainder of the day. While this isn’t always possible as you have to consider others’ schedules and time zones, it’s a good way to organize your day and keep you on track.

Chores – this is a big one. I used to break up my WFH day with some household chores. What I soon found is that my chore list may have consisted of “Laundry. Dishes. Sweep.” It really should have read, “Go around the house to find all of the dirty laundry. Load it into the washer. Then, 55 minutes later, you’ll have to put it into the dryer. 60 minutes later you’ll need to take it out of the dryer and fold it. Oh wait, you were on a call then, so it needs another 20 minutes in the dryer to get the winkles out. Now on to the dishes. We’re low on dish detergent. I better add it to the shopping list. We don’t have a list yet. I better make one. What will I make for dinner tonight?” See where I’m going here? It’s never as easy as we tell ourselves and you end up losing all of that time from your workday. It’ll be 5 p.m. before you know it and you’ll have half-done chores and be hours behind in your work. Save the chores for your off time.

Rule 3: Humans still exist.

I love to engage with my coworkers in the office. I try to stop by their desk and say hello. You haven’t answered my email? Well, I’ll pop over to check in. For remote coworkers, I also look to get real-time connections. I’ll call them instead of a text. I’ll send a Skype video request. What’s the worst that happens? They don’t pick up? It’s better than a text or another email into the void. Plus, it’s human connection.

If your entire office is on WFH – find time to connect with your upline and your direct reports each day. And, make it the same time so it becomes standard and importantly, expected. Nothing is worse than the no-context meeting titled “Catch up” from your boss!

Something I’m experimenting with this month is a team-wide “virtual water cooler” meeting. The same time each day – optional for all. No agenda – just a few minutes of casual conversation and some work talk to make sure we come out of our home office silos.

When I first started to work virtual, I was single and in a new city. I knew almost no one and didn’t have a physical workplace to see other humans. For some of you this might be similar to your current situation. What did I do? I called into talk radio shows. I video chatted friends and loved ones. All during my non-working time, of course. Don’t forget there are ways to connect with others.

If we master the WFH lifestyle, it can really change the way we do work. It can give more flexibility to those who need it. It can open up new jobs, or even careers for people.

Thanks for taking the time to read this guide. Now, get back to work.

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected].