Working from home – tips from someone who has been doing it for almost 8 years

I’ve been working from home most of the time since July 2012, so I’ve got some practice at this before it has been forced on so many during this virus outbreak. Let me share some of what I’ve learned about staying productive and making the best of the situation.

First, let me say, I really enjoy working from home. There are some obvious advantages:

• No commute times
• No dress codes
• Fewer distractions (from co-workers)
• I can stretch, workout, go for walks, run short errands, or do small chores around the house

Most importantly, when I really need to focus on something, I can make it super quiet and block an hour or more, as needed, to really crunch on a complex problem or difficult task. I always felt that was difficult in office environments I worked in previously. It was hard to carve out more than 30 minutes of really quality focus time in the office.

Of course, there are also some drawbacks to working from home:

• Lack of social interactions
• Don’t know what other people are doing
• You miss out on spontaneous opportunities and conversations that happen in the office
• It is harder to participate fully in meetings

Basically, you miss out on a lot of subtle communication and potential collaboration that more easily happens when you are co-located with others, and yes, we miss the free coffee and stuff you typically get in an office.

Now, some of the dynamics of working remotely change when everyone is remote. You are all facing challenges around having quality communications and collaboration, because no one is having spontaneous conversations by the communal coffee pot or overhearing juicy office gossip in the next cube. You get only the information intentionally shared with you.

So, how do you make the most of this situation.

To maintain productivity, I use daily to do lists.  I have found that working from home really requires self-discipline. Do I always have enough self-discipline? Absolutely not. I have to make myself write down the things I need to do each day. For more complex individual projects, I may use Trello to capture all the little things I need to do and keep track of. I also found that using something like Trello, helps when someone questions what you’ve been doing while at home (and they will).  It just makes it easier to communicate up what I’ve accomplished. There is also that sense of accomplishment when you move a card in Trello to “Done” that we shouldn’t deny ourselves.

Make calls – I schedule weekly calls (i.e. status meetings), and I try to break up my days with some calls to various individuals, just to stay in touch. Obviously, this one really depends on the nature of your work. This can go the other way, if you aren’t careful, and you completely fill your day with calls, leaving no time for you to do any “real work”. Maybe, in your line of work, the calls are the real work (sales or business development, for example), but for many of us, we have things we have to produce, like code, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, curriculum, articles, and whatever. Use those to do list and your calendar as tools to help manage your time and stay productive.

Speaking of calendars, that is another tool that can really help you when working remotely (in isolation). Reminders on the calendar or blocking time on the calendar to work on specific tasks can also be a way to self-discipline your day.

What, Why, When and How – as a project manager and consultant I’ve been a fan of the practice that everyone on the team should always be able to answer these four questions about their current assignment:

• What is the highest priority task?
• Why is it the highest priority task?
• When is it due?
• How will I know if I did it well? Sometimes we call this “what good look like?”

You can use this to help manage your direct reports who are now working remotely and you may have to make more effort (again self-disciplined) to ensure you can answer these questions about the stuff you are working on at home.

I also want to comment that over planning your day can be unhealthy and spoil creativity. This article happened, because I spontaneously decided to write it in the middle of my day. Some of the most creative work I do is because I allow myself to jump around a bit between different activities. Trying to make yourself work on tasks for 8 hours a day in isolation is not likely to prove to be a good strategy. Ever seen the movie “The Shining” with Jack Nicholson? He famously says, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” right before he goes completely psycho and starts trying to kill everyone. Anyway, you get my point. Have some fun and allow yourself some distraction. The quality and creativity of your work will improve.

For your health – take advantage of the fact that, at home, you can do push-ups, or stretch, or take a short nap during the day. Drink plenty of water and do not sit too long. In the office, we tend to get up and move around more, going to conference rooms, walking to the restrooms, going out to lunch, or chatting by the coffee pot. At home, it is very easy to sit a lot, and walk only a few steps when you do get up. You have to force yourself to move around. I occasionally force myself to read standing up. I also, weather permitting, go for a 20 – 30-minute walk around the neighborhood every afternoon. We all need to manage our stress, especially in these crazy times with the virus outbreak. Take care of yourself and you will be more productive and useful for yourself and your employer.

These days there are also many ways to collaborate online. Make sure you’ve got the tools and know how to use them. WebEx, Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc. There is no excuse for not being able to video call, chat, or have a conversation with the other folks on your team. Schedule online time if you need to and don’t let working remotely be an excuse for not sharing or soliciting feedback and ideas with your team.

On the other hand, don’t let email, Slack, WhatsApp or other social tools and platforms completely derail your day. If you are constantly being distracted by messages popping up, turn them off for periods of time so you can focus. It is actually easier to do this when working at home.

That’s all I’ve got. Be safe, stay healthy and find the pattern of activities and amount of time to dedicate to them that best works for you. Make the most of working remotely. I suspect that many will do a lot more of it, even after this virus outbreak subsides.