Here’s what we learned about working remotely over the years.
My husband Andy and I have been self-employed and working from home for many years. I began my work from home journey way back in 2012, and actually did it some days for a job I had working at the University of Miami Medical School. Then, as my website grew and I dropped to part-time, I started working from home more often for myself.
I’ve been 100% working from home since 2014, and Andy started his full-time working from home in 2016, so we have learned quite a few things over the years.
Many workers are facing unknown territory right now with remote working due to the novel coronavirus, and I’ve received questions on my social media about how to best stay productive when working from home.
So, Andy and I sat down and compiled our best tips for you during these uncertain times with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keep to a schedule.
Make a schedule for yourself and stick to it. This may take some trial and error to get right, based on the other critical needs in your household. But you will want to fine-tune your day so that you take advantage of that peak time when you have the least disruption and the most energy.
Set a time limit on work shifts. Depending on what you read, you will find that anywhere between 25 minutes (ie, Pomodoro Technique) to one hour is a good time frame for a task. You should work in blocks like this, with periods of rest (from 10 to 20 minutes) in between where you can step away from your desk. Find what works best for you. You can also use a timer (such as Tomato Timer) so you don’t work past your limit.
Have a beginning and end routine. Most of us start our days in the mornings, but you can obviously adapt based on your lifestyle and schedule. The “morning” is a good time to assess how you feel, which in turn lets you decide what you need to tackle that day. If you’re feeling low energy for whatever reason, you will just frustrate and tire yourself out if you attempt to do something that requires a lot of focus and energy. We all have those tasks that NEED to be done that day, but being critical about what actually needs to be accomplished will help your overall productivity.
And remember to assess what you have done at the end of the day. Try to be objective about this. It is easy to feel dread over the things that weren’t finished, or even started. But there’s always tomorrow!
Remember to take breaks.
Stay active during breaks. Maybe even exercise, stretch, or go for a walk. If you can’t safely do this outside on the street, then a courtyard or back yard works, or just pace up and down the halls of your home. This would also be a good time to simply rest your eyes (or do eye exercises) as a break from staring at a screen for so long.
And take the full break! Don’t cut it short, even if you have “a ton to do”. Don’t reply to emails, listen to voicemails, etc., during your breaks. This is your time.
Scheduled fun is just as important as work. If you schedule fun, stick to it! Sometimes we treat the fun breaks as optional. But working from home requires a great deal of balance. Sometimes we take a break to go for a walk around the block (obviously you may want to tread carefully during these times), and sometimes we take a break to play a video game. Whatever it is for you, make sure you are in the moment with it just as much as you would be on a phone call with a client, for example.
Put on some clothes!
The biggest cliche you hear about working from home is that we all get to work in our pajamas. But it’s really important to get into the right mindset with work. How you look goes a long way (even if no one else can actually see you). Your pajamas should be something that signifies that it’s time to wind down, so taking them off can actually make you feel more alert and ready for the world. It doesn’t have to be fancy; even a simple wardrobe change into a t-shirt can indicate a shift towards feeling like you’re “at work” and not at home.
And for Amanda, “getting ready for work” entails putting on a little makeup, even if it is just a lip gloss or lipstick. It’s amazing the mental shift that such a simple act can create. P.S. her favorite brand of safe skincare and clean cosmetics, Beautycounter, is 10% through 3/31. Email Amanda if you need help color matching!
Define your workspace.
Set rules for work zones. This is why we prefer desktops, since you can’t take those into your relaxation zones. But this can also be done with a laptop. Similar to what you wear to work, what your workspace looks like also helps set a productive tone. Keep your space organized and clean as if you were in a semi-public space. No one is perfect, of course, and there’s a difference between a messy desk and a disruptive desk. Find out what that balance is for you.
Disruptions.
Working from home means there may be other people at home that may forget you’re at work. We sometimes have work times that are different, so if one of us isn’t in that mental state to work, a door may need to be shut so the other person can zone out. We don’t have children in the house, but our cats, and sometimes one another, can provide plenty of distraction when they demand attention. We just have to be firm about it and remind the other that there are zones and boundaries.
Boundaries.
BOUNDARIES! BOUNDARIES! BOUNDARIES!
This has been the biggest challenge for us by far. It is common for those closest to us to not fully comprehend what working from home means. Sometimes, those people hear the words “I work from home” and they assume the work you are doing is easily interruptible, can be done at any time, or isn’t even important at all. But remember, this is part of your income, you have a schedule, and you take it very seriously.
If necessary, set your phone to Do Not Disturb or better yet (and Amanda’s preferred approach), Airplane Mode, so that those calls and texts don’t interfere. If that isn’t possible, then you may have to “lay down the law” regarding your work hours. Productive apps like Forest also help to keep you focused by rewarding you when you don’t get on your phone.
Stay connected to the outside world.
Working from home can be extremely isolating. Some people like that, and some people get cabin fever. Whether it is a short term need due to COVID-19, or something you aim to shift to as a lifestyle, it is important to remember that you are not alone. Sometimes it’s nice to connect and engage with people in a similar boat. It could be an online forum or local group (like your local Rising Tide Society - the Memphis chapter is incredibly active and Andy is a co-leader), or something more one-on-one, but sharing ideas, tips, and frustrations with other people usually helps.
And this may seem counterintuitive to setting boundaries and staying focused, but if you do need to work closely with some people on projects, email may not be good enough for immediate contact. We rely on Slack as a chat communication tool because it keeps topics and projects very organized. You can also use it to keep in touch with colleagues and friends in the same industry or predicament, which will help that bit of social interaction that gets lost when working at home. We found it better than just using text messaging platforms or personal social media messaging because of the boundaries issue.
Video chats like Skype, Zoom or FaceTime also go a long way to staying in touch. You can experiment with what works. Sometimes, just being on a voice call or video call with a friend while we both do our work can be surprisingly effective by simulating that “office vibe” you may miss.
Another great tool for communication is Voxer. This is handy for one-way audio chats where speaking to someone is a lot clearer and more efficient than texting or emailing, yet a phone call would be too intrusive.
Manage your time well.
Learn to separate tasks from projects. Tasks will fit nicely into one or two of those sessions/pomodoros. Projects take a lot more time and benefit from many smaller tasks. If you sit down for an hour and your task is “Write a book” or “Organize an event”, you are setting yourself up for failure. Breaking that project down into tasks lets you actually accomplish small things towards the larger goal.
Stay focused on the day’s/week’s tasks and projects. A tool you may like for visualizing projects and tasks is Trello, which helps sort things using a version of Kanban. It works great in a browser and has a nice smartphone/tablet app. There are other tools like Trello, so you should experiment with what works for you. If you are into spreadsheets and want something really robust, give Airtable a try.
Be realistic and give yourself some grace.
Accept that things change daily, or even hourly. Be kind to yourself, especially if your day doesn’t go as planned. Figure out your sweet spot days. Ours tend to be Tuesday through Thursday. That doesn’t mean we only work those days, but those are the core working days for getting a lot done.
Remember: it can take a while to learn how to do this efficiently, and it may not be perfect at first. It took us a couple of years, and it still changes. If this is your first foray into home working, you may not figure this out right away, but hopefully all this helps you get started.
You may even break some of these rules. A lot. The reality of working from home is that you can’t truly isolate yourself from the household. But keep things in perspective and remember that work in a traditional office is also full of distractions, conversations, interruptions. Life always gets in the way!
Be easy on yourself, and remember that such a lifestyle constantly evolves. There will always be new tools and apps to explore and try, and your own life may change over time. In fact, if you have any suggestions for techniques or apps, or just want to share what your own experiences are like, let us know!
