After Two Decades of Working from Home, I Have Some Advice…
So, how’s it going so far? Are you as productive as anticipated, bouncing off the walls, gradually going insane, or is this home office lark even more enjoyable than you’d anticipated?
Earlier this week, I overheard a comment from one of my wife’s colleagues during a conference call as they reviewed their first week of working from home as part of a company-wide self-isolation policy. Her co-worker admitted he probably couldn’t survive another week away from his usual routine and was salivating at the thought of getting into his car, driving to the office and interacting in the style that has been the norm throughout his career.
I don’t wrestle with that anxiety. Since 2002, I’ve spent most of my career in sports communications and journalism based out of a home office. I did rent office space for a couple of years and employed staff, but for the most part it’s been just me. And the dogs. Regular travel and reporting into a company headquarters for a few days punctuates my routine nicely, but since that’s off the schedule for a while, it’s just me, the four walls and a window. And the dogs.
I have learned that self-imposing a few basic rules enable me to be productive and not go stir crazy, so here’s my hopefully helpful guide to survival and productivity during these alien weeks, perhaps months, ahead.
1. Get up and go to work
You’re not going to leave the house of course but start the day as you usually do. Set your alarm for the same time as usual, get up, get dressed and go through as much of your morning routine as is relevant. Personally, I neglect to shave until I feel I’ve let myself go, but in the infancy of this new life at home, you men out there might still want to glide a razor across the stubble before letting that slide occasionally. Sleeping in is an attractive option, but that will simply push your start to the day back and will also encourage you to stay up later at night. I know someone whose day starts with an 8am conference call, so he sets his alarm for 7.55am and takes the call from his bed as he wakes up. Not ideal.
2. Eat breakfast
If you usually skip breakfast, now is your opportunity to use your former commuting time to start the day off right. Yoghurt and berries or just scrambled eggs is sufficient. Toast? Sure, but your physical activity is going to dwindle, so those carbs will soon become additional waistline inches. Now that you’re awake and active in the morning, you have the option to either be at your desk early or sit and have a coffee (tea in this Englishman’s case) until you start work. Don’t turn on the TV! There’s no ESPN Sportcenter for starters and if you need to catch up on the latest news — and you should — there’s the internet to provide the equivalent of flicking through the morning papers before you start work.
Before anyone starts yelling ‘but I have kids, what about them?’ I’m writing this from my own current viewpoint. A few years back, I did juggle working from home with getting kids off to school and their return and occasional sick days and of course school holidays. They’re the wild card in all this. Establish from the beginning that they’re not allowed to enter the room or area where you’re working. It’s your office, even if it’s just a corner of a room. They need to respect that and you’re the adult here, so lay down the law. They might have schoolwork to complete and tempt them with their toys, movies, binge watching and video games as fun activities that you usually ration, but today — and tomorrow — they can play Fortnite endlessly if they wish. It’s not as simple as that as they’ll need snacks, attention and conflict resolution and perhaps the occasional medical response, but you need to draw a line between you and them. Adults too will interrupt your day, so be clear but not confrontational to let them know they can’t keep punctuating your day with trivial information or requests.
3. Establish a routine and be disciplined
Don’t consider the tasks at hand for the day ahead and then resolve to fit them in between now and the end of the workday, while you enjoy some leisure activities or entertain the kids. Plan work tasks based on their urgency, even if you have to assign them an A for urgent, B for moderately urgent and so on. Load the start of the day with those A tasks. Organize your day as thoroughly as possible and get straight to work. Fit everything else in around your work priorities. If you’ve checked social media during that former commuting time, close it down until the end of the day, or perhaps your lunch break.
4. Create your environment
I’m lucky. I’ve always had a dedicated office space. It’s a closed door to everyone else and also a door that can be shut when the workday is over. Create that if you can, particularly if you have a spare bedroom, or one of those dining rooms that nobody ever uses other than for holiday time meals. I once adapted a closet under the stairs as an office as the ceiling was just high enough to accommodate me sitting on a chair and I found a narrow table to use as a desk. A desk. That’s the secret. Always sit at a desk or an alternative if you have one. Don’t sit on the sofa with a laptop, don’t turn on the TV and don’t listen to music unless you usually do so at work. They’re distractions.
My dogs are sleeping on the floor by my desk as I write this. They nap throughout the day. I do have to head downstairs to let them run around the yard every now and then, so that’s when I break for a cup of tea. It’s dead time waiting for them to come back in, so I boil a kettle. That’s dead time too, so if there’s a task I can complete via my phone, I’ll do that as I wait. Your phone. Get into the habit of carrying it around the house, except perhaps to the bathroom. Nobody appreciates a flush as background noise.
5. Lunchtime
I eat light lunches (see previous waistline reference) and those that can be created as quickly as possible, ranging from something I bought at Whole Foods to a simple sandwich. If time is a constraint, work through lunch and make it as short a break as possible. If you have to provide nourishment to those pesky kids, plan their menu the night before and feed them something they’ll enjoy that is simple to cook: pizza, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (if you’re in America), chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, etc. Take walks at lunchtime if you can, but of course avoid other people to comply with social distancing. Even half a mile wandering the neighborhood is better than nothing and will help to preserve your sanity too. Stairs are also a good form of exercise if you prefer to walk up and down them aimlessly. I used to equate a thirty-minute lunch break with a chance to watch a TV show that lasted a similar duration, but that just results in taking a break of twice as long. You make lunch, you find the show, you catch up on what happened previously, you watch, you get distracted…
6. Be active
There have been times when I’ve stood up from my desk and my back has creaked because I’ve been sat in a position for way too long. There are no work colleagues to wander over to and pester during the course of the day, so it’s very easy to sink into that seat and barely move. If you have an Apple watch, it periodically tells you to stand (use this prompt as a bathroom break if you’re really busy), but I recommend not sitting for longer than half an hour no matter how busy you might be. Also, look away from your screen regularly. Even if you just wander over to a window to twitch the curtain and peer at the neighbors, that will rest your eyes, while also causing you to stand. And don’t nap. That doesn’t qualify as working from home. Tired? Drink caffeine, go to bed earlier.
7. Be social
I don’t mean jump on Facebook or Twitter but if you’re not already booked on a string of conference calls, be sure to call those work colleagues who are also under house arrest. Emailing and texting are fine and convenient, but if you’re stressed and frustrated with work or your environment, nothing beats a phone or Skype call to simulate human interaction. If you go down a rabbit hole and there’s nobody to absorb your frustration, phone a friend and complain to them. Meet for a virtual tea/coffee where you both make a brew or pour a stiff one at a designed time and meet face to face online to chat. Better still, propose an online cocktail hour with colleagues, family or friends when the workday concludes.
8. Reward yourself
You know there’s a Cadbury’s crème egg in the kitchen cupboard and it has your name on it. Rather than simply grab it and scoff that sugary delight, promise yourself it’s yours once this latest work task is complete. As the day wears down, the egg can be replaced by wine, or beer, or both.
9. At the end of the day
Close that office door or if necessary, throw a sheet over the area in the house that has been designated your workspace. You need to walk away. I tend to break to make dinner, walk the dogs, chat to my better half and perhaps watch the TV that has been switched off all day. I do pick up my laptop and phone again, certainly to check the news and engage with social media, and I might delve into some emails, but that’s true of anyone whether working from home or an office. To fully end the day, I plan out tomorrow’s tasks, to ensure that disciplined routine I mentioned is followed. By nature, I’m a night person, but I’m also awake (often needing to be forcibly shaken and stirred) by 6.30am, so going to bed at a reasonable hour is important. I’m not going to tell you what time that should be. What am I, your mother?
10. Holiday party
That’s the Christmas party in England where everyone is less politically correct than here in the U.S. If this virus stretches on and beyond, don’t plan a party. You’ll be the sad bloke sat all on his own with only dogs for company. And besides, Secret Santa will be a major let down.
