A thread with a few real thoughts and observations on #WFH 1/n
Get on regular hours. It’s easy to roll out of bed at 5am and immediately check your email, Teams, Slack, IMs and get on the crisis of the moment. If you’ve set up a regular schedule at work, consider following it at home. (Sometimes, a momentary crisis requires odd hours) 2/n
Ensure your team and others know your availability. At the office or in your workplace, it’s pretty easy to see who’s available but modern workplaces make it more challenging- and that’s even moreso when WFH. Tell your folks, update calendars and share your status. 3/n 
Wear work clothes. Speaking of getting up early, my day started on Friday at 4am PAC or so, a little earlier than normal. I could’ve easily sat in my PJs ‘til noon with no one the wiser. Be on schedule and dress for work to maintain your daily ritual - people notice. 4/n
Make sure you’re ready to work online. This means your work set up across phone, PC, and in our case @Microsoft, Teams readiness. Check out all your camera AV settings prior to meetings, including your background. If you don’t have a calm backdrop, improvise. 5/n
Check your connections. Have I told you about the time I had to take a conference call at midnight from my car on my mobile phone because our office had poor ‘net connectivity? Well, it took one negative experience to step up our WiFi coverage (thanks, @shanselman) 6/n
Stay on a schedule, part deux. This means taking breaks, scheduling lunch, and a clear endpoint to your day. My schedule this week on Thursday and Friday started at zero dark thirty, then I missed lunch, and ended too close to our usual dinner hour. Don’t be that person. 7/
Set up quick team syncs. People need support and connections, and you lose that when you’re not in your regular, comfy yet often chaotic work environment. We have a regularly scheduled weekly stand up and I’ll ask next week if an optional daily quick sync on Teams is needed. 8/
Plan for distractions and know that $#!¥ happens. People are working from home and they may have family members around with needs that will interrupt online meetings and phone calls. Be accommodating and supportive. (That’s ST:TOS S3E4) 9/n
Maintain connections. I rack up 13-14K steps daily at the office with more meetings than I can count. I’ve been moving those to Teams to keep up connections. I’m also thankful for online Twitter and Yammer friends to help in the moment when I need to vent. 10/n
Pass the mic. Set up at the beginning of a meeting how to acknowledge those who want to jump in or add something to the conversation. Just like IRL, follow posts in the IM window in Teams and take time to watch for those who may not’ve contributed or have an opportunity. 11/n
Get out and be active. Being cooped up in your home office isn’t going to lead to a productive time at home. Lots of suggestions online on how to take breaks: yoga, step outside or just do something differently. (Waking up the cat does not constitute a productive activity.) 12/
Set the ground rules. My much-better-half knows at home I’m usually on @MicrosoftTeams, deep in @msonenote or @Outlook. I’m lucky enough that we have a shared home office and can close the door as needed to signal my status at home. 13/n
Be open and honest with your manager. Not everyone is set up for effectively working from home. If you’re not, ask your manager for help. Also, if you need specific support or guidance, say something. We provide devices and monitors to those who needed them to WFH. 14/n
Do not wash the cat. No matter how much you may think they need a good bath, this is not something you want to embark upon between meetings. Schedule a Saturday afternoon for that kind of crazy. Don’t ask me how I know. 15/n
Drink more. This does not mean that “hey, it’s five o’clock in Bermuda!” It’s all about the moderation. We’re fortunate to have lots of great beverages at work, so plan to stay hydrated. 16/n
Be prepared. That means have supplies on hand (see kingcounty.gov/depts/emergenc…). This does not mean hoarding TP, bottled water and hand sanitizer, and then preparing to defend it from your zombie apocalypse ready, off-the-grid home office. It mean be prepared. 17/n
Be prepared, part deux. Because you never know when your cables will need to be replaced, as I discovered yesterday when a failed USB cable took down my productivity this week) keep a *reasonable* set of replacements on hand. 18/n
Do not try to blow dry the cat. See earlier in the thread. (There’s no photo associated with this horror.) 19/n
Last, keep a sense of humour. These are tough times. there are a lot more ideas as well, plus lots of practical tips posted online. Staying connected WFH isn’t always easy and everyone is doing their best to keep it together. Be kind, be supportive, and stay healthy. 20/20
Epilogue: Interesting that a few of the things my grandmother espoused were the importance of washing your hands, being prepared (she lived through the depression), and to be conscientious, all which are echoed in @jameshamblin‘s piece: 21/20
