for those of you fortunate enough to be able to work from home amid the outbreak but without much experience in doing so, a few tips from someone who's been doing it for a long time.
1. routine is everything. most of us have one in an office, but at home the lack of structure may leave you more aimless. setting a routine is important. and what that routine actually is is much less important than sticking to it.
2. know when your day ends. years ago i ended up renting co-working space in a friend's office simply because i kept finding myself working through dinner. when your day is over, it needs to be over.
3. take breaks. this can be counterintuitive because the stereotype is people from home not actually working hard, but in my experience this is less of a problem than the reverse. get out and walk around during a lunch hour, chop wood, whatever. breaks are your friend.
4. talk to people. i've been asked if my working from home has ever felt isolating, and my honest answer is no because so much of it is spent talking to people. if your job doesn't involve that, schedule calls with someone, anyone. contact is important.
5. the biggest change in working from home for me versus when i started is social media. it's so much easier to be connected to other communities, teams, organizations, etc. they're tools with tremendous downsides, of course, but used deliberately they can be really useful.
one suggestion i see often is to dress up when working from home as you would in the office, and if that sounds appealing then more power to you.
for me, that's a big bag of not happening. unless i'm on a scheduled video call, everything gets done in pj's and old t-shirts.
for me, that's a big bag of not happening. unless i'm on a scheduled video call, everything gets done in pj's and old t-shirts.
