Put the 'Work' into Working from Home

The Internet is full of ways to help you live in this new reality, but for the busy pandemic-goer out there, here’s a 4-step practical guide to improving your working from home life.

Put the ‘work’ in working from home
Practice compartmentalism
Really listen, and really share
Don’t be a Karen

It’s time for change; this is the new normal

It amazes me when I still see people with bad home setups 7 months into this new way of working. I still see people working from a hard chair at the kitchen table, hunched over a laptop monitor, kids running around in the background while they shout into their laptop microphone and argue with their own echo on Zoom. I’ve been working from home on and off now for the best part of 5 years and in that time I’ve accumulated some hard-earned knowledge.

You likely spend 8+ hours working every day, and in the same way that I advise people to get the best bed they can afford, I also want to reach into the video call and slap those people (& their echo) for not taking care of themselves in their working from home setup. Even though a few of these tips will cost you, this is a beyond worthwhile investment and you might even find that your job has a working from home fund you can tap in to.

Get equipped & choose your environment

Get a good chair: One with wheels, adjustable height and back support. Your back will love you.
Choose your environment: Nobody wants to see your laundry, unmade bed, kids, dog or half-empty alcohol cabinet. While we can identify with all of these, it is just not professional. I also see an uptick in ‘isn’t it funny, my kid keeps interrupting me, what a crazy world we live in now’. This was novel at first, now it just means that you haven’t prepared properly. Get a lock or failing that a shock collar (kidding!). Find a space that’s as quiet as possible with a neutral backdrop so that people focus on you, not what’s going on around you. Don’t forget that this is all about building your personal brand too (see my article here on this!), your environment will say things about you whether you like it or not.
Get an external monitor: Your eyes will love you. You’ll also need a keyboard and mouse and ideally an external webcam so you’re not looking into ‘the wrong monitor’ while video conferencing.
Get a headset: No, I don’t mean an Apple headset that you need to hold to your mouth like we’re secret service agents in bygone times. I mean a proper headset with some degree of background noise filtering. Your colleagues will thank you and those echo issues will be a thing of the past.

However you set yourself up, just put some thought into it. We need to move from that initial ‘short-termism approach to something more sustainable.

Practice compartmentalism

You’ve likely heard this before, but it is so worth repeating. Try as much as possible to ‘walk away’ from your job in the evening. If you need to use your laptop for Netflix or Minecraft then take it with you to the bedroom or sofa. You need to train your mind to see that as office space.

Really listen, really share

Human beings are designed to emit a variety of non-visual cues. Without realising it we’re processing thousands of these a day. People feeling uncomfortable, frustrated, sad, angry can all be given away by subtle – and sometimes not too subtle – cues. The world of Zoom takes this away, and with cameras off, it’s even harder.

This means that we need to get better at listening to people, asking the right questions and sharing ourselves. Questions like ‘how does this make you feel?’, ‘what do you think about that’, ‘what did that mean for you’ might all sound gushy, but we can’t afford to start disconnecting ourselves from each other. Similarly, when people ask you these kinds of questions, really dig deep and answer truthfully. If you find yourself saying “I’m fine” or “I’m good” a lot, then you likely have something you need to address.

Headspace and other meditation tools can really help calm frayed nerves and give you the perspective that you might need to listen to how you’re feeling, or be more mindful of how others are feeling. You might not believe in all this, so my advice as with everything else is to try it before you shut it down. Meditation takes 10 minutes a day after two weeks you’ll know if it’s something that works for you.

Don’t be a Karen; being nice is free

If you don’t know what a Karen is then check out Urban Dictionary or YouTube. You’ll find some delightful examples of the worst kinds of humans. Unfortunately, stress and fatigue can bring out the worst in all of us, and it’s true that in our weaker moments the Karen that is in all of us can come out. I remember distinctly going to town on a young gas station attendant who while not being completely innocent, really didn’t deserve the force that can be me on a bad day. Afterwards I felt terrible, he felt terrible and a bystander was giving me ‘that look’. I had accomplished nothing. So here are some anti-Karen tips:

Take care of yourself. By even following the above and putting you first, you’ll notice that that fuse is markedly longer
Take care of others. Even though it’s oft overused: We. Are. All. In. This. Together. Being nice and patient costs nothing and can have remarkable effects.
When working remotely, think etiquette first. Have your camera on and give people 100% of your attention. Don’t schedule needless meetings, be late or early to meetings or send those impulsive, scathing emails, but instead sleep on them (or at least give it a few hours).

In summary

I have really run the gauntlet with you today, giving you practical, emotional and social tips for being a better, more productive and more centred you. You’re welcome.