First and foremost, just wanted to express our hope that you, your family and your colleagues are safe and healthy during these turbulent times. Seems like the situation changes on an hourly basis, and we expect will continue to do so for some time. When we launched ADC back in 2002, we began by working out of our respective home offices. The goal was to eventually get some office space, but we quickly realized that there wasn't really a need to. No office meant lower overhead, zero commute, and more flexibility. And so we've stayed in our home offices for 18 years. During that time, we've learned a lot about working from home. As your work situation changes during this temporary period of social distancing, we'd thought we'd share some of tricks and tips in the hope they might prove useful. Hope these are helpful. Stay safe, wash those hands, and look out for one another! - Dave & Andy
Tip One: Don't Wear Pajamas It can be awfully tempting to roll out of bed, grab a cup of coffee, and head to the office. Resist that urge. There's a lot of benefit from making a physical transformation to begin the work day, even if that means just changing into something simple. (The exception is here on the West Coast when East Coast clients request the inevitable 9A EST conference call. In that situation, green light tor the PJs.)
Tip Two: Stick to a Schedule Don't sleep in. Really. Create a consistent rhythm to your days including a regular start time. Also, try not to linger. Working out of the home office means that work is always accessible. When you're done, try to stay done.
Tip Three: Mix It Up Admittedly. this might depend on the amount of space you have at your disposal, but try mixing up how you work in your environment. Answer emails at a standing desk. Write memos/letters sitting down in a chair with a laptop. The changing perspective and movement helps keep you healthy and ideas flowing.
Tip Four: Distant Doesn't Mean Disconnected The thing most people fear about working out of a home office is that sense of being disconnected from a social office environment. Don't hesitate to call / text / message/ skype / video conference / etc people to check in. Not every communication needs a specific goal.
Tip Five: Video Conferencing Video conferencing is a great tool for remote working, but there's plenty of room for missteps. One of the biggest is that unfortunate tendency to look at the screen instead of the camera when you're talking. One trick is to put a picture of someone you like to talk to adjacent to the camera and talk to them when you're making that excellent point.
Tip Six: Set (Limited) Boundaries This one is really important for those of you with kids who can get REALLY excited when mom or dad is now home during the day. There is no such thing as "off limits space" for a kid, so just let them in. When you DO need privacy, a better bet is a mutually understood sign or signal that lets them know that, for the moment, the home office is out of bounds.
Tip Seven: Avoid the Kitchen
Whenever possible, take an alternate route from the office to wherever you're headed so you can avoid snacks. Seriously. There's a work from home equivalent to the Freshman 15.
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