5 Tips to Make Working From Home More Effective

It feels hard to believe I used to have a 40-minute commute from my apartment to work — and even harder to believe that I actually miss that routine. Like many people around the country, I’ve been working from home since early March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Social distancing” has become the new norm, and it’s certainly taken its toll. A recent interview in the Harvard Business Review explains the sources of the grief so many of us feel right now:

• Loss of normalcy
• Fear of economic toll
• Loss of connection

David Kessler recommends not only acknowledging our feelings, but also honoring their validity, practicing self- compassion, and allowing ourselves to feel them as they come:

Humans are social creatures, and I work for a company with a remarkably close-knit in-office culture. As a content editor for Clutch, a research and reviews platform, I feel lucky to still find ways to bond with my peers while working remotely.

Today, I’d like to share what I’ve found effective with you! This guide is designed to help you ease into a more productive remote work routine.

5 Essential Tips for Remote Work

1. Have a physical transition to start and end the day
2. Have a designated workspace
3. Establish ground rules with your kids (and roommates)
4. Take advantage of video conferencing tools
5. Make your interactions purposeful

1 Start & End Your Remote Workday With a Physical Transition 

When you’re squirreled away in your home, work can get challenging. There’s no set boundary between your professional and personal life anymore – at least, not physically. Strike a healthier balance by maintaining routines that mentally trigger your “work mode” and “home mode.”

Source: Business Leader

Here’s a great tip I learned from Mike Gutman’s LinkedIn Course. After I wake up (and will myself into being), I go through my normal routine as if I were going to the office. For me, that means eating a quick breakfast, getting dressed, and then physically leaving the house.

That last part is the kicker. Putting on my work shoes and then taking a short walk before I start my day helps me get into gear. Yes, I’m still working in the same location, but the act of “commuting” to my workspace and dressing the part helps keep my work and personal life separate. 

2 Have a Designated Workspace While Working from Home

In the same vein, you’ll want to choose a designated workspace — again, just to reinforce a physical reminder of what is work and what is personal. Ensuring my workspace is well-lit keeps me alert. I keep all of the tools I need in one place:

• My laptop
• A second monitor for heavy editing
• My water bottle to stay hydrated
• Notebooks and pens to jot down ideas

I also know that I like to move around my apartment to change the scenery. In the morning, I might start at the dining room table to get most of my productive work done. Once that’s complete, I’ll  move to the armchair near my plants to tackle more administrative tasks. See what works for you!

3 Establish Ground Rules With Your Kids (and Roommates)

A few of my peers have their own families. For them, working from home means making sure the kids are doing their school work, making meals for everyone, and walking the dog in addition to their 9–5 job. One of our product developers even mentioned that his kids have found ways to jimmy the lock to his office to say, “Hello!”

Charming.

Working at home when you have parental duties is a true challenge, but the same basic rules apply. Set a regular routine so your kids understand what they should be doing at any given time, and establish spaces for each activity.

Source: Getty Images via UGA Today

For example, one of my friends works with his kids at the dining room table: him on his data sheets, and his kids on their school courses. When he has meetings and needs privacy, he works in his office for an hour. This lets his kids do more rambunctious activities while giving them a chance to be independent.

Of course, if you live with roommates, you don’t have to manage their time. Just let them know when you need quiet, and you should be fine. All in all, remember to be realistic and empathetic with your expectations.

4 Take Advantage of Video Conferencing Tools for Remote Collaboration

Video conferences are the next best thing to collaborating in person when it comes to human interaction. It truly makes a difference when you can see the person you’re talking with. There are numerous conferencing tools out there you can use to collaborate: 

• Google Hangouts
• Zoom
• Slack
• Skype

When participating in a video conference, make sure to keep yourself on mute if you’re not the speaker. Tools like Zoom have a hand-raising feature to indicate when you have something to say. Sticking to these best practices helps avoid interruptions.

For more informal meetings, my team likes to use the chat function to have mini-conversations while the speaker is talking. This tactic helps introduce new insights that the speaker might not have touched on in the main discussion. Using messaging features encourages engagement without causing interruptions.

5 Make Your Interactions Purposeful When Working From Home

To build a strong team culture while working outside of the office, you need to be intentional about  interacting with your coworkers. Since you can’t casually bump into people in the hallway or chat by the watercooler anymore, you need to create those opportunities.

It might sound inorganic, but planning social interactions is another form of community care. Think of it this way: “This person wants to check in on me, so they’re setting aside designated time to make sure we can catch up.”

Our team virtually stays connected through:

• Video lunches
• Online coffee chats
• Virtual dog walks
• Organized book clubs
• Peer-led project highlights
• Fitness challenges
• Photo prompts to keep spirits up

I’m actually going to host a live cooking demonstration soon where we’ll all learn how to make crêpes suzette. How exciting! Everyone is responsible for building the company culture that they want to see, so put your best foot forward to build those relationships.

Set Yourself up for Success When Working Remotely

Working from home might be the temporary norm for now, but these 5 tips will give you the tools you need to stay sane and productive. 

Have physical triggers to indicate when your day begins and ends, and keep your work area confined to 2–3 set spaces. If you have kids (or other cohabiters), set some ground rules so that they know when you need to focus. Finally, leverage video conferencing apps to connect with your peers on both a professional and personal level.