Remote work has long been controversial. While tools that support remote work have been widely available for some time, prevailing attitudes have not been disrupted as quickly. Companies have tried to create balanced policies everyone can agree on, but the issue is complex because each employee is different. Opinions can also differ greatly by department or even by job function. Your sales manager’s personal policy will not be the same as your engineering lead — trust me. All of this is to say that there’s no silver bullet that will put this debate to rest. But let’s be honest, many of us won’t be working in an office for quite some time, so here are a few simple ways to make the most of a week while working remote.
Create a Space to Work
Swapping your commute for the distance between your bed and home desk might seem like a win, but it’s important to not undervalue what a commute provides. A commute signals that it’s time to clock in or clock out. It forces you to plan ahead and keep a schedule. It gets you out of bed at an exact time so you’re not late for that 9am meeting. And once you show up to work, you show up. There’s very little tolerance for napping or strutting around without pants on in an office––not so much while working remotely! This is why it’s so important to create a dedicated home office and routine.
First, dedicating part of your home into an office should not be more involved than it has to be. It doesn’t make sense to buy an Aeron chair and a wall of monitors if you live in a small apartment or are on a tight budget. Refrain from renovating your living room into a corner office. Instead, appreciate that your work-life balance is now a work-life harmony. The two are sharing the same space and must coexist. So if this simply means having a chosen area for your work computer, then great! (But maybe put a potted plant or two down while you’re at it). Your dedicated work space will let you know when it’s time to work and will help keep you organized.
Speaking of being organized, it’s incredibly important to keep your office space clean. We’re living in extraordinary times and if you read the news on a daily basis it will quickly feel like everything is out of control. Your work space shouldn’t feel equally out of control. Maintaining a clean space will help you keep a sense of order and, frankly, it will give you something to do. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the list of available activities has shrunk dramatically in 2020. If there’s one takeaway from reading this, learn to love to clean and thank me later.
Shut Off in the Evening
Most people understand what time they’re going to start working in the morning, but less plan for when they’re going to wind down. Since you now work where you live, it can be harder to know when your work day ends. And it can often feel like companies today are “always on.” Whether it’s a new email, slack message, or even a Kustomer notification, there’s no shortage of applications vying for your attention. And while being virtually available and super connected always gives us ways to be productive, individually we need to recharge. It’s just as important to schedule this time as it is to schedule your next meeting. So before you open up your laptop to start a new work day, have an approximate goal of when you plan to close it.
Share What Works
Lastly, understand that while you’re creating a routine around this new normal, your colleagues are experiencing their own version of the same thing. It’s important to stay connected with them and talk about what is working and what isn’t. Nobody is expected to have all of the answers right now, and for many of us this working environment is very new. But remember that teams are built to solve problems together.
Check out our infographic for more tips on how to successfully work in a remote environment.
