Pants optional: tips to survive working from home
The first few days of working remotely can be glorious. You don’t have to leave your home and tackle the grind of a daily commute. Transitioning back and forth between work and home life literally takes seconds, and that favorite spot – a sofa, a sunny porch, or that desk you set up but never used – are a welcome new workspace. And then there are the comfortable pants (sweatpants, pajama pants, whatever you choose) that become your new uniform. That is, if you decide to wear pants at all.
But after a few days or weeks, the comfort and productivity that you first got from telework can begin to crumble. It begins with the little tasks around the house that you can’t stop noticing and then pausing to do, or the call of a child or needy pet that constantly tugs you out of your work zone.
Your wonderfully quiet workspace can suddenly feel bleak, and you find yourself strangely longing for things that had previously irked you – awkward office birthday gatherings, drive-by colleagues and their constant interruptions. Then you realize that not only have you been wearing the same comfortable pants for days you have actually stopped showering entirely.
Credit H. Lentz-Harry
CREDIT H LENTZ-HARRY
Those of us who always work remotely know all about these feelings. Everyone at Impact by Design (IbD) went from working in an office environment to working remotely, and we each had our own transitions to navigate. But we have successfully navigated them and working from home is now part of IbD life that we enjoy and value (showering and pants included).
A nice combination of technology, workplace norms, and values have allowed IbD to establish a healthy, well-connected culture that makes it feel good to work from home. It also requires that each individual meet their personal needs so they can not just survive but thrive in an environment where they work remotely.
Tips to survive and thrive while working from home
Whether you’re making a full transition to working from home or need to do it for a period of time, here are some tips for personal survival.
Shower regularly. It sounds like a joke, but it will happen to you. This goes hand-in hand with changing out of your pajamas on a regular basis. What starts as a perk begins to feel gross, and then you don’t feel like much of a professional anymore. Stay comfortable, but make sure you still clean up and get dressed to help you get into the right mental mode for work.
Have a morning routine. Don’t just roll out of bed and in front of your computer. (Or, heaven forbid, regularly work in bed.) When the lines between work and personal life fade you enter dangerous territory. For example, keep a morning routine just like you did when you went into an office – get up at a reasonable time, get dressed, have coffee/tea/whatever gets you going. Maybe you get to sleep for 20 extra minutes because you skipped a commute, but you shouldn’t skip a routine.
Stay connected. Just because you can’t swing by a colleague’s desk and say hello doesn’t mean you should miss out on these personal connections. Talking with our colleagues – about work or personal matters – is what helps us build strong working relationships, generate ideas, and get things done. Make sure your team has a messaging platform to stay connected. (Here at IbD we use Slack).
Actually use video for conference calls. Seeing people allows you to pay better attention to colleagues and conversations and helps everyone focus by not drifting into web browsing or e-mail. When you actually see the person behind the voice, it helps you connect on a more personal level. Don’t continuously default to the phone, especially if it is an important meeting. (We use Zoom effectively for this purpose.)
Establish boundaries and stick to them. When you have personal commitments (partners, kids, pets, etc), you need to protect the precious time in a day that you can spend not working. Turn off work messages and put your computer away when it’s going to be family or personal time and really stick to it. This can be challenging, but is also one of the most important things for your sanity.
Move around. Working from home doesn’t mean you literally have to work from the same space every day. When your concentration is starting to fade, simply moving to a new room can help. This can be as simple shifting between different places in your home, or (when it makes sense) you can go for a walk or head to a place like a coffee shop or library.
Any work environment comes with its perks and challenges. Working remotely can have real benefits but you have to be thoughtful about making it a positive experience, especially if it’s new for you.
Looking for more support while working remotely or anything else? We’re happy to chat and answer questions, just reach out.
