Telework has received a lot of attention in the last 2-3 weeks due to COVID-19 raging over Europe. My whole career I had some form of “work from home” available. In the last 20 years, I have not had a fixed office to go to in the morning.
When I’m not traveling, I’ve been able to roll out of bed and step into my office and start working. All the stories of people working from home, wearing nothing or only the bare minimum they surely exist. For me, I’ve noticed that getting dressed in a way that I feel good about myself gives the best results. If you feel best in a suite to perform a presentation don’t hesitate to take it out and get dressed!
It is good to have a dedicated space where you can work and that can be closed. For my work, I do a lot of online meetings using Zoom, GotoMeeting, Microsoft Teams, slack and others. Having somebody next to you yapping away the whole time might be too much for your fellow housemates. Be creative, a chest of drawers in the bedroom can be your new standing office for example!
A checklist of things to verify for homework:
- Applications and services: What do you use daily? Can I access these and do they work from a distance?
- Internet Connection: Are there any restrictions on bandwidth or traffic. You might want to verify this and upgrade your subscription if needed.
- Backup internet connections: Do you have an alternative internet connection like 4G from your phone? Have you checked that it is working with your computer?
- Online meeting software: Maybe you have used it before maybe not. Perform a test before going live. You wouldn’t be the first one presenting a full hour nobody hearing you or seeing your screen.
- Breaks: Put your coffee or tea station as far away in your house as possible. It gives you a reason to get up and walk around. You do this in your office as well.
A final piece of advice, connect with your colleagues often. Maybe even over-communicate if you are new to telework. Working from home removes some of the daily interactions that you have just by being in the same office. Get in a routine of doing a daily check-in, have a separate water cooler chat room. Certainly in these extreme times. To sparkle of light here change sparkles creativity and I hope to learn from all these new teleworkers. Tell me your experiences in the comments.
Stay safe and keep learning!
Good checklist and inspiring.