Hello BMBers!
Well.
That escalated quickly.
I know you were probably looking forward to a post today about pcards or paperwork. However, in these bizarre and unusual times, I thought it might be more appropriate to talk about telecommuting. Many of us are new to this whole ‘working from home’ thing. And it can be a bit challenging to get acclimated.
There are a lot of great things about telecommuting though. I know everyone always goes for the obvious – working in your pajamas, but there are so many other great things about working out of your home office.
I’ve compiled a list because who doesn’t love a good list.
- You don’t have to worry about anyone stealing your lunch from the communal refrigerator. Yup, you can rest assured that when 12:00 p.m. rolls around your leftover chicken curry will still be waiting for you. Unless you have kids, then all bets are off. My advice to you is to cover everything in broccoli as a deterrent.
- Everyone gets a free, standing desk when you work from home. Yeeeah, it’s your kitchen counter. Be sure to clean off the hot fudge dribbles from last night’s sundae before setting down your laptop.
- Bad breath? Who cares! You don’t have any coworkers to impress, eat what you want. Excuse me while I go fix myself a liverwurst and onion sandwich.
- If you don’t want to help your partner with the chores you can claim you are working late. “Oh, the laundry? Yeah, sorry honey, I’ve got to finish this email to my supervisor. Really important, can’t put it off…”
- Every day is bring your pet to work day. Seriously, this might be my favorite part of online meetings these days.
- You get to choose the music, and play it as loud as you like – Swedish Viking Death Metal fan? Turn it up to 11!
- There are no awkward bathroom conversations – Do you still talk once the stall door is closed? Do you say hi if you recognize the shoes under the stall? Is it okay to break the silence when you’re both washing your hands?
- The commute is pretty sweet. I mean, it’s like, a whole 20 steps from my bedroom to my office.
- Your relationship with Alexa will deepen. Me: “Alexa, you’re my best friend.” Alexa: “Thanks, I’m feeling the love.”
In all seriousness, transitioning from office life to telecommuting can leave a lot of folks stressed to the max. Here are some tips to help make this change a little less stressful.
- Set up a designated office area in your home. Whether it’s a card table or an area on the kitchen counter, make that your workspace. And leave work there. I know it’s tempting to take your laptop and sit on the couch, but it’s important to separate work and home life – especially if we are all practicing social distancing and staying home.
- Get ready for work in the morning. Please, please, please don’t work in your pajamas. Your brain is a creature of habit, and working in your pajamas tells your brain that you are lounging, not working. Get dressed, heck, put on shoes if it helps. Complete your normal getting ready for work grooming. This tells your brain that you are going to work.
- When you take your lunch, close your laptop, and turn off your cell phone notifications. Give yourself time to decompress and enjoy your meal.
- Use video chats as often as you can. Look, you might not be having the best hair day (unless you are Traci Shimmel, she was totally rocking a great hair day yesterday!) but it’s okay, we need that face-to-face contact right now. It’s easy to feel isolated without even realizing it.
- Go outside. I’m going to say this again. Go outside. Whether you take a walk on your lunch break or get out after work, it’s important to leave the house! Seriously, go outside. Do a lap or two around your house, your block, up the road, whatever, just get outside! I went for a walk yesterday and I was amazed at how many other people I saw out walking. Go outside. Do it.
- Don’t let work bleed into your home life. Set timers and alarms. You may be surprised to find out that it’s much easier to work longer at home. Since your office is literally down the hall it’s easy to do ‘just one more thing.” Set an alarm to remind you to take a lunch and set another to remind you to stop for the day.
- Stretch! Seriously, get up and stretch at least once an hour. Do a lap to the living room and back, get a glass of water. Get up and move throughout the day. You should be doing this one anyway, but it’s especially important when you’re stressed.
- Keep the lines of communication open – during business hours. Effective communication is incredibly important right now. Check in often, see how your coworkers are holding up. But close it all down in the evenings so you can ‘go home.’
These are some weird and frightening times we are living in, but we will get through this together. Wash your hands, practice good social distancing, and do at least one thing per day that makes you laugh.
Speaking of…
In an effort to maintain my sanity I am setting up ‘lunch dates’. Do you want to have lunch together sometime? Hit me up in the comments or via email and we can pick a day, time, and chat platform. I’ll help you with that laughing once a day thing.
Please, please, please share this post with anyone who needs a smile!