WFH sounds a lot like WTF doesn’t it?

My sister-in-law, who is currently homeschooling her grandchildren (!), posted this question on Facebook this morning: "Who’s great idea was it to change math!!??" Sandy gets it. Humor is how we are going to adapt to the new how-could-this-possibly-be normal. 

A friend recently sent me some advice about working from home (WFH) with your partner or spouse. She suggested we each create an imaginary officemate upon whom we blame the annoying things our partner or spouse does, as in: “Louise left her lunch dishes on the coffee table again...” My husband John, who teaches online university classes and yoga from two of the rooms in our tiny condo, has taken this imaginary-friend advice to heart and has claimed Vermont Governor Phil Scott as his imaginary friend. He’s got the blaming thing turned around a bit though, as we both appreciate what our governor has done for Vermont. In John’s case, his imaginary friend blames him for the annoying things. 

Humor has been my greatest companion in this quarantine. Second and third on my WFH survival list are music and earplugs. These two might seem incongruent together, but they are not. 

William Congreve was right when he wrote that music has charms to soothe a savage breast - even one in quarantine. Music also has charms that uplift. For soothing, I tend to go for baroque, for uplift, I’ve taken Rising Appalachia - Resilient as my new anthem. Check it out:

​Earplugs, at the other end of the spectrum, are high on my WFH list as they afford me the audio solitude that is essential to my work as a writer. Earplugs work well in other professions, too. 

What are your top three WFH survival tips? Share them here. You’ll find, as I have just done, that helping others is really the best way we will get through this. ​

I spoke to a Client today and all I could hear was his fear of trying something new
for his business that he had never done before, but that was a
necessity to survive through this time of chaos.
The fear vibrated through his voice.
Even though the knew he needed to take this step in his business to survive this crisis, he was more scared of taking action than losing his business.
What was he fearful of?
Fear of not being enough.
Fear of being an imposter.
Fear of not being perfect. 
Fear of old stories that are keeping him back from finding his truth. 

Well folks, I have never lived through a more fearful time than now, March 2020. 

So I wonder...for all of us, if we are going to survive this pandemic
physically, mentally, and economically, we need to let go.

We need to become losers and lose everything. 

Said another way, we need to lose in order to win. 

We need to lose our fear. 

We need to lose the belief that we are not enough. 

We need to lose the idea of perfection. 

We need to let go of the old stories keeping us from doing what we want.
And what we need to do, to survive. 

Be a loser to be a winner. 

Be safe, be brave, be hopeful. 
-AM

The "C-Word" (aka Corona Virus) that we have heard has taken on a more intense meaning in the last week. The word is creating fear and panic. People are isolating. 

But we at FromWithin Coaching challenge you, in order to “insulate” vs the “isolate”, to use differnt words that start with C that are going to be more helpful in getting us through this uncertain time.
 
What are other the “C-Words” we encourage you to say and DO more?
 
Community
Connection
Certainty
Compassion
Conviction
Commitment
Cause
Contribute
Care
Cleverness
Consciousness
Create
Co-Create
Calm
Curious
Capable
Can-do
Champion
Celebrate
Confirm
Current
Courtesy
Courage
Choice
Continue
Cooperate
Capable
Civility
Competence
Conversation
Chance
Cohesion
Contemplative
Contribute
Center
Character
Contribute
Continuity
Closeness
Climb
Creative
Clarity
Choose
Cookies (not kidding, they are helpful)
And finally, Coach.

Your job is to be you and practice saying (and doing)
​these “C-Words” more than the other c-word.

A friend of mine sent me a photo of a sunset this past week - it has been an incredibly unprecedented week in our lifetime and the sunset he sent was almost a way to "seal" the day and the crazy week - it was exactly what I needed...

​I replied back to his text with the photo above - the sunset from Lake Champlain here in Vermont. His text reply back was simple - "challenge accepted." And like that, we started a daily ritual of sending sunsets to each other at the end of the day...

The reason I mention sunset ritual is to challenge YOU in doing something like this to help you manage the unease and anxiety many are reporting feeling.

For me, I am connected at least once a day to something I can be grateful for. And to someone I care for.

Although with social distancing, I have chosen not to see this "sunset friend" in person,  I still get to interact with him daily...and get a dose of sunset each evening. 

So consider doing something that can become a ritual to stay connected with your community, or a loved one - maybe the ritual lasts for a few weeks, or a few months as they are forecasting our need to social distance. But I think a ritual like this for me, is one I hope I can keep for a lifetime with my friend. 

One last thing on this Sunday, we have no idea what next week is going to bring us...but a suggestion one of our Coaches, Alexandra Hughes shared with me to help prep for the week is, like screen time, to stop listening or watching anything in regards to the Corona Virus at least two hours before bedtime. It will give your brain (and heart) a chance to stop the information download and perhaps allow you to process the day. And perhaps think about a sunset...

FromWithin Coaching will be here to send you thoughts, ideas, and suggestions to make your week "easier." It is something that we hope helps you, but also, selfishly, helps us...

 - Amy Magyar, Owner of FromWithin Coaching ​and believer in the power of sunsets.

Finding Insulation without Isolation in the Viral Age
-Blog Post by Jane Taylor, working from home since 1997.
 
Working remotely and social distancing are acts of self-care. They are also part of our social contract. In order to get through the uncertainty brought about by Corona, we must work together and stay apart. But this insulation need not be isolating. With vigilance and care, we can keep our personal and business connections strong even as we keep our distance.
 
The verb insulate, means "protect from heat, cold, or noise," like when you add an extra layer of clothing to insulate yourself from the cold. You can insulate a wall to keep sound out, or insulate your house to keep cold air from getting inside. So, to insulate is to protect against unwanted changes.”[1] In the era of the C-Word (Covid-19), self-quarantine and social distancing are the types of insulation recommended by the CDC and other health officials.
 
This recommendation is backed by empirical data. In 1918, a flu epidemic killed 20-50 million people globally. There was no cure. Symptoms were managed with improvised home remedies. The first official preventive measures included “the closure of public meeting places, such as theaters, and the suspension of public meetings. In addition, long church sermons were prohibited, and Sunday instruction was to last no more than five minutes.”[2]
 
Taking it further back to the plague outbreak in Florence in 1348, officials also recommended social isolation. However, Italian theologians advocated that people “beware of fear, anger, sadness, excessive anguish, heavy thoughts and similar things. And equally one should take care to be able to be joyful, to be happy, to listen to lullabies, stories and melodies.” 
 
Several plague advice books hit the newsstands in the 14th Century including Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron (a collection of amusing and racy bedtime stories meant to keep spirits high) which instructed citizens on how to maintain mental wellbeing in times of epidemics and isolation. “Boccaccio also understood the crucial role of what we now call social networks in public health crises.”[3] As we ‘protect against unwanted changes’ and move our offices and classrooms to online locations, our need for human connection grows almost in proportion to viral spread.
 
And yet, our current public health crisis is exacerbated by a crisis of disconnection in society. In other words, loneliness is also killing us. Working remotely will only make the disconnection worse unless we actively counter it with meaningful connection. We need stories, connection, and a sense of belonging to keep us human.
 
Psychology Today tells us that, “Being alone can result in negative reactions related to loneliness (e.g., sadness, hopelessness) or it can have positive reactions related to solitude (e.g., spiritual and creative growth, restoring one’s health and energy).”[4] With diligence and the aid of technology, we have the power to choose our reaction.
 
Here are some of our favorite tips on mitigating loneliness and staying connected (staying connected will also bolster productivity) as we work remotely:
 
Schedule Face-to-Face Time
Non-verbal communication is a huge part of communication. As a very transparent eye-roller, I relish the insulation email and text offer, but also appreciate seeing the faces of my friends and colleagues. Schedule regular online meetings and video chats.
 
Be Proactive About Scheduling
Make time to make time with your boss, your colleagues, your direct reports, your friends. A meeting request shows not only that you care, but also that you are on the ball. Schedule both one-on-one and team phone conversations and video chats.
 
Don’t Forget the Niceties of Chit Chat
In email and in video chats, human connection is…well… dependent upon connecting as humans. Before getting right to the meat of the business matter at hand, engage in authentic personal communication. You need not reveal all, but some light conversation about your well-being and your concern for the well-being of others will bolster that well-being. A rising tide lifts all ships…
 
Work When Your Colleagues Work
Be available and respond quickly.
 
Use LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business networking platform. Use it. While the cute pit bull videos on Facebook are heartwarming, the amount of disinformation, divisiveness, and distraction that social media channel foments is counterproductive to your work and counter indicated to true human connection. The comparison Facebook enables and encourages (i.e., my tropical vacation is more luscious than your tropical vacation) robs us of joy, makes us feel small and undervalued, and creates further disconnection. LinkedIn, on the hand, is more about sharing business ideas and innovations. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and use it.
 
As the stock market crashes, the NBA cancels its season, and your favorite yoga studio closes its doors, it is certainly getting harder to eschew “fear, anger, sadness, excessive anguish, heavy thoughts and similar things.” But staying connected helps. By controlling the things we actually can control, we gain agency. It is not naively or unreasonably optimistic, it’s part of our evolution.
 
-Jane Taylor, working from home since 1997.

[1] https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/insulate
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6477554/
[3] https://www.newstatesman.com/2020/03/coronavirus-survive-italy-wellbeing-stories-decameron
[4] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/emotional-nourishment/201612/why-we-need-each-other

Thank you Jane Taylor for another timely blog post. 
​Folks - the world is changing quickly. 
FromWithin Coaching is going to be here to help you make sense of the chaos happening in the world right now. And help us as well as we are human beings and nervous as well. We are a community for each other...stay posted as we share ideas of "insulating" yourself from the chaos, not isolating. 
​
-Amy Magyar, Owner of FromWithin Coaching and Human Being as nervous as anyone else, but dedicated to help us all find solace during these times. ​

Working from Home: Setting Up Business When Virtual goes Viral
-Blog Post by Jane Taylor, working from home since 1997.
 
Corona is the new C-Word. If it has not already affected you professionally, it soon will. As we face unprecedented uncertainty in the marketplace, in the office, and in our careers, we will have to dig deep FromWithin.
 
It feels like we are being tested, but whether as an act of self-quarantine or as simple self-advocacy, many of us are going to have to work remotely.
 
“The coronavirus is putting remote work to a gigantic test, and at a totally unprecedented scale. Throughout China, Italy, Japan and South Korea, workers have been on lockdown.”[1]

Universities are moving to remote methods of learning; we and our clients are preparing for that inevitability. Much of our work is already engaged remotely, we’ve got years of experience to share.
 
As you join the ranks of newly remote workers and learn to practice social distancing, you’ll want to stay connected. In this series on working remotely in the Viral Age we will touch on keeping the human connection we need without touching any germs or extensive handwashing and examine ways to:

• Make your virtual office work for you
• Insulate yourself without isolating yourself
• Be proactive with your employer/clients
• Build immunity and resilience into your career

 
Let’s start with your virtual office. Working remotely can be extremely productive when you set yourself up for success. Here are our favorite tips:
 
Time
Stick to your work schedule. Work when you would normally be working. Use your morning commute time to get some exercise or walk the dog. Use your evening commute time to organize your accomplishments for tomorrow. End your workday at a reasonable hour.
 
Professionalism
Dress for work. You may be tempted to work in your pajamas, but such garb inspires a certain laissez-faire unprofessionalism. Take a shower, shave, get dressed. Go to work.
 
Workspace
Make a clean and organized workspace. It need not be large; let it not be chaotic. Set up a dedicated work environment. Do not eat at your desk.
 
Distractions
Your home is filled with your life distractions. Your garage needs sorting, your laundry needs washing, your motorcycle needs riding, Fido needs walking. Commit to your work before letting yourself be distracted. Whether that means fully completing a project or dedicating 90 minutes to it without diversions, make the commitment. Stick to it. Set a timer, if you need to. Your garage can wait.
 
Communicate
Working from home can create freedom, but it can also create discord. Your team is no longer one desk away; make sure communication with them is open, frequent, and clear. Make your expectations known. Make your accomplishments known. Use common courtesy and good manners. If you fear your message could be misconstrued, it probably will be. Take time for clarity: read your messages out loud before sending. Let your team, colleagues, clients know when you will be available. Be available at the time.
 
Insulate yourself from Corona without isolating yourself from creativity
Working remotely can be lonely. Steve Jobs was a famous opponent of remote work, claiming that “Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions.”[2] But spontaneous creativity can also happen by text. Your closest collaborators are only as far away as your phone. Keep your channels of communication open. Schedule and keep regular Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime meetings with your colleagues.
 
Necessity is the mother of invention. With time, exploration, and practice, working remotely can become as creative and rewarding as working at the office.
_______________________________________________________________________________
[1] https://www.npr.org/2020/03/09/812898220/laundry-between-emails-working-from-home-goes-viral-in-the-time-of-coronavirus
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/technology/working-from-home.html

Thank you Jane Taylor for this timely blog post. 
​Folks - the world is changing quickly. 
FromWithin Coaching is going to be here to help you make sense of the chaos happening in the world right now. And help us as well as we are human beings and nervous as well. We are a community for each other...stay posted as we share ideas of "insulating" yourself from the chaos, not isolating. 
​
-Amy Magyar, Owner of FromWithin Coaching and Human Being as nervous as anyone else, but dedicated to help us all find solace during these times. 

​February 29, 2020 is just around the corner. At FromWithin Coaching, we are hoping that you won't waste the day...instead, live it with intention. What should you do with an entire 24 hours? Here are some ideas our Coaches have...