 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:
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. Comments are closed.
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