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Working From Home Survival Guide: Cliffs Notes Version

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If you’re like me, you probably get at least a few emails each day with tips or resources on working from home in this current pandemic. Don’t worry, I’m not sending you my own list of tricks (though our guest post was pretty awesome!). Let’s face it, who’s got time to read these emails? Between work, Netflix, and whatever is happening at home? Delete immediately. 

This week I had some motivation (or procrastination?) to tackle my inbox. I found that there’s plenty of good content out there, sometimes with overlapping advice. Therefore, I am simply summarizing (~200 words or less for each article!) only the most useful articles so that you don’t have to read them yourself. 

Women working from home on her bed with a laptop.
So much good content about working from home, condensed here for a quick read. Photo by Sincerely Media

Here is a pandemic working from home survival guide for the knowledge worker - Cliff Notes style! Move along if you’re looking for kid activities because this is NOT that kind of list.

Working from Home

Working from home may be completely new for some people. Although, you’re probably a few weeks in now. Nevertheless, it’s not too late to get a good start.

  1. Know your work-style - Knowing when (morning, midday, night?) you are most productive and in what environment (silence, music, background noise) can help you plan.
  2. Create your workspace - Choose a workspace that allows for your best concentration and access to resources, like a reliable internet connection. If video calls are required, consider what people will see and hear when you’re dialed in. 
  3. Get into the right mindset - Consider whether certain habits like getting dressed or beginning and ending your workday at the same time each day will put you in the right mood to work.
  4. Schedules and routines keep you focused and motivated - Plot out what tasks need to be done each day, and plan out your week. On Friday’s review the week’s accomplishments and consider your strategy for the next week.
  5. Watch your physical and mental wellbeing - Stretch and do some physical activity. Catch up with colleagues over virtual hangouts. 
  6. Make lunch an event - Lunch can be eaten while catching up on TED talks or taking a training course. Or take a break and go for a walk/run.

Working remotely means fewer face-to-face interactions with new customers or collaborators. Being a leader requires building credibility in those limited interactions.

  1. Know your audience and define what credibility looks like to them - Tailor the level of detail to your audience, from expert to novice.
  2. Acknowledge your audience’s situation - Show that you understand the complexities or problems facing your audience.
  3. Choose the right story for the right audience - Choose a plot that your audience will find motivating, not one to lose their trust.
  4. Hone your personal story - Tell a story about yourself that is universal enough to make your audience think how it intersects with their own stories. When this happens, the audience is more likely to think you are credible.
  5. Test your credibility by getting feedback - Seek out trusted colleagues who can critique your communications. 
Woman working from home on laptop sitting on the floor.
Working from home limits face-to-face interactions and requires extra effort to build credibility. Photo by Thought Catalog

People need to feel safe to engage in productive dialogue. This article suggests doing the following to ensure that people feel valued and appreciated.

  1. Understand what they are dealing with at home (kids, roommates, food supplies, etc.).
  2. Stay in touch daily, not just when there are problems.
  3. Make it safe to ask for help; likewise, demonstrate this by asking colleagues for help yourself.
  4. Be forgiving and patient when mistakes are made or deadlines are missed.
  5. Make it OK to not be perfect - we don’t have to have it all together.
  6. Share resources and self-care ideas, from indoor activities to counseling.
  7. Nurture a culture of gratitude by expressing your appreciation and asking coworkers what they are thankful for in their lives.
  8. Have fun, with memes, games, text messages.

Parenting and Working From Home

In most households of dual-career couples, the responsibility of many tasks that typically were outsourced has now reverted to one or both partners. What can the partner do to help the overwhelmed mom who is usually the primary caretaker of the kids and house and also still working a job? This article might be worth reading together.

  1. All time is equal - reading to a child is just as important as showing up to a business meeting.
  2. Vocalize appreciation and support - validate and offer help.
  3. Care work is prioritized alongside paid work; let your colleagues know when you are available and when you are not.
  4. Own your tasks while on kid duty from start to end, including the conception, planning, and execution of the activity. 
  5. Communicate with daily check-ins.
Reading to a child is just as important as showing up to a business meeting.
Time spent with the child is as important as showing up to a business meeting. Photo by Picsea

Getting Through This Together, Just Apart

Having good work friends can help you feel more satisfied at work and stay longer in that job. Cooperation, collegiality, and friendship are important for success at work. Here are six tips for building powerful friendships even when you’re not in the office together.

  1. Seek out tasks - Collaborate on a challenging topic.
  2. Avoid competing - Cooperate internally and ensure the competition is turned outside of your organization.
  3. Help others get ahead - Follow up, follow through, and be responsive to others so that they can do their best work too.
  4. Be real - Validating and acknowledging someone’s reality can go a long way.
  5. Listen - Make time for empathy and camaraderie.
  6. Offer challenging perspectives - Friends who help you become better are the friends who will help you succeed in the long run.

In It For the Long Haul

The risk of employee burnout is substantial, as the lines between work and non-work are blurring in new and unprecedented ways. Here are three ways that employers, managers, and coworkers can help one another cope.

  1. Maintain physical and social boundaries - Put on work-specific clothes each morning and substitute your commute with a short stroll outside.
  2. Maintain temporal boundaries as much as possible - Put away the devices when not working if they are what ties you to work at all times. Be conscious and respectful that others might need to work at different times than you do. Leaders can work with their teams to structure, coordinate, and manage the pace of the work.
  3. Focus on your most important work - Avoid busy work and devote energy only to top-priority issues. The average knowledge worker is only productive on average three hours every day. Finding an uninterrupted span of three hours can be insurmountable at home.

Feeling “on” all the time can lead to burnout. While it may be unavoidable sometimes, squeezing in work and emails whenever you get a few moments - whether that’s the children’s nap time or on the weekend - can be counterproductive and detrimental to well-being. Carving out non-work time and mental space will prevent burnout in the long run.

Avoid burnout to thrive for the long haul while working from home. Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com

Last Words

Lastly, here are a couple resources that cannot really be summarized with words, so you just have to see or hear these for yourselves. 

Don’t forget the powder. Lots of powder.

Self-explanatory. Listen and follow directions.

For more on the strategies and policies of large companies during the pandemic, look here.

What are your tips for working from home? Have you come across any good resources? Please share in the comments.