Before we begin, I just realized this month is the three-year-anniversary of one of the greatest moments in working from home history, when a professor doing a live BBC interview was interrupted by his two young, hilarious children on air.
The professor, Robert Kelly, and his wife, Jung-a Kim, came back to the BBC as a family to talk about working from home under lockdown. The kids are still funny and cute, but I feel for them all.
Late last month, when I started thinking about doing this limited run newsletter on working from home, I ran the numbers.
Was there really a big enough audience? Were there truly that many people working from home?
Now, the stats have flipped. At least within certain jobs and industries, the vast majority of us are now working from home.
Even if it’s only been a few days or weeks, you’re fast becoming an expert. And you’ve probably started to figure out how to make it all work for you.
For example, almost every working from home “best practices guide” out there warns things like:
Don’t work from bed!
Get up in the morning and take a shower.
Find a dedicated place to work and a door you can close behind you.
But some people are the exception to the rule. For example, I sometimes do work from bed.
My subconscious mind often works on problems while I sleep, and I want to jump right on them when I wake up. But our house is 100+ years old, and some of the floors are creaky (it’s on the “someday home improvement list,” I guess).
So, rather than risk waking up everybody else, I’ll just get started without even getting out of bed.
On the theory that this newsletter works best when we hear from readers, I’d like to ask you to share three things along these lines with us in the comments:
Where do you find that you’re the exception to the conventional wisdom on working from home? Frankly, I think we’ve reached peak monolith in terms of standard WFH advice. It’d be great to hear from people who break the mold.
What problems in your work from home setup have you already identified and solved—especially if they’re unusual solutions? (Or else: Are there specific challenges you’re facing now, that you’re hoping somebody else has figured out?)
And I know I’m not alone: it’s the major challenge most people talk about. We might be working alone and at home, but I really think we’re all in this together.
I am normally a remote working, except when traveling. Now there are three more in the mix. My husband and our two three-year-old girls.
We had to make some changes this week to fix the work/kids balance, it overall the amount of quality family time we experiencing is great.
My husband is a software developer and needs to focus for long periods of time. I, on the other hand, spend most of my day on the phone, so he is in the office and I am working at the dining room table where I can better see the girls and attend to their needs.
If I have a call with a client (as opposed to colleagues), we switch places.
This week we shifted our mindset from temporary situation to long-term solution and are trying to follow a more structured routine. (Did I mention the other two occupants are there? Structure and routine are important and must be flexible).
This week I decided to take Wednesday’s off each week to break things up for the girls. We all take a morning walk, after early calls my husband and I both have and the girls have had breakfast. Then they have various projects and activities to do (my craft box is in jeopardy of running out so I’m doing some online shopping to supplement). We have lunch together and then the girls have quiet time.
We stop working at 5 so we can enjoy time outside before dinner and the bedtime routine. We’ll see how this goes and readjust as needed.
Looking at this as long term rather than week-by-week has helped my mindset and helps with the communication between my husband and me.
Making sure to take time during the day for walks, meals, and time together is helping the girls, and allows us to check in as a family.
I’m blessed to have a job where I can do this, and there are times the ‘interns’ speak up during calls. But everyone is some sort of situation that makes everyone understanding.
While I will be happy when we are able to return, somewhat, to our previous routine, I will miss all of this togetherness. But there are a lot of things we’ve implemented now which can carryover and hopefully we’ll continue to live more purposefully, especially in regards to quality family time.
I have been working from home for almost 2 weeks now and have found that I really, really like it! Probably won't be a good time for me when I have to report back to the office. I have found that I can keep my sanity by doing my normal routine every day as if I was commuting into the office. Next week was supposed to be my vacation (my daughter was to get married in Florida..) and I decided that I was going to take part of the week for vacation even though I am home. Many of my co-workers can't believe that I am going to "burn" some vacation time right now while I am already working at home. I decided that I'm not going to feel guilty or be made to feel guilty for wanting to stay away from everything work related for a couple of days. We all still need a mind break while staying connected with work.
I'm a freelancer, so I always work from home. My work station is a desktop computer in the living room, right next to the entry. There's no door to close, but my family is good at respecting my boundaries.
The best part about this set up is just off to the right is our large picture window. Outside is our flowering dogwood with a couple bird feeders, so I get to take frequent breaks looking out the window at the birds, which helps give my eyes some much-needed rest.
I really enjoy your messages and keeping us up to date on the things that are important. It is so easy to get caught up in the news and in some case political battling. Lets focus on what we can control. Thank you
I don't really have any break-the-mold exceptions to WFH advice or unusual challenges. I'm actually doing great (aside from the fear of distance learning starting for my son next week...it's been fairly easy to let him play video games and jump on the trampoline...but, now I'll have to make sure he's doing assignments in addition to my own work). What scares me is how much I like working from home and how my perspective will forever be changed so that I will not want to go back to the office.
The exception to conventional wisdom is broken because we don't have a desk or an office and we also have to manage our 10 year old's cyber schooling. I typically would work from home 1 day a week at our dining room table because it has the strongest wifi connection and the best view of the woods in our backyard. We've added a second laptop to the table and my daughter now works from one end and I'm at the other end. When its just the two of us, its workable. She is a thoughtful office mate and we respect each other's space. She checks in to see if its a good time to watch a video, and I take conference calls or Zoom calls upstairs to not disrupt her. The problem is my husband, who works in retail and has no concept of how to work from home. We don't have a solution other than to banish him to the basement. Does anyone know of a guide or article for non-working spouses to understand what NOT to do when their spouse and children are working remotely?
It’s so great to read the comments and see that we are all learning and achieving.
Here’s my question to the group. How are you appeasing clients, also working from home, who seem to have lost the work/ home schedule? As an example, I have clients who will now email or call later in the evening or earlier in the morning. I’m certainly grateful for the work. But it feels as though I’m sacrificing time with the family and for myself.
Thank you for your emails, I read them every day and enjoy them. This is my first time working from home, a week now, and the isolation is getting to me. I miss going to the office and today found a hard time with motivation to be productive suck in this home office.
Yesterday was the first day of mandatory working from home until 27 June for three of us (myself, spouse and niece) in an apartment (we all work for the College of Engineering and Computer Science at The Australian National University).
Problem solving: This morning we worked out a plan for moving around furniture so each of us can have a work space with sunlight and distance from each other across a small study and large living/dining room. Moving a rug from a bedroom to help dampen sound. Trying to maintain a comfortable "living space" while accommodating a large work table that adjusts height (thank you, IKEA). Where to put the printer so that each of us have access without disturbing our co-workers? How and where do each of us take phone calls / team check-ins / Zoom meetings without disturbing the peace?
Grateful for a larger apartment with a balcony and the ability to leave the apartment to take a walk and and to get take-away coffee from several local cafes (we are not yet in lock down here), and for an interior designer from Chicago who is helping us solve some of these problems via sms and email!
I feel reflection and creativity are going to be huge skills to turn to during this transition period. Even if some of us have been hoping for more flexibility, grief and struggle are still going to show up in this change. There's an opportunity for our culture to just feel into that vulnerability in order to release it instead of burying it or cutting it off. That's where I feel we can create new culture around our ideas of working. The biggest thing I'm learning is to work my own power cycles rather than forcing myself to get work done in a specific window. We're all different, and learning to work with our natural flow is a powerful thing. This is an exciting opportunity to find self-empowerment and passion in our work again.
I have occasionally worked from home, a day here and a day there, but almost two full weeks in I can say that the wooden dining room table chair is NOT made for the long-haul of working 8 hours a day. Missing my office chair at work. One positive...it makes me get up and walk around more often than I normally do at the office.
My daily routine has not changed...I get ready for work just like if I was going to the office...put make-up on, do my hair, different clothes than I would lounge in. It just makes me feel like I'm working instead of lounging at home. Boredom and motivation are issues without the interaction of co-workers throughout the day.
Glad I am a non-essential employee in higher ed so that I can take advantage of working from home during COVID-19.
My thought process this morning getting ready for a ZOOM call: Will it be obvious that I'm in my workout clothes if I put a decent pullover on? Do I need to put makeup on? I wonder how to work that ZOOM filter I heard about? Why isn't my headset working for audio? Damn kids didn't take in the barrels (I look out my front windows). Thank goodness for this email so i can waste a few minutes before digging into a project that is not going to be fun. Be well, everyone!
I've worked for myself at home for 15 years now. My biggest advice is - give yourself a break. We're very busy trying to set up a structure to ensure productivity. But what I've found is that it's okay to take a full hour for lunch, even if it only takes 3 minutes to eat. It's fine to take comp time this week if you put in 60 hours last week. Give up the guilt of not checking your e-mail 24/7. Get the work done, but don't kill yourself doing it.
I don't quite "work" from home. I'm in the hospitality industry and we're shut down. However, I'm also a part time freelance writer and so far, nothing about this lockdown is changing my writing behavior except that I'm fully saturated with the news and social media right now. I'm finding I have less to write about because all the stories are the same - COVID-19. Without anything else happening in life, it's difficult to come up with fresh content.
I am normally a remote working, except when traveling. Now there are three more in the mix. My husband and our two three-year-old girls.
We had to make some changes this week to fix the work/kids balance, it overall the amount of quality family time we experiencing is great.
My husband is a software developer and needs to focus for long periods of time. I, on the other hand, spend most of my day on the phone, so he is in the office and I am working at the dining room table where I can better see the girls and attend to their needs.
If I have a call with a client (as opposed to colleagues), we switch places.
This week we shifted our mindset from temporary situation to long-term solution and are trying to follow a more structured routine. (Did I mention the other two occupants are there? Structure and routine are important and must be flexible).
This week I decided to take Wednesday’s off each week to break things up for the girls. We all take a morning walk, after early calls my husband and I both have and the girls have had breakfast. Then they have various projects and activities to do (my craft box is in jeopardy of running out so I’m doing some online shopping to supplement). We have lunch together and then the girls have quiet time.
We stop working at 5 so we can enjoy time outside before dinner and the bedtime routine. We’ll see how this goes and readjust as needed.
Looking at this as long term rather than week-by-week has helped my mindset and helps with the communication between my husband and me.
Making sure to take time during the day for walks, meals, and time together is helping the girls, and allows us to check in as a family.
I’m blessed to have a job where I can do this, and there are times the ‘interns’ speak up during calls. But everyone is some sort of situation that makes everyone understanding.
While I will be happy when we are able to return, somewhat, to our previous routine, I will miss all of this togetherness. But there are a lot of things we’ve implemented now which can carryover and hopefully we’ll continue to live more purposefully, especially in regards to quality family time.
I have been working from home for almost 2 weeks now and have found that I really, really like it! Probably won't be a good time for me when I have to report back to the office. I have found that I can keep my sanity by doing my normal routine every day as if I was commuting into the office. Next week was supposed to be my vacation (my daughter was to get married in Florida..) and I decided that I was going to take part of the week for vacation even though I am home. Many of my co-workers can't believe that I am going to "burn" some vacation time right now while I am already working at home. I decided that I'm not going to feel guilty or be made to feel guilty for wanting to stay away from everything work related for a couple of days. We all still need a mind break while staying connected with work.
I'm a freelancer, so I always work from home. My work station is a desktop computer in the living room, right next to the entry. There's no door to close, but my family is good at respecting my boundaries.
The best part about this set up is just off to the right is our large picture window. Outside is our flowering dogwood with a couple bird feeders, so I get to take frequent breaks looking out the window at the birds, which helps give my eyes some much-needed rest.
I really enjoy your messages and keeping us up to date on the things that are important. It is so easy to get caught up in the news and in some case political battling. Lets focus on what we can control. Thank you
I don't really have any break-the-mold exceptions to WFH advice or unusual challenges. I'm actually doing great (aside from the fear of distance learning starting for my son next week...it's been fairly easy to let him play video games and jump on the trampoline...but, now I'll have to make sure he's doing assignments in addition to my own work). What scares me is how much I like working from home and how my perspective will forever be changed so that I will not want to go back to the office.
The exception to conventional wisdom is broken because we don't have a desk or an office and we also have to manage our 10 year old's cyber schooling. I typically would work from home 1 day a week at our dining room table because it has the strongest wifi connection and the best view of the woods in our backyard. We've added a second laptop to the table and my daughter now works from one end and I'm at the other end. When its just the two of us, its workable. She is a thoughtful office mate and we respect each other's space. She checks in to see if its a good time to watch a video, and I take conference calls or Zoom calls upstairs to not disrupt her. The problem is my husband, who works in retail and has no concept of how to work from home. We don't have a solution other than to banish him to the basement. Does anyone know of a guide or article for non-working spouses to understand what NOT to do when their spouse and children are working remotely?
It’s so great to read the comments and see that we are all learning and achieving.
Here’s my question to the group. How are you appeasing clients, also working from home, who seem to have lost the work/ home schedule? As an example, I have clients who will now email or call later in the evening or earlier in the morning. I’m certainly grateful for the work. But it feels as though I’m sacrificing time with the family and for myself.
Thank you for your emails, I read them every day and enjoy them. This is my first time working from home, a week now, and the isolation is getting to me. I miss going to the office and today found a hard time with motivation to be productive suck in this home office.
Yesterday was the first day of mandatory working from home until 27 June for three of us (myself, spouse and niece) in an apartment (we all work for the College of Engineering and Computer Science at The Australian National University).
Problem solving: This morning we worked out a plan for moving around furniture so each of us can have a work space with sunlight and distance from each other across a small study and large living/dining room. Moving a rug from a bedroom to help dampen sound. Trying to maintain a comfortable "living space" while accommodating a large work table that adjusts height (thank you, IKEA). Where to put the printer so that each of us have access without disturbing our co-workers? How and where do each of us take phone calls / team check-ins / Zoom meetings without disturbing the peace?
Grateful for a larger apartment with a balcony and the ability to leave the apartment to take a walk and and to get take-away coffee from several local cafes (we are not yet in lock down here), and for an interior designer from Chicago who is helping us solve some of these problems via sms and email!
I feel reflection and creativity are going to be huge skills to turn to during this transition period. Even if some of us have been hoping for more flexibility, grief and struggle are still going to show up in this change. There's an opportunity for our culture to just feel into that vulnerability in order to release it instead of burying it or cutting it off. That's where I feel we can create new culture around our ideas of working. The biggest thing I'm learning is to work my own power cycles rather than forcing myself to get work done in a specific window. We're all different, and learning to work with our natural flow is a powerful thing. This is an exciting opportunity to find self-empowerment and passion in our work again.
Wow how the world of work has changed, and thanks for keeping me engaged every morning.
I have occasionally worked from home, a day here and a day there, but almost two full weeks in I can say that the wooden dining room table chair is NOT made for the long-haul of working 8 hours a day. Missing my office chair at work. One positive...it makes me get up and walk around more often than I normally do at the office.
My daily routine has not changed...I get ready for work just like if I was going to the office...put make-up on, do my hair, different clothes than I would lounge in. It just makes me feel like I'm working instead of lounging at home. Boredom and motivation are issues without the interaction of co-workers throughout the day.
Glad I am a non-essential employee in higher ed so that I can take advantage of working from home during COVID-19.
My thought process this morning getting ready for a ZOOM call: Will it be obvious that I'm in my workout clothes if I put a decent pullover on? Do I need to put makeup on? I wonder how to work that ZOOM filter I heard about? Why isn't my headset working for audio? Damn kids didn't take in the barrels (I look out my front windows). Thank goodness for this email so i can waste a few minutes before digging into a project that is not going to be fun. Be well, everyone!
I've worked for myself at home for 15 years now. My biggest advice is - give yourself a break. We're very busy trying to set up a structure to ensure productivity. But what I've found is that it's okay to take a full hour for lunch, even if it only takes 3 minutes to eat. It's fine to take comp time this week if you put in 60 hours last week. Give up the guilt of not checking your e-mail 24/7. Get the work done, but don't kill yourself doing it.
I don't quite "work" from home. I'm in the hospitality industry and we're shut down. However, I'm also a part time freelance writer and so far, nothing about this lockdown is changing my writing behavior except that I'm fully saturated with the news and social media right now. I'm finding I have less to write about because all the stories are the same - COVID-19. Without anything else happening in life, it's difficult to come up with fresh content.