4 tips to stay sane and productive when working from home: Lessons from a remote Googler
Working from home is ‘living the dream,’ right? Not quite. I’ve never felt more alone, unkempt, and professionally disconnected than when I became a full time remote worker (for 2 years at Citrix, and approaching 1 year at Google). Here are my 4 tips to working from home for an extended period of time. I hope these help as we all navigate through the complexity of COVID-19.
1. Have a dedicated, comfortable space.
Just like at the office, you need a desk to get work done. Find a flat surface, ideally a desk, and carve out a workspace (sorry, it may disrupt your design aesthetic and layout, but it’s needed). Look for a spot with good lighting (ideally the window is facing you) and a clean or tidy background (see next section). You may need to move furniture around and/or buy a desk and comfortable chair that works for you (see ergo tips). It’s important you feel like you’re at work. Ideally you have a separate room where you can shut the door (and lock it, if you have kids at home).
For those that don’t have a dedicated room, or you have to co-work with someone, get creative. Invest in a hip mid-century style divider or build a Lego-like block wall (cheaper on Amazon). You can take it down when you have company or when you’re ready to go back to the office. Plus it will look cool as your background in video meetings.
2. Your background is a reflection of you.
Don’t sit in front of a window (if you have to, use blackout curtains). People want to see your face, not a shadowy silhouette or a beam of bright light behind you.
Have natural or soft artificial light in front of you. Avoid backdrop visuals that are distracting when you’re trying to solve a problem.
Turn on your webcam and jump into a mock meeting with yourself. Test different angles by moving your camera or laptop to different parts of your room or home. Ideally you can sit in the spot that has the cleanest background and best light. And just like a good Kim K selfie, you want to have your camera angled down, positioned slightly higher than your face or straight on.
For decor, that is up to you. Some favor diplomas or maps for a more studious look, while others opt for a more creative, artsy look with white space and pops of color with art, books or vases. You can never fail by having a plant in the background (as long as it’s not dead). Fiddle leaf fig trees are all the rage, but they can be fickle if you don’t have large amounts of natural light. These 12 houseplants are hard to kill and make for great backgrounds.
Think of your background as a conversation piece, and the window into your real world. When we are disconnected from coworkers physically, it’s nice to have a genuine life moment talking about the family picture behind you, or your favorite piece of artwork or a cool vinyl record in your backdrop.
3. Maximize your bandwidth.
Frozen face and glacial speed are not how you want to spend your days working from home. To avoid this, you need greater bandwidth. Here are some fast fixes, and some more expensive ones, that work.
Fast fix: Close tabs, and other non-essential applications when in a video meeting, and especially when sharing your screen. Don’t stream other devices in your home. Put your phone on airplane mode if you normally connect to your home internet. Take all online items offline. Move your router closer to your workspace, or move your workspace closer to your router. Barriers such as walls, brick chimneys, or even large kitchen appliances can prevent a strong connection (my Cox cable guy told me this, so it must be true).
Also, check your internet speed. Type in “internet speed” in Google search and run the test. For example, when next to my living room router I’m at 368 Mbps download, but when I move to my office (behind two walls, through a hallway, and brick chimney), I’m down to 145 Mbps. However, that’s still well above the normal speed of 25–40 Mbps (which is what you would need to stream a video on your TV). If yours is lower, call your cable or internet provider and ask for a speed upgrade or have them reset your router. This may give you a boost.
So how is my bandwidth so high? Insert the company I work for: Google, and it’s magical WiFi machine. The router and pods create a strong mesh network; it’s proven to be more powerful than the Panoramic WiFi Gateway the Cox guy gave me.
Murphy’s Law tip: Make sure you know how to hotspot your phone in case your internet goes out. (No lie, that just happened to me today, thanks again Cox).
5. Leave your house, brush your teeth, and other life necessities.
Working and living at your house can become a prison, or a mind-body numbing experience. I’m sure your Fitbit would agree. To avoid the work from home blues, make yourself go outside, breathe some fresh air, and take a walk every couple of hours. I’m often too lazy for a walk, so I prefer to sit in my hammock for 5 minutes of sun and Vit-D so I don’t feel like a vampire anymore. When you don’t have meetings, work from a coffee shop or cafe where you can have a snack or beverage and people watch. When work is done at home, go somewhere else. Leave the house. And of course, remember to brush your teeth before going into the real world.
I hope these 4 tips help you work from home in an easier, more productive way. When all else fails, just ping or video chat someone you feel comfortable with to vent about how you’re feeling. 10 minutes of seeing a human, even if it’s online, makes a big difference.
What does your workspace look like? Happy to share design ideas on how to make it more workable. Or if you want to spark joy to my workday, share your pets working from home. The world needs more happy animal pictures, especially as we adjust to this novel coronavirus world. #quaranteam y’all!