How to start a new job from home: Create a space to work
A series of stories from recent USDS hires on starting from home.
By: Zack Abbott, USDS Talent Team
Article 4 of 4 in this series, read the previous or the first one.
We’re in this scenario for the long-haul. Make sure you get into a good routine, give yourself the time away from work and screens that you need, and most importantly, take care of yourself and the ones around you first.
The work itself will come naturally, the others bits take some time to get adjusted to, but all-in-all the situation isn’t bad at all and the support at USDS makes it a much easier transition.
Three things I do for 100% WFH:
- Seclude myself in my house to get the “separation” feel from being home all the time. If your living space can accommodate it, set up an office and give yourself a “commute” outside of walking to the kitchen table, living room couch, or (as my wife prefers) the bedroom. Allows you to feel like you have a designated work space rather than just another spot in your home.
- Take a good half hour to an hour to get yourself up and out of bed, make some coffee, shower, eat some breakfast, take the dog out and just start the morning off by not immediately jumping on the computer to work.
- Set up a Slack reminder, or some sort of reminder, to take a lunch break. Getting caught up in your work and working through lunch can happen. Giving yourself that break in the day goes a long way.
Tips from some of the USDS Spring 2020 Cohort on starting at USDS in an all-remote world.
In the midst of a pandemic, we’re very privileged:
- To have a job at all in this environment
- To be able to start and continue working from home
- And to have an amazing welcome from coworkers at USDS and our partner agencies
We’re not experts at teleworking, but now that we’ve been on the job for ~100 days, we wanted to share tips from our experience in case you find yourself in a similar situation. We’re also hiring at USDS; come join us!
If you need help during the pandemic, there may be federal resources available — anything from checking if you can get health insurance outside of open enrollment, to advice on how to handle bills if you’ve lost income, to ideas on how to help others during the crisis. A full list of resources by agency is listed at usa.gov/coronavirus.
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