Working from home

In this post, we will look at the steps you should follow to work from home effectively.

First of all, let me say that at my company, I have permission to work from home as much as I want, and in my previous team we were seventeen people, yes, seventeen, spread across 6 different countries. Still, I'm not a big fan of working from home, because to work exceptionally you have to follow a set of guidelines. 

Of course, there are pros and cons at the end.

Working from home isn’t just grabbing your laptop, setting up a VPN, and connecting to the office network. It's much more, since when we work from home, “external factors” can probably keep us from being productive. It might work if it's just one day a year, but not for your day-to-day. 

And finally, if this is your first time working remotely, don't expect to be as productive as you are in the office. 

To be as productive as possible, I'm going to list some points or tricks to help you work and stay focused while working from home. 

Before we start, I recommend everyone to be as productive as possible, because if your productivity is similar to what you offer in the company, working from home will almost certainly become a real option for you. 

1 - Feeling isolated.

As a rule, humans are social beings. Of course, we all have that coworker who doesn't talk to anyone and goes home without saying anything except about work, but that's the exception; the norm is having conversations over coffee, etc. 

When we work from home, we feel like we're alone in the world because literally there’s nobody around us. But that's not true. In fact, this sense of loneliness or isolation can cause not only lower productivity but, more importantly, problems like depression and so on.

1.1 - Availability

To reduce the feeling of isolation, both we and the rest of the team, or even the whole office, should have one or more messaging or video apps installed, such as Microsoft Teams, Skype, Hangouts, Slack, or even Discord. 

Being available on messaging apps is what makes the difference. We're used to just going to the person next to us to ask a question if there's a problem; here it's the same, but by writing, although a video call is always an option. 

2 - Workspace

To work from home properly, you need to make sure you have a space designed for work, I think that's obvious. This means you have to avoid distractions.

Working from the couch with the TV on in the background is not an option if you want to be even remotely productive, you have to eliminate all distractions. 

2.1 - Distractions 

We have to eliminate distractions in order to focus on work. Besides the TV I just mentioned, you should also avoid chatting with roommates, and for those of you living at your parents' house, make it clear you're working, not on vacation. 

It goes without saying that things like the Xbox, Switch, or even your phone become even bigger distractions at home than at the office. 

Personally, I recommend buying good noise-cancelling headphones to avoid hearing neighbors, the street, or any other external noise. 

Alongside all external distractions, there are also our own: it’s very easy to type Facebook into your browser or open a news site and lose half the morning surfing the web.

Because of this, it's a good idea to have a separate device for work, whether it's a laptop or a desktop tower. If you don’t have another computer, create a user account on your personal computer that you only use for work. 

2.2 - Work like you're in the office

To work from home, you need to be fully focused. Doing laundry between meetings might seem like a way to save yourself some precious afternoon time, but the truth is, it will reduce your productivity and, with it, your chances of continuing to work from home.  Keep in mind, if you have an 8-hour schedule, you should work for 8 hours, even if you take two hours for lunch instead of one. 

That's why you need to simulate or convince yourself that you're in the office. Try to set up a space, in my case, due to the current coronavirus situation, I've disassembled the bed in a room so I could put in a desk. 

The space you're setting up is your home office, so it needs to be clean, obviously, and tidy. 

A good chair also helps. Nobody wants to spend 8 hours sitting in an uncomfortable chair. 

2.3 - Get out of the house

Just like you go out to the office and leave the office to go home, when you're working from home, it's a good idea to get outside. Obviously, during the current lockdown, that's not possible, but in normal circumstances, getting outside and exercising is key, otherwise, you could end up spending days in pajamas. 

3 - Pros and cons

Like everything in life, there are a set of pros and cons, which we’ll look at in more detail. 

Pros 

Flexible schedule

We have the whole day to complete our working hours, so we can usually decide, within certain limits, when we work and for how long, and no one will have a problem with that. 

Work location

Just like the previous point, when we say from home, we mean remotely. It could be whether you're at home or in a hotel. This freedom allows us to travel or even head to a beach house for a week without taking vacation days, which always helps.

Time

Without having to commute to the office, we save a huge amount of time, between 45 minutes and two hours a day is what we usually spend on commutes. This time, which we're not using to go to and from the office, is now ours to spend. 

Cons

Not going to the office

Just as saving time on commutes is a huge plus, not interacting with people from the office is a big minus, not just your team, but anyone from the department. Not going to the office means you miss out on things like playing soccer or going for drinks after work. 

Loneliness

Being alone at home can be very tough. Not everyone is cut out for it. So, if you’re not someone who can handle being alone or isolated, you shouldn't work from home.

Communication

Communication is key for any team. We must make a special effort to let everyone know we’re here, answering if someone writes us privately, as best we can. Even so, communication isn't always easy, and video calls will be needed. Trying to plan the architecture of an application remotely is not simple. 

Distractions

This is the biggest "con" in my opinion, since you must be really focused to prevent any internal or external distraction. Avoid doing chores or anything unrelated to work during your working hours. It's key if you want to keep working from home. 

Conclusion 

Working from home isn't always easy, and not everyone is cut out for it. Even if you are, you need to make an effort not to fall into temptations. 

If you find that you’re not cut out for working from home, I recommend you don’t do it, as it could very easily end up getting you fired.