FIVE TIPS FOR WORKING (AND MANAGING) FROM HOME

I’ve been with Myriad Supply for over nine years now, and the last three of those years have been spent working from my home office in Portland, Oregon. I was our first full time remote worker, and I was our first remote manager. Because of this I get asked for advice about working from home whenever one of our employees makes the jump from office life to home-office life. With that in mind, I decided to compile my top 5 tips for working (and managing) from home.

1)      Skype is one of your greatest tools. You need to make sure you get face time with your manager(s), employees, and colleagues throughout the year. No matter how much they hear from you via email, it’s important for everyone to be reminded that you’re a living, breathing human being! Set up regularly scheduled weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly Skype meetings with your manager and/or every team member if at all possible. It’s important to show consistency. Plus, Skype makes it’s easier on you when you’re in a meeting that involves multiple people. If you are only on a conference phone it’s hard to tell when you can contribute to the discussion without cutting someone off, and it can be difficult to gauge the reaction of the room to an idea or argument you just made. When you have those types of meetings via Skype you are a more effective meeting participant.

2)      Get back to the office at least once a year and spend some time with the rest of the company. I get back to the Myriad Supply HQ in NYC 1-2 times a year. Going back more frequently would be nice, but 1-2 times will do. When I’m there I spend at least three days working in the office with everyone, and I take all my team members out to lunch each day.

3)      Do you have a room that can be dedicated to being a home office? Then use it! It tells your family, partner, or roommate(s) that when you’re in that room, you’re at work. They should not bother you when you’re in there, and they need to respect your space. It also tells your brain the same thing. When you enter – you’re at work. But when you leave – you leave the work behind that door. You should not allow it to encroach on your life and your personal time. Of course, having a dedicated room just for your home office also helps come tax season! You need a defined, measurable space for your CPA to write off. It’s absolutely worth it. Also keep track of your utility bills. That little tidbit was something I didn’t think about in the beginning, but now I write off part of my trash collection, electricity, water, etc. However, it can be a real time guzzler if you wait until April 10thto download all of the previous year’s bills for your CPA. Also, keep in mind that some utility companies do not keep an entire year’s worth of bills available online.

4)      If you find yourself falling into a funk because you’re missing the energy of office life try taking advantage of your local coffee shop. The movement and conversation taking place around you can snap you out of your mini funk and give you a burst of that energy you were missing. I know everyone hates the jerk who sits in the corner for four hours on their laptop, taking up the prime people-watching table. Let them hate. I wouldn’t make it a daily habit, but if you just need to get out of your house once every couple weeks, don’t feel bad about occupying that table in Random Order (or whatever your local coffee shop is) for a couple hours one day. Just make sure you tip well, and order more than one drink. You don’t need to worry about the other patrons, but you certainly want to keep the baristas happy. Other important points that I should make on this one:

  1. Make sure you have a good laptop (what use are you to your company if you’re working with one hand tied behind your back)
  2. Forward all your phone calls from your desk to your cell phone
  3. Don’t go too far away from your house. If you can’t get back to your home-office within 15 minutes of receiving an “emergency” call, you’ve gone too far

5)      Take breaks! When you first start working from home you may feel compelled to “prove” you’re working by never leaving your desk. Don’t fall into that trap. Everyone knows you’re working by the results you bring to the table, not by 24/7 availability on IM. Even more compelling though – if your company is worth working for, they want you to take breaks! Your productivity is positively affected by some time spent away from the computer during the work day. I get my best ideas in the shower, which I take about 3 hours after my work day has started. If that’s not good enough for you – here’s some science to back up the claim: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm. Lastly – they’re good for your health! (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/take-a-break-it-could-save-your-life-1872147.html) Maybe you should get up from the computer and take a break now, eh?

 

Hilary DeCourcey is the VP of Purchasing & Client Support at Myriad Supply. She has been a part of the Myriad team for 9 years and her favorite router is the Juniper J2350-JB-SC. You can find her and ask her questions via her Google+ page.