Working at Home? Working Remotely? Our top tips

Our team of digital marketers, web developers, content creators, SEO ninjas and Google Ad gurus all work remotely and many from home. Here’s what we’ve learned.

This week many more of us find ourselves working from home, remote from our teams, perhaps for the first time, due to the current Corona Virus pandemic.

For our team, this is nothing new.  All our team work from home, or from separate offices, so we thought we’d share a few of our top tips for staying motivated, connected and productive in your home environment.

Consider your Hours 

Just because in the office you work from 9-5, those are not necessarily the best hours for you to work from home.  If you have a choice, choose the hours that work for you. If you’d normally get up at 7 (or earlier) to drive to work, and are alert at that time of day, get up and get on with it.

I’m not much of a morning person. Don’t ask me to do anything technical or be friendly to anyone before 10am.  Working for myself, I’ve established a different routine where I don’t normally really get going until 9.30 at the earliest but rarely finish before 7.  Those hours where I was always in a car or otherwise caught up in getting home between 5-7pm are now my most productive time. (It is 6pm Friday night as I write….)

If you are also keeping an eye on children, pets, wider family and can’t get settled and quiet in the middle of the day, talk to your team and agree the hours you will be available.

Bear in mind that if you are working odd hours, the people you work with may not be. It might be polite to use the “send later” function on your email and avoid instant messages if you’re just getting going at 5am or midnight…. Especially if you’re sending to someone who might feel compelled to reply right away.

Use the Technology

With most teams now using cloud-based software and saving files to cloud storage such as OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox, you should not have any issues with accessing the tools and documents you need, wherever you end up working.  Making sure you know all your sign-ins and where to get at your folders online is probably the first conversation to have.  After that, you can investigate additional tech to make working remotely easier.

You will need good broadband.  If you don’t have it, how is the mobile reception? Could you hotspot through your phone? Get a booster? Now is the time to find out. Don’t struggle with a slow connection, it will swiftly drive you insane.

You might choose to use tools like Slack to keep in contact with your team, or just a team Facebook or WhatsApp group if you don’t want to learn anything new at this stage.

Once you get over seeing your huge head on the screen, video calls are surprisingly straightforward.  We use Zoom for talking to clients who are based outside Cornwall (and perhaps inside too at the moment!) and find it really helps us feel connected to see each other on screen. Maybe have a think about what is behind you. Do a test call first to check out just how far up your nostrils your colleagues or clients can see, and adjust the camera and room to something you’re happy with.

Zoom and other tools like Microsoft Teams, Skype or Webex also have a screensharing function which can be helpful for explaining reports, talking people through their advertising campaigns or explaining how to do something on their website.

Don’t Forget about Phone Calls

With all the new options for communicating, the poor old telephone gets neglected.  Some of us hate it, I’m not a huge fan, but it’s a bit like going for a run. You always dread a phone call and you never regret it afterwards.  If you’ve got something complicated to discuss, your questions are likely to involve a bit of back and forth, or you’ve just been on your own at home too long and need a natter, pick up the phone.  Chances are the person you are calling is desperate for conversation too. If they’re not they can always ignore you!

Get Outside

How far do you walk on a normal workday? If I’m in the office I’ll find myself walking to my car, driving to Truro or Penzance, parking, walking across town to the office, walking around town a bit at lunchtime and the same reversed at teatime.  According to my watch, that alone is about 6000 steps.

If I’m working at home, the journey from bedroom to shower to kitchen to desk and back might not even hit 1000.  You’ll feel that pretty quick as your joints stiffen up.  If you miss daylight in winter working in an office, you’ll miss it even more if you don’t even leave the house.

To keep fit, and keep sane, I’ve changed my morning routine to include an early morning run, walk or HIIT workout, always around half an hour, before getting ready and parking myself at my desk for a long stint.  This looks good on Strava and gains me kudos, but also means I feel far less grumpy for the fresh air, dopamine boost and daylight. And I can still start work by 9 without getting up at silly o’clock if I have to.

Another friend of mine “cycles to and from work” even though she works from home.  Half-an-hour on the bike before and after and she too is far more sane, apparently.

This might not be sensible if working from home is temporary for you, but another great option is to get a dog.  No dog worth his big furry paws will let you sit still for more than a couple of hours without a quick blast of fresh air.  Taking your pup for a breather will wake up your brain, get you out of any ruts you are stuck in and keep you healthy. I wrote most of this in my head whilst walking ours.