To my pajama-clad comrades, this post is for you. I began taking the “ten foot commute” over three years ago and since that point, I’ve made consistent upgrades to my remote officing. My cubicle friends salivate over the prospects of trading slacks for sweats and yearn for their personal fridge nearby, but if you’ve ever worked from home, you know it’s not all rainbows and daisies. This list will smooth your transition to your home office or perhaps improve your current arrangement. The work from home toolkit:
Ditch the instant coffee: I’m not a barista, but I do like a rich cup of drip coffee. In my early coffee years, the pot roosted on the coffee maker for hours, degrading with each passing minute. I’ve recently transitioned to a carafe, which keeps the coffee hot and the flavor fresh. The more refined coffee aficionado might lean toward French Press or perhaps depend on the Starbucks drive-through. Either way, demand excellence with your morning beverage.
Bite the desk chair bullet: Buying a desk chair is about as much fun as paying taxes. The sticker price always disappoints. But you will not regret the lost Benjamin(s) if you buy a great chair. It makes all the difference that the place you spend dozens of hours weekly supports you well. For the bargain-shoppers like me, let me suggest Overstock.com (mine) as a great place to start.
Engage all your senses: My second year working from home was the hardest. In retrospect, I can pinpoint the exact reason why: I worked in a dark corner of our apartment. As people, natural light is like energy food. Like a napping cat, telecommuters need to situate their desks in the sun beams. Once you find the sun, think through how to fill your office with good tunes and enriching aromatics.
Invest in sturdy slippers: Whether you wear sweats–or believe that dressing professionally is a prerequesite when working at home–is not a debate I’m touching with this post. What I will say, however, is that a good pair of slippers is a non-negotiable. Acorn is my brand of choice. I’m going on two years with my first pair.
Keep the blood flowing: The latest-and-greatest addition to my office is an elliptical machine. For this chronic-pacer, I finally have an appropriate outlet. Because I’m on the phone 10+ hours weekly, this gift from my wife is truly a game-changer. I stride at a manageable cantor and am more engaged on my calls than I am at my desk. Because I now average close 30 minutes of cardio daily, I feel healthier and more alert than I ever did before.
Battle staleness by changing environments: Like a algae-infested pond, working from home can make you stagnant. If you never leave the confines of your home, you can easily contract “office fever” (a cousin to cabin fever). I try to work outside of my home at least one day a week. Whether I’m in meetings or just holing up at my favorite coffee shop, a change of scenery keeps things fresh.
Walk by the virtual “water cooler”: I’ve found online networks to be a great source of fun. As remote workers, we commiserate when our office friends get snow days, but our biggest beef is with the lack of friendly banter and socializing that happens in the break room. Twitter and Facebook fill parts of that void for me. Through these channels and others (Skype, Gchat, etc.), I feel connected to other people.
Recreate the cubicle: It must seem odd to read this if you’re a cubicle-dweller. But, sometimes we telecommuters miss working alongside people. Hence the incredible upsurge in “coworking” (Denver) spaces and meetups. I prefer organic coworking over the more formal variety. A few times a month I’ll meet up with fellow telecommuters and we’ll each go about our business beside one another. Perhaps the cubicle is coming full circle.
In addition to these suggestions, I’d also recommend a printer/scanner, a quality laptop bag (or backpack if you’re a biker and/or walker) and a screen protector/mousepad. To my fellow remote office friends: What am I missing?
