Working from Home Due to COVID-19 - What I've Learned in 14 years of Remote Work

Welcome to the wonderful world of working from home! The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered many new faces to this particular environment, and I want to offer a little perspective as a remote worker since 2006.

A little background - I worked in both health care and corporate office environments from 1997 - 2006, then began my own productivity consulting business until 2008 when I had my first daughter, and then signed on as a remote employee for a company located on the opposite coast  So, I've:

a) Worked full time in an bustling office
b) Pioneered a sole proprietorship - working from a home office /workspace
c) Assimilated into a remote work environment with team mates and clients in a variety of time zones
d) Attempted to conduct regular business responsibilities with young children when childcare wasn't available or a child was sick

And as of March 16th:

e) Struggled to feel productive and/or successful as a - full-time remote worker - parent - short order cook - home school teacher of elementary and middle school - wife - friend - daughter, and dog walker (in no particular order).

Here is something you need to know. What each of you is experiencing as a new work-from-home employee, or even a seasoned work-from-home employee, is that this is NOT what remote work typically looks like. At. All.

What we're all experiencing is a bunch of people, businesses, health professionals, schools, etc. trying to figure out what to do, when to do it, and how to make it happen. The pot is boiling over in the heat of trying to manage all of the things, all at once.

I believe the pot will reduce to a simmer in just a little bit. We're re-calibrating, so it's ok to give yourself a minute and admit things are not going particularly well. We'll figure it out. I really do believe that.

But you need some answers and perspective on how to handle the new world order. Here's what I've learned from 14 years of remote work and 14 days of COVID-19:

• Shower and get ready for the day. Our mothers did not raise us in a barn. And while we may not need to don pearls and heels, let's do a little better than sweats and messy buns and set a good example for our kids. Taking care of the outside helps us take care of the inside, and it signals our brain that it's time to get things done. I promise you'll be dramatically more productive if you purposefully dress for the day. Plus, your significant other (SO) will appreciate the effort you show in your appearance. It's a small way of letting our families know we love them and we haven't given up hope - yet! Save the sweats for the weekend!
• Schedules are good, but they are not God.  We started off with color-coded high hopes, didn't we? But now things have gotten real. It's worth having a general idea of how the weekdays should go, but we've got to be flexible. I've talked with the co-workers I meet with most often and asked if I could protect an hour each day from any type of meeting. I'm aiming for 9 a.m. every day to get my 2nd grader through some online learning. Getting up and running with the teacher's initial instructions just about did me in on Tuesday, I'm not gonna lie. But we figured some things out, and now we're accomplishing 30-45 minutes of focused school work every morning. Next week, I'm going to try and add in an additional 30-45 minutes in the afternoon. Many co-workers are in the same boat, so they've been wonderfully understanding and accommodating. My favorite times of the day are when I can yell to the kids that it's "recess" and not allow them to come inside for an hour. 
• Communicate! If you and your SO are both working remote, there will be dueling meetings. Neither of you are mind readers, so it's important to look at calendars together and see where there's room to trade off child-monitoring duties. There will be conflicts and there will be unexpected interruptions, but the more you can keep each other in the loop and also commit to doing your best to address the needs of the family, the more successful you'll be. Be aware, I'm not promising Success! I'm just saying More Successful. :) 
• Question deadlines and extra meetings. We've never experienced this type of thing before. Ever! So, as employees, we need to question expectations here and there and give our leaders a reality check if they seem wildly unaware of what's currently possible. When deadlines or random team meetings are given that don't seem realistic or necessary, inquire if it can be pushed back to a certain date. Ask questions as to why the deadline is what it is. Ask what the intended outcome is for a new meeting. Some deadlines are what they are. Other deadlines are just there because they've always been that way and there's never been a reason to question them. Now there's a reason. And if someone's just scheduling a meeting to "check in on how everyone's doing?" Suggest sending an email check-in. Ain't nobody got time for MORE meetings right now.
• Hug your kids. Many of you are probably more astute than I in this area, but it dawned on me just a few days ago that no one was hugging my kids right now except for my husband and me. Usually they have friends to greet, or close family friends who give them a squeeze, or coaches to give them a high-five, or classmates to play tag. Don't get me wrong, I usually hug my kids every day. Now I'm just focusing on hugging them every time I see them every day. It kind of bugs them. But kind of not. They keep hugging me back.
• Get outside. Unless you have been ordered to shelter in place or can not safely venture out, take a walk and recharge your soul every day. We need that vitamin D from the sun, we need to see something other than our four walls at home. Walk the dog. Walk your kids. Walk your SO. Stay 6 feet away from everyone else - but do say hello! It's important. Do it. 
• Acknowledge your contributions. Living inside a 3-ring circus can make it difficult to understand what we may have achieved in the course of a day. I think we all have this need to prove that we are getting work done, ensuring our kids are doing their schoolwork, cooking THREE MEALS A DAY EVERY DAY, and being excessively witty on social media. So let's flip the "To-Do"  list on its head right now and take a minute at the end of each day to write a "Was-Done" list of what you did accomplish that day. The list may be: Showered. Finished one article. Proofread client's executive summary. Got AM to eat half a sandwich. Paid the electricity bill. Followed up with the Development Team. Thawed chicken.  Write it down. And then check each of them off that list, if you like! By the end of the week, you'll be able to see what you contributed to the different parts of your life. We each need to feel competent and valuable. Seeing this list helps.
• Minimize the wine. Look. I love me an Interesting White. But the funny thing is that all of this is happening during Lent, which is when I give up alcohol for 40 days. I miss my glass(es) of wine at the end of the day, but I'll tell you something interesting. I'm actually thankful that wine is (literally) off the table right now. Now more than ever, I need to be present and in tune with what's happening around me. I think with the stress and uncertainty of the current times, it could be very easy for an end of day glass to turn into 3 or 4. That's not good for any of us, our kids, or our relationships. Consider your consumption, and be bold in reigning things in for the time being. 
• Love your SO. This is a lot of quantity time together, and there is a lot of responsibility that is squarely on the two of you right now that you may not have had to manage before. I feel fortunate that my husband and I have both worked remote under the same roof for 4 years, so this is not new in some respects. The home-schooling and lack of kids' sports IS new, and it's a little trying. Sometimes A LOT trying. But remember that you are a team. Be kind to each other. Be sweet to each other. Remember that thing about hugging your kids? Hug that lug you live with, too. A lot. You each need to feel the love and support of the other, and your kids are looking to you for stability and familiarity. Give it to them. 

Things are not easy, but we're going to get through this. And working from home may feel crazy, but it's not always going to be like this.

I'm a praying person, so know that I'm praying for my community of moms out there who are dealing with new and unfamiliar territory. If I can be a sounding board or offer suggestions about remote work challenges, please post your questions here. I don't have all the answers, but I've been there, done that for awhile.

Any any home school moms out there: You are my heroes. Please send help. I'm happy to learn ALL your tips for success.

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