Notes from the Virtual Office: 8 survival tips
I’ve been working in a virtual office (that’s my fancy name for “my living room”) since 2000. There’s a lot of pros and cons to it, but overall and overwhelmingly, I love it. Some time ago I was deciding if my business was a hobby or a career and I interviewed a little bit for a full time position.
The front runner was Blackstone, they brought me in several times for various interviews. The team I’d have joined was staffed with nothing but really smart people (no small feat in this day and age). But as I kept returning to the cubicle farm and business casual dress and the commute, it dawned on me that I really didn’t want to go back to that lifestyle. Of course, after I stopped interviewing there Blackstone (to spite me I’m sure) had press release after press release about how they were getting bigger, making more money than anyone else and today they’re going public. I’m sure if I’d joined them I’d be richer than all my friends but instead, I’ll blog this sour grapes post. :)
Some people love working from home and other’s just can’t handle it. It takes a big adjustment so here’s some ideas that have saved my sanity over the years.
· Put yourself on a schedule and stick to it
If you don’t have a schedule having a home office can mean, essentially, that you are always at the office. I give myself normal business hours, force myself up each morning and stop working in the evening. Obviously there are times when you need to work longer hours, but make those the exception not the rule. Just like if you were at a regular office, sometimes you stay late, but that’s not every day. This is, I think, one of the biggest problems that people new to this stumble across and just being conscious of it is one of the most important things you can do to stop it.
· Take lunches and go out and eat with your buddies
One big problem with working from home is that there’s no one else around you. Take the opportunity to catch up with your friends for lunch as often as you can. You aren’t confined to co-workers grabbing a quick lunch anymore - meet with whoever you want! Your schedule’s flexible.
· Meet up with the people you work with a few times a month
If you have co-workers also working in the virtual world, email and IM’ing is great, but it’s worth it to meet up for lunch or whatever a few times a month. It’s good to remember that it’s a real person at the other end of the wire.
· Take full advantage of downtime and lack of commute
At any job you never have every minute of every day packed full of work, usually there’s periods of busy-ness and then bits of idleness. If you’re at an office, though (or at least any office I’ve been in) you have to maintain the fiction that you are constantly busy. At the home office you don’t need to - you also don’t have a commute. Take advantage of that and run all the errands that usually need to wait until the weekend or forced into a quick lunch. It turns out that mid-morning is a great time to hit the post office or bank - there’s rarely any lines.
· Grab your laptop up and go to a wifi cafe
This is one that I haven’t done in several years, but I used to do it and I know some folks who swear by it. If things get to claustrophobic at home sometimes it’s really nice to be in public area with other people milling about.
· Make new routine
Don’t get stuck in your pre-virtual office routine. When I get up, first thing I do is roll over to the computer and check email and do my morning surfing. This is a really low key way of waking up and easing into the day. Then some breakfast and then shower. Or if I need to head to the gym early (it’s less crowded) I’ll start earlier or else work a bit afterwards. Working from the virtual office is different, see if there’s ways to make it better for you.
· Get with the mobile office
Two things, get a smartphone that can check your email and get voip that can forward your calls. Some folks dislike this, thinking that it tethers them to work. I have the opposite notion - it frees me from being at home. If I need to head out - I’m much more relaxed knowing that if something major happens I’m going to know it and react as necessary, or if any myriad issues come up that a quick email solves, I can do that w/out worry.
· Enjoy the sunshine
Sometimes, no matter how busy you are, sometimes it’s nice to just go outside and have a little stroll in the great outdoors. Grab a smoothie, check out the dog park. Go ahead, no one will notice.
And there’s the tips that work for me. What about you cats out there, how do you make it work?
See also some other Notes from the Virtual Office:
· Hourly v. Project Billing
· Spend on yourself
