In light of recent news, many professionals in our industry will be working from home. By now, none of us are brand new to it. We likely telecommute at least a few days a month, and we all know the fundamentals: Have a clean desk, a good Wi-Fi connection, and reliable phone service, use screen sharing tools, and be responsive to email and other communication. In this article, I’m going to share some of the less-than-obvious tips that I’ve picked up along the way that helped me. I hope they can help you too.
- Be honest about what distracts you
We all have our online time killers; online shopping, news headlines, video games. For me, it’s sports, March Madness and fantasy football (neither of which we’ll have to worry about for a while). Don’t let your pride get in the way and think it’s not a problem for you. Just being honest with yourself about what distracts you can really help you focus. Tabbed browsing has made it possible for an otherwise fleeting thought to turn into a deep rabbit hole. Make opening a new tab the honest trigger that makes you think twice.
- Select a room away from traffic
I’ve had five different home offices since I began telecommuting in 2008. My second home office was by far the worst. It was a closed-door office, but right next to the kitchen. My wife was a med student at the time and studied at the breakfast nook. I could hear her making lunch, washing dishes, putting away groceries... it was distracting! If there’s another person at home, it can be very tempting to find any excuse to engage in conversation. Your first desk choice might be the dining room table, because it’s the biggest, but be careful… it’s also got the most traffic.
- Dress the part
I’m not saying you need a full suit and tie, but if pajama pants and tee shirts aren’t helping you stay in the zone, then put on some work clothes. Wearing shoes made a big difference for me when I started working from home. If you’re used to a long commute, sometimes the commute helps you mentally prepare for work, and the return commute helps you unwind. Make business clothing your new commute.
- Disconnect when done
The worst part of working from home might be the separation from work. Your family deserves your full attention, and it’s hard. Even after twelve years of telecommuting, I struggle to disconnect every day. My wife will attest, that “one quick email” always takes a half hour. Selecting a desk far away from the kitchen prevents you from getting that ding on your phone and quickly running to your keyboard. Also, changing out of work clothes to pajama pants and kicking off your shoes helps you wind down. Unless it’s a project emergency, don’t get in the habit of sacrificing family time for work time. If you know that family time is not a fallback option for a slow day, then you’ll be that much more productive during business hours.
- Be approachable
The next worst part of working from home is the collaboration. If you’re training someone, you need to be available. Your apprentice is already at a disadvantage by not being able to take a drawing to your desk when they catch you at a donut break. Be approachable, and check in with your team. Ask daily if there’s anything you can help with. Now that you’re at home, teammates no longer see you walk by each hour, and it’s often during those moments that a young engineer feels safe to ask a question. Find other ways to make them feel safe to approach you.
- Be professional
Yes, you’re at home, and everyone knows it, but there’s no need for everyone on the phone to be reminded of it. If you have an 8am call, don’t set your alarm to 7:55. They can hear your morning voice, but they didn’t want to talk to Clint Eastwood, they wanted to talk to you. Do you have a dog that barks at the worst times? I do, she’s terrible, so I set my iPhone to never lock screen automatically. I use my headphones when I’m on a call and keep my finger on the mute button, and unmute when I need to speak. Without the auto-lock off, by the time I punch in my code, she’s already barked 4-5 times before I get to mute. Just be careful, now you have to manually lock or your battery will die fast.
Side note: Did you just open a new tab? I hope it was to look up how to set your phone to never lock and not a clip of Clint Eastwood.
About the author
I’m an electrical engineer and entrepreneur in the power utility industry. I’ve been working from home since 2008 and our company, Biren Patel Engineering (BPE), has used the work-from-home model since we were founded in 2011. We believe in Making Life Simple. To that end, telecommuting has been the simplest solution for our employees and clients scattered in multiple states. Last July, we joined the HMV Engineers family as a partnered company, and we now have a shared office space in Macon, GA, which we use for client and team meetings. We have employees and contractors in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and Puerto Rico, all empowered to work from home.
Coronavirus has fundamentally changed our lives. At BPE, we pray for those families directly and indirectly impacted by this pandemic. We are grateful for the unique opportunity we’ve had to become experts at working from home. Our experience has enabled us to keep productivity high during this time, while positioning us for a future where telecommuting plays an important role. We hope sharing this article can help ease some of the anxiety associated with the forthcoming life changes for everyone in our industry and help us all to “flatten the curve.”
Writting by
Biren Patel, PE, MBA, PMP
Electrical Engineer - Substations and Solar Generation