Ask Slashdot: What Are Your Tips For Working From Home?

ichard writes "In a couple of months I'm going to start working from home full-time. I've been thinking about the obvious things like workspace ergonomics, but I'm sure there are more subtle considerations involved in a zero-minute commute. What are other Slashdot readers' experiences and recommendations for working from home? How do you stay focused and motivated?"

Comments

Get past the wanking stage

[NonUniqueNickname]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co_DNpTMKXk

Close the door.

[GiorgioG]

If you don't have an office in your home, get a different job. Close the door and make sure your spouse/family knows that between XX:XX and XX:XX hours, you're working, you're not home.

It takes some getting used to...but they'll get it eventually. Just keep the door closed.

Re:Close the door.

[Finallyjoined!!!]

Absolutely, you beat me to it.

Working from home is nigh on impossible unless you have a door to close.

Re:Close the door.

[Maniacal]

Big +1 on this one. It's essential that your family/friends/etc recognize that when you're in there you're "at work" and need to be treated as such. That being said, be flexible if your company is. Sometimes when working from home I'll run and pickup my kid from school even though my wife usually does that. Just because he'll think it's cool that dad picked him up and it's a nice break in the day. My work is based on accomplishments, not hours so I have that flexibility and I use it.

Couple of other things:

1) Get ready for work! Don't just slump out of bed and jump in the chair. Eat breakfast, take a shower, get dressed. You'll be more productive, I guarantee it.
2) Don't get caught in the trap of working too much. When your work is at home it can be hard to walk away from it. If you're done for the day, stay done.

Re:Close the door.

[PCM2]

It takes some getting used to...but they'll get it eventually. Just keep the door closed.

I don't have a family, but the last time I looked for an apartment (in San Francisco, where everything is expensive) I made sure to look for one where at least the bedroom has a door, for pretty much the same reason. Then I don't keep anything that resembles a workspace in the bedroom. The idea being that once I'm up and at 'em, I've transitioned into "work mode."

There's another reason to keep one specific area of your home reserved as an office, too: Taxes. You can often write off that portion of your rent.

Re:Close the door.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sign up at a gym or something that gets you out for a reason and then schedule it. It can be flexible but don't spend all your time at work.

Re:Close the door.

[AK Marc]

Communicate 10 times more than you think necessary. Out of sight, out of mind. Everyone will forget you are there. So you'll be passed over for bonuses and promotions, and if there's any conflict with someone working in the office, they'll bad mouth you 1000 times and you'll never hear about it.

I did it for a year, and it was great the first 6 months, but then my boss changed, and it was all downhill from there.

Re:Close the door.

[cpu6502]

Not me. I'm most productive immediately after I wake-up until I eat lunch. It makes no difference how I'm dressed. (Though I do need breakfast.)

I'm not sure why working from home is such a "big deal". Our farming ancestors (or tailers, bakers, storeowners, etc) did it for 5000+ years. It's normal.

Re:Close the door.

[frisket]

Add to that:

3) Make your place of work (study, wherever) comfortable and pleasant to work in. You're going to be in there for many hours, so make it habitable.

4) Arrange for whatever level of activity logging you need. At some stage, a PHB is going to ask why all these slackers work from home, how do we know they're working, etc etc ad nauseam; so you're going to have to be able to print off logs or a summary or something to show when you started and stopped throughout the day (I find regular commits and the svn log useful: YMMV).

Re:Close the door.

[DJRumpy]

I see this type of post every time, and after a decade of telecommuting myself, I can tell you it's pretty much bunk with a few provisos. Unless you are easily distracted buy any sound, then you don't need a work cave to work in. Your first few weeks at home will seem like a holiday. Enjoy them while they last, because while every noise will initially be distracting, movies on TV, tunes on the radio, eventually reality sets in and your deadlines start looming and all of that will become background noise.

If you are concerned initially you can invest in an office and then work your way out of it to a more comfortable setting. if you are typical worker, then you already face typical distractions at work and being at home is no different. Depending on your tolerance level you may need to abstain from things like a TV in the background. Test your limits.

Communication is key. Is is very easy to become isolated at home. Avoid doing everything by email. Odd as it sounds, that becomes more attractive the longer you work from home.

Take breaks. Although it's common to take breaks while in an office, it's much more difficult to do at home oddly enough. You tend to be 'on' for your full 8 hours, even when eating. Stop every so often, get out for lunch. Make yourself do so at least a time or two a week.

Avoid scheduling service calls while working if possible, especially with dogs (of applicable). It tends to throw your day into havoc with dogs barking, door bells ringing, maine people in your home asking questions, all while trying to do 'business'.

Ensure you have a phone with a mute button. You will be surprised how often it becomes necessary when a family member or a pet is making noise while on conference calls

Get the necessary gear for an IP Phone. Your cell bill will thank you.

Ensure you have local admin on your workstation. This isn't always necessary for an office user, it can be very necessary for a home user with a need to tweak a setting without driving into the office to get some desktop person to 'fix' something you could easily do yourself.

Organize everything in your calendar for both home and work. It is unavoidable that you will start scheduling things during your work day. Make absolutely certain you give yourself plenty of warning when there are possible conflicts. Also ensure that your work-mates will know when you are avail or not. IM is ideal for for presence. Make sure you use it. Ensure people honor your availability. It becomes VERY easy for people to assume you are always available since you are at home. Be polite but firm.

Last but not least, enjoy it a little. Work in your PJ's, or even naked often, but be prepared for a video call at a moments notice if so equipped.

Lastly, Avoid touching yourself while on conference or video calls. That's just creepy.

Re:Close the door.

[ngrier]

I'd say it you don't have to close the door but it's certainly good to have a door to close. A big part of that will depend on how much you have kids/spouse/partner around and how much you're normally on your own. the important part is to have a defined space. This helps you mentally and helps those around you know that when you're there, you're working. Knowing and establishing boundaries is important for both you and anyone else around. For some, moving a load of laundry might be a good break and help keep the household running. For others it might be too much of a distraction. Definitely stay away from the TV, inclinations to clean (I don't have this, but I know lots of people who say they would!). Other items to keep in mind:

• *You need to up your communication with others in the office. You lose nuance as well as key day-to-day stuff that happens in passing. Not only to you want to make sure people are thinking of you, but that you're not caught unaware when all hell breaks loose at the office. Similarly, people need to know if you're going to be out - don't just disappear.
• *Establish a routine. That way both you and those in the office know when you're "at work" and when you're not. Otherwise, you risk always being on call. An important part of this, as others have mentioned, typically includes, breakfast, showering, etc.
• *Make sure you take breaks, lunch, etc. Just cause you're at home doesn't mean you should be working more than you were before. Most folks have small breaks built in - you chat en route to the bathroom, you linger a minute after a meeting, etc. It's important to give yourself a chance to have mental breaks as well as physical ones.
• *Stay connected with colleagues in "meat space". Make sure you go to lunch, conferences, trade shows, whatever makes sense. If you're in the same geography as your office, check in (physically) regularly. If you're remote, make sure you seek out colleagues/friends in your same area so you can get out of the house every now and then. This also keeps your network up as you never know when you'll be looking for that next job or trying to win some client.
• *Recognize that it's easy to get stir-crazy. This can be completely normal. Depending on how extroverted you are, you may get mildly depressed. If this happens, make sure you're meeting with people regularly. Make sure you call instead of email or IM. Suggest experimenting with video conferences. We all need some level of human contact and going for days on end without seeing a person isn't good.
• *Recognize that you'll probably want/need a short mental break to read Slashdot, etc. This is fine. You're most likely not robbing the company of any more (and probably less) than you would in the office. On the other hand, know what's reasonable. If it starts to get to be an hour of your "working" day, folks may well notice a drop in productivity. Since you're less likely to have someone peering over your shoulder, you're going to have to self-enforce. If you can't do a good job, then look at getting software that limits your browsing, game-playing, etc. And if you can't figure that out, working from home probably isn't for you.
• *Understand you'll need to be that much more careful about exercise and eating. Even if you drive to work, you're still going to walk from the car to teh office, walk around the office, etc. At home, you might do no more than go to the bathroom across the hall and wander into the kitchen two rooms away all day long. Sedentary !=healthy. If nothing else, go for a stroll around the neighborhood on lunch or in the evenings.

Re:Close the door.

[barc0001]

And as a corollary to that, make sure YOU know between XX:XX and YY:YY you're on the job. And more importantly, after YY:YY you're NOT on the job. This was something I always had trouble with when I worked from home. I'd sit down in front of the computer and start working, then go and throw a load of laundry in since it was there, and then work some more, then go have lunch in the kitchen, then work, go get the mail, do a few other 10-15 minute chores around the house and as a result of that feel that I should put more work time in and then next thing you know it's 9PM and even though I took breaks I still probably ended up working 9.5 hours and I feel burnt because I've been (mostly) sitting in front of a computer for 12 hours.

That's why I like working outside of home, it gives clear work/home delineation (for the most part).

Re:Close the door.

[DJRumpy]

Just realized I forgot one tidbit. If you do get an IP Phone, get a decent office quality bluetooth headset. I use a Plantronics CS50-USB. Makes walking around easy while working. Has at least a good 75-100 foot range in my home. Also has a mute button on the headset which is a must-have feature for household noise from family, pets, etc.

Re:Close the door.

[Just Some Guy]

It takes some getting used to...but they'll get it eventually.

You presume much. I love my wife dearly, but after nearly a decade of frequent telecommuting, she'd still think nothing of asking me to run some long-and-involved errand in the middle of the workday:

Her: If you're going to be at home, would you run up to Home Depot and look at paints for the hallway? They might have some nice colors at Sherwin-Williams, too. See which one you like best.
Me: You remember that I have to do that project today, right? The one that I was telling you about last night when you asked why I looked stressed?
Her: But you're at home today.
Me: [bangs head on desk]

A lot of it probably came from her father, who I sincerely believe thought that I was literally unemployed. He went to work every weekday of his life, by God, and that's how business works and that's all there is to it.

Re:Close the door.

[Strange Ranger]

Oh I don't know. The instant commute. The ability to set which hours you lock the door. Meeting up in the kitchen for lunch or a snack. The ability to unlock the door if you're really needed. The ability to break your day up into smaller sections so you can garden with your kids from 3-4 and then work after dinner when it's dark. I could go on. +5 insightful is a bit of stretch for a question that deliberately obtuse.

Re:Close the door.

[WaywardGeek]

I am the least wanted presence of any employee I know. When I sold most of my stock in the small company I founded to our new CEO and major share holder, the exiting CEO said things would work out better if I worked from home. Six years later, they keep an empty desk which is theoretically mine to honor my employment, but I've been working at home all this time. Now, I don't disagree with them, but it has been quite an adjustment. The first two years I would have agreed with the other posters about having an office and a door - I did. We've got a stupidly large house, a mistake I will not make again, which was motivated from years of too little space in Silicon Valley. Eventually, I missed the personal contact with people, and I love my family. I've given over the office to the kids, and we call it the "Children's Lounge". I put an Xbox 360, and hi-def TV, and a computer for each of them in there, and they love it. I work in a lazy-boy chair with my feet up (I got blood clots in my leg and lungs from working too long without moving). I now work in the family room, and life is much better than when I was closed off in my solitary office.

Part of the adjustment was training my family to understand that for 8-ish hours most days I'm going to sit in that damned chair and ignore whatever it is they want from me. There was about a year where I'd say my wife seemed to resent me "always being at my computer", though it was only about 8 hours a day. Now days, I like working from home. I know a lot more about my kid's lives just from casual listening while working.

Now, I take issue with the guy who thought headphones were a dumb idea. I was blessed with exactly Steve Job's shaped ears, so even though I hate Apple, I go through about two pairs of iPod headphones a year, which I power with my Linux/Windows dual boot laptop and my awesome Galaxy Nexus phone. I listen to audio books I create with TTS synthesizers, and it's just a huge improvement in my quality of life. They don't block my hearing like "in-ear" headphones, so I can keep them in a lot of the time.

Another major issue is training your co-workers to work with you remotely. For example, software I've been working on with a team remotely will be installed on some sales guys machines tomorrow for the first time. I've asked that before installing our software, that each machine have the latest Skype installed, and that voice and remote desktop sharing tested. I can do better support with Skype than standing in someone's office looking over their shoulder. Getting people to actually switch to on-line communication can be pretty hard. I've been commuting twice a week to a pretty remote office (3-4 hours driving a day) to build relationships with our excellent but naturally social phobic engineering team, partly so they wont feel so weird talking to me on Skype. Also, having your team mates just a click away all day is wonderful. It makes it almost feel like you're at the office. I have my family and my team mates. However, I don't get away very often for an after work beer or two.

Have a morning routine

[Anonymous Coward]

For me, the most important thing was to still have a morning routine. I still showered, had breakfast, got dressed, etc. Casual business attire isn't necessary, but you need something more than pajamas to work in all day. When your morning routine is done, you know it's time to work. It still gives your brain a launching-point for the day.

Re:Have a morning routine

[aoteoroa]

Fully agree. I liked to get up have a shower, get dressed, then step out of the apartment walk up the street and grab a coffee, then walk home...and start work. The process of stepping out the door had a psychological effect of getting me ready for work.

Re:Have a morning routine

[Anonymous Coward]

My brother-in-law works from home and has a very set routine. He gets up at the same time every day, showers, shaves, dresses, eats breakfast, and then he takes the kids to school. On the way back, he stops at the 7-11 and fills his commuter mug with coffee. He goes back home, comes in the other entrance, and walks straight to his home office. When the day is done, he reverses the process, picking up the kids, and coming home, with them, through the front door.

He claims it's the transitions from home mode to work mode and back again that makes it doable.

Re:Have a morning routine

[Anne_Nonymous]

My brother-in-law has almost the very same routine. He gets up at the same time every day (about 10:45), thinks about showering for about three seconds, changes t-shirts, eats breakfast in front of the tv, eats lunch in front of the tv, has a massive dump, has a Red Bull at 3 to keep his strength up, goes outside to yell at the kids walking home from the bus stop, walks up to the packie for beer, starts drinking on the couch on his front porch, moves back inside before sunset and turns the tv back on, drinks himself stupider, and then calls it a good day's work.

He claims it's the transitions from home mode to work mode and back again that makes it doable.

Get a dog

[Captain Kirk]

You need something to make you get out of the house and walk 20 minutes at least twice a day. Get a little dog. I've 2 Bichon Frieze and without them I would need surgery to get off my computer chair.

Don't have anyone else there.

[theJML]

Seriously, don't have a significant other or children at home. It's my biggest hurdle. I used to be all about working from home, but trying it after having a daughter means "Daddy's trying to do work" turns into "Yay! Daddy's Home!!! Let's bug him ALL DAY!".

If I got a job that required working from home, I'd probably build a small shed in the backyard with insulation, power, and ethernet and just work out there so they're less likely to bust in every 5 minutes or be screaming down the hall or whatever.

Don't

[Anonymous Coward]

Your wife and/or kids will not be able to understand that working hours mean you are unavailable. You will have to be a jerk to try to enforce your working hours, leading to the dumbest fights you've ever been in. Like the classic - "Why didn't you fold some laundry when you were on the phone?" That you were trying to concentrate on your biggest client is not an acceptable excuse.

Rent yourself a storage closet up the block, steal some wifi, and build yourself an office 3 minutes from home. AND DON'T TELL THEM WHERE YOU ARE.

Get outside for a walk!

[phallstrom]

(been working from home for 6 years...)

You don't realize how much you walk during the day until your office is 20 feet from your bedroom. I find it helps immensely to take a quick walk in the morning, lunchtime, and after work to clear my head. Also... you don't realize how much "de briefing" you go through on your drive home. You still need to do that instead of jumping right into family/kid/dinner time. Maybe not as long, but something to detox...

And lastly, if you've got wife/kids at home, it will be an adjustment for *everyone* and can take a long (6mo - 1yr) to get used to.

Re:Get outside for a walk!

[Anonymous Coward]

I would only add one thing, if you're celibate and your friends are married with kids, it will be twice as hard because your social life is going to take a hell of a plunge. We socialize a lot at work and we tend to take that for granted.

I've been working from home for 3 years now, and I need to get out of the house at one point, to walk like the above poster suggested, but also to see other faces, being surrounded by people.

You need a reliable VPN

[Dark$ide]

Make sure you know what you're going to do when your VPN or phone line or cell phone fails. It doesn't happen to me too often (thankfully I've got two different ways of connecting to my companies VPN) but when it does it's a PITA. You need a plan for whether you phone in and take the rest of the day off or drive in to the local branch office and use the backbone network there.

You also need a very reliable ISP. My lovely ISP in Aberdeen, Scotland are fantastic, when BT make my ADSL break Internet for Business are straight on to them. I get a nice warm body to speak to that speaks English and addresses me by first name - I don't get some random call centre in the Sub-Continent.

Rule #1

[stevegee58]

Don't have children.

Re:Rule #1

[The Optimizer]

Mod this up.

I was about to say if you have a wife and young kids - DON'T WORK FROM HOME. Your work won't be taken seriously, and you will be CONSTANTLY interrupted and your marriage will likely suffer.

Seriously, this has happened to myself and EVERY other guy I know who has young kids and tried working from home (admittedly, 5 guys total) . Their wives didn't respect the need for isolation, and saw them as available to watch the kids and do anything else they wanted to. They would interrupt any time they felt like it, and ignore repeated requests not to. To them, it was like "Hey I work from home too! He's just sitting here on the computer not doing much. If that was me, then I would be able to stop and do something else. He can take the kids while I take a nap and then go to a movie with my girlfriends!".

Re:Rule #1

[Grishnakh]

This and other things I've both seen and experienced really makes me wonder if the old-fashioned standard of the man working and the woman being a full-time housekeeper and nanny isn't really a much better system overall for society and for families. Having both spouses trying to pursue professional careers just seems to be too difficult if you throw kids into the mix, and it seems kids do a lot better with a parent at home full-time, at least until they're in high school. While the parents can swap roles and the husband be the stay-at-home dad, let's face it, typically men's jobs are higher earning (e.g., software engineers and plumbers make a lot more money than receptionists or retail jobs or HR, and women don't go into engineering jobs that often).

Set clear boundaries

[Americano]

Here's the first few things that spring to mind from my experience, working from home about 50% of the time:

1) Construct a sturdy firewall your work time and personal time. Don't allow family and friends to treat your work hours as "free time," and don't allow your workplace to say "since your workplace is your home, you're always at work!" Honestly for me, the hardest part was telling family and friends, "yeah, I'm working from home, but that doesn't mean I'm not working," and getting them to accept that they can't just pop by whenever.

2) Video- and/or voice- chatting can be super helpful, if you can get your coworkers used to communicating that way. Also, a consistent & constant instant message presence allowing people to reach out and get in touch with you quickly and easily can be helpful. You won't be in the office, but availability via other methods will help dilute the "out of sight, out of mind" phenomenon.

3) If you like a little social interaction during your day, investigate co-working setups - with people you work with, or at commercial/public co-working spaces. Or, find a coffee shop/library etc. that might allow you to set up camp for the day. A day like that now and then I find to be fairly energizing. Your mileage may vary.

Mod parent up

[Shandalar]

Not only will there be endless distractions, but your significant other may resent you being present but not helping around the house. Even a very intelligent and rational significant other can fall into this resentment, and probably will. I don't recommend it.

I work from home and make $$$$$$$$$$

[Anonymous Coward]

First, I get up and fuck my wife.

Then I drink a bottle of scotch.

Then I program.

Then
  I say Fuck you. I'm getting my work done.

Kiss my ass.

forget promotions

[geo3rge]

You need to be very careful or you will soon be "out of sight, out of mind". I worked from home for more than 15 years (recently involuntarily retired), and except for the people who had to deal with me, it was as if I did not exist. This may be fine with you, but if you are at a place where you need to schmooze to get ahead, it's bad. Also, you need to have the company finely delimit what is *their* IP and what is your own. My former company's attitude was that if I thought of it, it was their idea. Working from home blurs the lines. On the bright side, I was *much* more productive as a programmer/ software designer at home than in the office.

I'll break a bit from the pack here...

[Zapotek]

...and say that I do the exact opposite.
I've no set hours, no routine, no dedicated space, I play guitar when I'm blocked and have a movie or TV series playing all the time to provide a distraction (for some reason not multitasking doesn't work for me).

So what I'm trying to say is that this is completely subjective, just do what feels natural.

The most important thing is to be passionate about the projects you pick up, if you are then never mind staying focused, you'll go into overtime without even realising it.

Good luck man.

counterpoint

[Tom]

Everyone seems to be telling you to act as if you wouldn't be working from home. If that is so, then what's the point?

I'm currently running my (small) company from home. It was founded recently, so it's too early to say if I'm doing this all wrong or all right, but here's my experience so far:

Do take advantage of this style of working. I absolutely enjoy being able to have breakfast and lunch when I feel hungry and not when the clock says it's the time and my co-workers are waiting for me at the usual place.
I enjoy the company of my pets - lots better having them there in person than having photographs on your desk. Children might be more difficult to stuff back into the cage after a few minutes of raising your spirits, so you may want to develop a protocol, but if you have any, they are probably one of the reasons you are working your ass off, so do what you couldn't do at the office - at the very least, have lunch with your family or something.

Do enjoy the flexibility. Doing grocery shopping during the day, when the shops are empty, is so much more relaxing compared to doing it in the evening when everyone does it after work (YMMV depending on how shops are open in your place).

Keep time. Software or good old watch, doesn't matter, but keep a record of the time you actually spend working. This will help you much, much more in keeping in line than some arbitrary "working hours". And it will help you in both directions, stopping you not only from working too little, but also from working too much.

My personal opinion is that pretending that it's just like work at the office isn't the best way to do it. The number of comments advising it suggest that it is definitely a workable way. Still, there is quite a bit of potential for making it better than work at the office, at least in some respects.

Our ancestors often didn't have any seperation between work and private life. If you are a farmer or something like that, that is still pretty much the case today. Then again, your job probably doesn't feed you and doesn't have the same kind of immediacy and direct meaning. Still, it's a point to think about when people tell you to keep the two strictly seperated.

Re:Multiple monitors

[billcopc]

I can't speak for the Mac guy, but there are some of us who actually spend our own money on nice equipment. I don't have Thunderbolt displays per se, but I do have the exact same high-end panels in my Dell monitors and they weren't cheap. I didn't buy them with "company money", I bought them because they're kickass LCDs and I wanted them. Then I bought a calibration puck and tweaked them to perfection. The funniest bit ? I don't do any precision graphics work, I'm a coder/sysadmin. But boy, do these things look nice, and they're brighter than a thousand suns so glare is a non-issue (my retinas, they burn!)

Some of us, especially when working from home, feel the need to invest in higher quality equipment. It's a comfort thing. I spend 16 hours a day in front of this thing, I want it to be the most pleasant experience it can be. Nice screens, nice speakers, a fancy mouse and a very comfy club chair make my working hours enjoyable. I don't know about your career, but if it helps me log those billable hours without losing my marbles, that's a couple thousand dollars well spent.

Re:tell that PHB that gas is to high and if you wa

[turbidostato]

"tell that PHB that gas is to high and if you want us to come in then give us a raise"

Quite a good way for the PHB to think (he is a PHB after all) "well, if I don't see their faces nor usually hear their voices, what's the difference with those indian guys they talk me about? -and they don't ask a raise!"