10 Tips for Working from Home – My Winespill

Consider your daily routine like a game you love to play

In our new normal we have taken our work home with us. Here are 10 tips for working from home plus some general guidelines to make the transition easier. I know that some in business don’t like to think of work as game-like, but in essence it is. We agree on our shared quest and what the common rules are, and off we go. Every day we re-enter the game, look at where we left off, try to identify what asteroids might try to destroy us, and work together to overcome them and reach our goal. If work is stripped of fun, we have a hard time fully engaging with it, and if we don’t fully engage, we’re not taking our work seriously.

Fun and work are complementary, not opposites.

10 tips for working from home in a virtual team

To help us maximize performance as a team we’ve come up with 10 operating rules. These tips will help you and your team be successful in this new workplace setting. I have personally used all of these rules when I went back to school in my late 40s. I finished my bachelors degree in one of the very first online settings. I helped pave the way for future classes and each one of these work from home tips helped me get more out of each class.

1. Be Accessible 
2. Be alert
3. Be aligned
4. Be connected 
5. Be a Partner
6. Be innovative
7. Be open
8. Be Responsible
9. Be thoughtful
10. Be transparent

General

As an online learner I could not agree more with having a great, not just good, communication plan in place. You will need to have all the tools that enable you to communicate with teachers and classmates. Above and beyond having the tools is the ability to react and understand different communication styles. This can be made much more difficult to decipher if you are not seen in person. I really got use to using my video on group calls so you can still infer what people may mean by there facial expressions.

• Create a formal communications plan to generate a ‘team rhythm’
• Encourage informal spontaneity and networking
• Communicate one-on-one, not just with the whole team
• Let others know your communication preferences, and find out what they prefer
• Sort others into circles of contact (daily, weekly, monthly, as needed)
• Add personality, enthusiasm, and warmth to your virtual communications
• Vary your use of collaborative technologies

Work from Home Tips for Great Communication

~ E.M. Cybulski

Verbal Communication

This was a tough one for me, because I’m not a big talker, but I found if I had written down the point I was trying to get across, it helped me stay focused and on topic. Many times I found myself making a written list first and used that as cue cards.

• Slow down to help others understand you
• Give people time to talk without interrupting
• Give people time to confer with others
• Keep language as simple as possible
• Save time and your sanity by doubling your communication efforts
• Be honest; don’t pretend to understand when you don’t
• Pay attention to what is said and not said, and how something is said
• Ask questions and check for shared meaning
• Consolidate understanding
• Make your questions straightforward

While many of the verbal communication tips transfer to written communication, I often would make a written list of key points first.

Written Communication

Note: many of the guidelines for verbal communication also apply to your writing communication. This is where you can turn your written cue’s into black and white, as you fine tune the punctuation and grammar.

• Explain background and context; don’t create any cause for second-guesses
• Be exact and to the point; eliminate vague words
• Keep e-mails, instant messages, texts, etc., as short as possible
• Use punctuation and check your spelling to be sure you convey exactly what you want to say
• Be restrained in what and how you write, don’t write if you’re emotional
• Use visual and numerical anchors to reinforce your meaning
• Look at the feelings and thoughts behind the words
• Treat written messages as permanent

When the day is done…

Remember to treat your day much like a normal day at work. Get up, take a shower, get dressed for work, and kiss your spouse goodbye. Have lunch together in the break room (aka, the kitchen), then meet up on the patio for an after work glass of wine before dinner.