Top Ten Telecommuting Tips
David Letterman gave his final one. Casey Kasem gave all of America one for years. Even the Federal Bureau of Investigation has one (although you probably don’t want to be on it). Yes, America’s favorite pastime and the number one on the Top Ten list of trivial timewasters, it’s the famous Top Ten List. Making a Top Ten list is so popular, even your CSEA Chapter 262 decided to join in, although our list is meant to save time and not waste it. This is your Top Ten Telecommuting Tips for our new normal (except we will start with the first five in this issue and finish the list in the next issue).
Starting off at number 10…
Have a Good Internet Connection: Without a good internet connection, you are not going to get much done. If you have a spouse also working from home, children using the internet for home-schooling and online classes, and you’re trying to use zoom for meetings, your internet connection could be unstable and unreliable. Perhaps consider temporarily upgrading your internet connection to a higher speed while you are all at home. Another option is to set a schedule for internet use. That may not be popular, but it may be necessary.
Number 9 … Create A Dedicated Space: A dedicated, private space, no matter how small, is a good start. Working from home, especially when the whole family is there with you, creates a number of distractions. Kids being kids. Husbands yelling at the TV while watching sports. The cat on your keyboard. All of these things leave little room for concentrating on work. Find a place where you can close a door or isolate yourself from other while you can work. Create a temporary office in your garage. Put a TV tray next to your bed and lock the bedroom door. It’s a challenge, so be creative. I have heard some resourceful parents put up a tent in their backyard and have the kids play there while the parents work from home. If that works for you, give it a try.
Tip Number 8 ... Stick to Your Routines: Get up at the same time every morning. Have your breakfast and coffee. Get the kids started on their homework. Take your shower. Whatever your pre-telecommuting daily routine was, don’t stop now. Set your working hours, such as starting time, lunch break, or regular breaks to structure your day effectively. If your manager has given you an assignment and deadline, plan your day so you get the work done on time to meet the deadline. Create a daily schedule for the work you need to get done. Your managers know you are not going to be sitting at your computer all day every day, and they probably won’t be giving you eight hours of work every day. If you set a schedule, and then make sure your family knows that schedule, you can get the work done and take care of the house, the kids, and the dog and still get your work done. Again, be creative.
Number 7 … Keep the lines of communication open: While we are all telecommuting, communicating with our managers and colleagues is vital. Since we are all not on campus together, check in at least once a day by e-mail, phone or voicemail, or even schedule a zoom meeting once a week. Working relationships develop and are most effective in person, and telecommuting workers can be forgotten or overlooked. If you regularly call vendors or businesses, counterparts at other colleges, or anyone else off-campus, continue to do so. If you can arrange a zoom meeting, try to do that. Just send a “How you doing?” e-mail once in a while can maintain the vital and collaborative contacts we have with others. Don’t be annoying or stalkerish, but let the many people who support Mt. SAC and your work know they are not forgotten and, more importantly, that Mt. SAC is still … well, not “business as usual,” but still up and running and educating our community.
And at Number 6 … Invest in Good Headphones and Use Them: Buy a noise-cancelling headset with a mute button. The last thing you want is to be in an online meeting and have the doorbell ring or police sirens blaring the background. Nothing can ruin a zoom meeting than hearing your kids in the background playing or just screaming when you’re trying to hear what your manager is asking you to do. Sure, we all know working from home isn’t like working at the office, but you should try to maintain that illusion as much as you can. Wearing headphones (as opposed to earbuds) allows outside noise to remain … outside — not in your ears.
Number 5 … Prioritize Your Work: When you telecommute, you don’t always have easy access to your manager to help prioritize your work, and you may have as much to do telecommuting as you do at work on campus. Prioritizing your tasks and workflow is a bit more complicated, especially if you have requests coming from other managers or employees. Some of this work may be urgent and important or not urgent and not important. Some tasks you might even be able to delegate to colleagues. Do yourself a favor and figure out where each task fits in this matrix. Make a chart if you need to (see example at right) and place your tasks in the priority chart where you think they belong. Then share your chart with your manager. Your manager might shuffle some of the tasks around to where he or she believes they belong, and that’s perfectly fine since your manager should be prioritizing your work. Your manager will also see that you are giving careful thought to the work you are being asked to do and being creative or taking initiative, both of which could be beneficial at your next evaluation period.
Number 4 … Dress for Work: Working from home in your living room wearing pajamas is just a joke. Wearing pajamas all day is impractical, for one thing. Getting into “work mode” is difficult if you are not dressed for the part. You don’t have to put on a suit and tie (and very few of us do anyway), but business casual gets us into the frame of mind to keep us focused on work. Casual dress is certainly one of the perks of working at home, so stay in the habit of getting ready for work each day. This will also make the transition back to working on campus again easier.
Coming In at Number 3 … Set Clear Goals: When you have been given assignments by your manager, set goals for yourself. If you need your manager to prioritize your assignments, do that and also ask for each task’s deadline. Deadlines help you understand the priority and helps you set your goals. Low priority items you can get to tomorrow or Thursday. Assignments your manager needs right away you need to get to right away. This tip works with Tip #5. Once you have your tasks prioritized, you can set a goal of getting all the important-urgent tasks done today or at least as soon as possible. Also set goals for you. Set a goal for not working through lunch. If you have several assignments, set a goal for stopping every couple of hours and getting away from your work area. Walk around the yard. Take a 15-minute nap. Help the kids with their math homework. Anything to help clear your mind so you can get back to it later somewhat refreshed.
Number 2 … Don’t Work Alone: Just because you are working from home does not mean you have to be alone. Do not be afraid to ask for help from your colleagues or to ask others to help you check your work. Since you cannot speak face-to-face, use Zoom or send e-mails back and forth. Respect your co-workers’ workloads and work situation, so do not hold a Zoom meeting to discuss non-work topics. You have collaborative tools available to you, so use them if you need or want help from your colleagues.
And the NUMBER 1 Telecommuting Tip . . .
Balance: Yes, balance is arguably the most important aspect to telecommuting. Balance can apply to anything. Trying to get work done when you also have to homeschool your kids or getting an assignment completed on time for your manager when you also have a room full of distractions is a challenge. Utilizing the previous tips can help you achieve balance. Set a daily schedule to follow. Take your breaks. Isolate distractions. Communicate and collaborate with co-workers. Take time outs for yourself. These can all help you maintain a healthy work-home balance. Remember that you are not expected to be sitting at your computer all day unless you are working on an assignment your manager has given you. If your manager has no assignment for you, then go homeschool the kids, walk the dog, or catch up with NCIS. Check your voicemail or e-mail for assignments from your manager. If your manager has given you assignments, then work on those, but remember to maintain a healthy balance.
If you find these tips helpful, share them with your colleagues. If you have other telecommuting tips you’d like to share or if you have questions, please send your ideas to cpro@csea262.org or submit them to the Chapter 262 Telecommuting Tips web page by following this link.