Working from Home? We Got You

With coronapanic sweeping the country, some of you are working remotely for the first time, and probably have some questions - you know, how does this actually work?

As a fully remote company, we’ve become experts in the land of #workfromanywhere and we want to offer you our tried-and-true tips. Here’s the Grey Horse guide to working productively and collaboratively from home (without losing your mind). 

Stay in communication with your team members. Communication is important for all work environments, but even more so when you aren’t bumping into colleagues in the hallway or going out for a midday oat chai. 

We have a 30-minute call blocked out on our morning schedules, and although it’s not always needed, the time is available for any hot topic that requires discussion. Then we’re on Slack all day, and we have organized channels for every topic and work project. We also have shared Slack channels with clients (separate from our internal channels) for easy questions and answers. Paying attention to what’s happening online gives you the power to handle questions quickly and ensure there aren’t any hold-ups on deadlines. 

Establish a routine. Managers new to remote work tend to worry about productivity and distractions, but we’ve found that many humans can be very productive without direct supervision, and gaining back commute time is great for morale. One way to feel productive is to have a ritual when you start and end the work day. One of our team members only uses the overhead lights in her apartment during work hours, and switches to lamps after hours to signal that it’s time to change gears. Just don’t forget to truly turn them off when you want to unwind. Often the bigger danger, when you work remotely, is forgetting to stop and carrying that Office Energy into the weekend - fun for your boss but not great for brunch. 

Find a comfortable space. The first thing we learned when we gave up offices was that the chairs in our homes weren’t built for sitting upright all day long. If you’re going to do this regularly, your back will thank you for adding a small-footprint office chair and finding a table or desk that’s the right height for you. A lamp desk works and are easy to find online. Or - go totally wild and take your conference calls from bed, no one will know (as long as you turn off the video tab). 

Practice self-care. Don’t neglect your normal self-care routines. Just because people won’t see you doesn’t mean it’s not important. Take a shower and change into real clothes in the morning. Do your hair, brush your teeth, and keep up the daily habits. You’ll feel more like your Work Self if you do. Try to set aside a time for lunch, so you’re not raiding the snacks all day - and take advantage of your full kitchen access. 

Minimize distractions. It might be fun to be home with your kids and pets for the first few days, but it can be challenging to separate yourself and buckle down uninterrupted. If you can, find a place in your home where you can be alone. If you can’t, invest in a decent pair of noise-cancelling headphones. Create a work-at-home playlist - the key is to get into the right headspace and signal to others that you’re unavailable, and also keep your mind focused on work. (Film scores and video game soundtracks make great background music.)

Go outside, if you can. It’s always sad when 6 p.m. rolls around and we realize we missed all of the daylight. It’s still important to see the outdoors, as long as you’re not under a strict quarantine! We try to make one out-of-the-house appointment or meeting per day, or at the very least, we will go for a walk, visit the library, or work from a coffee shop for an hour. 

Technology makes this all possible. With remote tools like Google Drive and Canva, it’s easy to share documents from different states, and it allows us to access everyones’ work output in real time -- and saves us the hassle of waiting on back and forth emails.

We’ve found that working remotely has allowed us to work with great team members from around the country, and has contributed to our high productivity levels. We hope you find ways to enjoy this temporary respite from office life -- and if you do it right, you might never want to return to the office again.