Dear members—
With more and more people around the world working remotely due to the coronavirus, I thought I’d devote this entire email to tips on how to work from home. We’ve published the memo that we sent to Quartz staff, from Quartz at Work executive editor Heather Landy, with tips on working remotely. Here are a few particularly pertinent ones:
Talk to your manager ASAP about deadlines and deliverables. “It sounds obvious, but the only way your boss can know what you’re producing from a remote office is what you produce. Confirming those expectations upfront ensures that you both understand the metrics by which you’ll be evaluated.”
You have to separate work life from home life when you work from home. Quartz at Work rounds up some excellent, inventive advice for this. Top tip: Close your laptop at the end of the working day. (Also, maybe consider a work robe?)
Is your spouse/partner/roommate working from home, too? You need ground rules. Top tip: “Come up with a plan the minute the unexpected happens. If you have a child and that child comes home sick, you must decide who will be point-person during various blocks of time. Failure to do this can and will plant the seed of the Resentment Tree and water it with ‘Oh You Think Your Job is More Important Than Mine’ elixir.”
And here are a few more great pieces on working from home, both old and new:
- How to run a team of people who never see each other
- How to combat loneliness when you’re stuck working at home
- Remote work doesn’t isolate people—it actually drives deeper human connection
- The creator of WordPress shares his secret to running the ultimate remote workplace
- How the best remote teams communicate
Finally, if you’re working from home remember to drink water, stretch, and get outside for some fresh air, even briefly, if you can.
Best wishes for a restful weekend,
Walter Frick
Membership editor, Quartz