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Is your company going remote? If you're someone who doesn't love working from home, this can be a problem—but fear not. We're no strangers to working remotely here at Zestful; Heck, we've basically all been remote employees from the jump. Because of this, we have some pretty solid (and achievable) tips for working from home.
I like to tell folks that we are "re-local", as most of the team lives within 40 minutes from the office but only come in a few days a week.
Our flexible and effective remote employee program allows our team to work from home any day of the week, but typically, you'll find us all in the office Mondays and Fridays. These are the days where we typically have our company-wide standups, team lunches, and other celebrations—all of which are, of course, better in person. As for Wednesdays, about 70% of our team comes into the office that day.
We then encourage employees to work remotely on Tuesday and Thursday, and the majority of the team takes full advantage of this. With this schedule, we're essentially remote every other day, which seems to be the perfect recipe for collaborating together on a Monday then going heads down without distractions on a Tuesday.
There's more where this came from—take a look at our remote work category for more.
We've really loved the balance of being both remote employees and working together IRL the past year. We strongly encourage companies that can to explore this route.
In light of many companies going remote for the very first time, we decided to share some tips and tricks straight from our half-time remote employees themselves.
Create a designated workspace within your home. Even if it's at the kitchen counter, be sure to create a space that's clean and allows you to focus.
Kylie Ryan, Customer Support Associate
Remove things from your workspace that easily distract you and remember to take breaks!
Lukas Corbitt, Software Engineer
Noise-canceling headphones are clutch. There are fewer people distractions at home, but I find I can still be distracted by my pup or other things. My headphones help me get and stay in the zone—also great for video calls.
Ashlee Cloud, Head of People Success
Go through your typical morning routine as if you were going to an office. Eat breakfast, shower, get dressed.
Mat Vogels, CEO
Set blocks of time where you mute all notifications (Slack, email, text, calls, etc.) in 1 to 2-hour blocks and only focus on one high priority item. Don't procrastinate!
Connor Mooney, Head of Growth
Wear actual shoes while you work. I've noticed if I take my shoes off or wear slippers, I'm too comfortable and will get distracted more easily.
Andrew Dvorscak, Growth Marketing Associate
Set clear signals to alert your partner or roommates that you're in work mode and you should not be disrupted.
Andrew Vojslavek, Director of Sales
Keep track of your hours and/or the amount of work you're getting done. Ideally, this would be about the same as in the office. It's easy to do too little (due to distractions) or too much (by being overly concerned about not working hard enough without others around).
Malte Muenke, CTO
It's super important to know what time of day you work best, and don't alter your "zone time" just because you're working from home. If you get your best work done in the morning, resist the urge to sleep in.
Nate Vogels, Head of Operations
The best part about working from home is the versatility! Take your dog for a walk, make a fancy lunch, or pause to spend a little time with your family. Working remotely can be isolating—these things help.
Kate Marshall, Head of Content
Ensure you still have a voice! With all of your meetings now conducted online, make sure your microphone works well. When in a meeting, confirm this by asking an attendee how well they can hear you, and to be honest. If needs be, invest in a better microphone. Communication is paramount.
Harry Levine, Lead Engineer
As you can see, our team has some great advice—but it's different for everyone.
Now's a good time to take a close look at your own best work styles and implement those as fully as you can in your own space. Love working in dim lighting? Dim those lights. Like working standing up? Turn your kitchen counter into a standing desk. Take advantage of this time to learn how to make it work best for you.
And if you feel like you're going a bit stir crazy, take these tips into consideration.
