I’m back at my desk after some time in Vancouver speaking at the Editors Canada conference. While I love connecting with my community, I also like the return to my natural habitat—in my home office. As others have discovered remote work in recent years, I’ve been the person sitting at the back of the room quietly smiling and nodding as the rest of the world joins me. Yes, you DO get more done when the meetings are optional. You have blocks of quiet time with your computer and can even ignore the occasional phone call. During the pandemic, I even collected and shared articles on remote work to share and help others figure it out. Here are my favourite tips on how to do remote work right:
Create quiet spaces
I am lucky to have a dedicated space, and appreciated it even more after giving it up briefly. I’m back, baby! Maintaining a dedicated space for your work and laptop where you can close the door after or simply walk away from is ideal. I tell my students, who might not yet be in a position to have a whole office, to find a closet or corner. Make a space permanent, rather than setting up afresh every day. I’m still surprised this far into the remote work revolution people still toil at their kitchen tables. Time to modify your homes or take over the spare bedroom!
Build in breaks that are fully distracting
This may be the reason I could never fully give up television like some others, but having a break away from your work during the day is essential. I plan breaks for lunch and at least once in the late morning and mid-afternoon. I usually turn on 20 minutes of television and allow myself to get absorbed in whatever I’m watching. Sometimes I go outside for a breath of fresh air or a short walk. The important element is that by the time I return, I feel like I’ve been away, and my brain is ready to reengage.
Make time for both busy work and focused work
Admin has to happen, so why not bundle it together? While various experts have warned not to check your email first thing in the morning, I find it helps me to start with a half hour of busy work just to get me settled in for the morning. Unless I have a deadline. I would agree that you want to get down to something substantial before too long, so I usually try to do half an hour of admin (email, invoicing, calendaring) and then schedule an hour or two of focused work for writing an article or starting a project.
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