Homeward Bound .... tips for working from home.

My kids were discussing on our family "Whats App" group their new life of working from home. Being the sensitive Dad, I told them to get over their first world problems, put on their superman underwear and just do it. Since I have been working from home for nearly 6 years, I was a little short on empathy.  As I reconsider my lack of real encouragement, I decided to maybe try to be helpful. Also, I have some things to learn. I have started this blog to share my experiences and what I have found helpful with the hope of getting feedback from others. Since we are in a real crises with Corona Virus (Wuhan virus) world wide and many are having to work from home or in lock down, I thought lets make some lemonade from these lemons. Below is what I have found helpful. What about you?  Maybe you are retired and working from home or a stay at home parent or other caregiver. Tell us what you think is helpful for you.

1. Get dressed - Not just your sweats, yoga pants and workout cloths but similar to what you would work in. It just helps me have the right frame of mind (ok if you wear a uniform then obviously not that ... wear something that makes you feel smart)

2. Take a moment before work and plan your day. Have a daily goal or daily goals. Think through what you are going to do. I don't always do this. When I do I am always more productive and happier

3.  Have an office that is your work place. This helps with boundaries. If you don'e have a separate room, designate a space as "When I am here I will be working".

4. Have regular (daily) meetings with other employees, bosses or people who report to you. Having a daily "stand up" meeting is very helpful for me. "Stand-up" just means this: if a several  people were meeting  in a room the meeting needs to be short enough to do standing up. Each shares what they did yesterday and what they plan to do today. Save longer discussions on issues or problems for other meeting times.

5. Sharpen your saw (Covey, 7 habits..) whether at home or the office this is always great advice. Being new to work at home you may find yourself with not enough to do. Do the important things but may not be as urgent. Clean up your email, organize your computer desktop, delete unused apps on your phone, write that email you have been procrastinating, revisit your job description and work objectives.

6. Encourage someone. Call, audio conference or video conference people. You can just say "I was thinking about you and wanted to see how your were doing." 

What else?

The Leedom Road blog is about life in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I grew up just outside the city of brother love and the road we lived on was named Leedom. It was within walking distance of a shopping center, movie theater, car dealer, barber shop, churches, grocery store and other necessities of life in suburbia America.  I lived in the same house on that road for 17 years of my life. This blog and the ones that follow describe the 17 years I lived there from 1960’s and most of the 1970’s.

First though, a short discussion on this turbulent time in the history of the USA. There was the Cuban missile crises. President Kennedy was shot and killed. His assassination was my first memory of watching television. Martin Luther King the leader of the civil rights movement was also assassinated. Jack Kennedy's brother Bobby made a run for the presidency and he was assassinated. The Vietnam war cranked up and a lot of young men and some women on both sides were killed. There was a cold war between the US and the Soviet Union which produced real fear of a nuclear devastation. Watergate caught a president lying about a break-in to the opposing political party’s headquarters and a cover up. That president was impeached.

We landed men on the moon in the late sixties. Rock and roll came into vogue … full tilt. There were the cool cars like the Corvette stingray, the 1965 Ford mustang, the camaro, Dodge charger and the Pontiac GTO. There were easy to watch family friendly shows on TV like Lassie, Flicker and Leave it to Beaver. There were westerns with cowboys, the lone ranger, gun smoke and Bonanza. Walt Disney had a show most every Sunday night. For those interested in mystery, Arthur Hitchcock and the Twilight Zone played after the late news on weekdays. The original Star Trek made its debut and the Smother’s brothers provided great entertainment with a witty political background.

Later in the 70’s we left the Vietnam war. The cars got more economical and the TV shows got more complicated but a lot funnier. Saturday Night took no hostages in their controversial late night humor.  Watergate made a lot of folks cynical of the government. Gas prices increased yet people began moving further and further away from home. Divorce skyrocketed and couples started living together before marriage (yes that was once taboo). One could say that the 60’s was the time when the collective masses got drunk on unfettered freedom and the 70’s was the sobering morning after trying to grasp the reality of our choices. I guess the turning on, tuning in and dropping out gave way to the downturn where folks sang a different tune and tried not to drop the ball. These are things have imprinted on my life like a penny from the Franklin Mint. Of course there was much more to this sliver in time but that will have to wait for another blog.