When it comes to remote life, I have learned a few things over the last 8 years.
By no means, do I spend all of my working hours in my home office.
I love the fact that working remotely allows me the flexibility and freedom to switch things up. Beautiful day? I can grab my laptop and sit on my back porch working while taking in the rays. Rainy day, but want some in person interaction (pre-Covid)? Pack up and head to a local cafe to work.
Over the last 8 years I have worked just about everywhere. Five to six years ago, I was a caregiver for my Dad while he was going through cancer for a second time. I was able to keep my professional life as is, with my normal meetings and hours, while juggling my Dad’s health. Even if I was at the hospital, I worked and enjoyed having that sense of normalcy.
We have all had our lives turned upside down with Covid. Right now I am enjoying sitting outside working more than I did in the past — except for those hot & humid Georgia afternoons! But, everything is a learning experience!
Here are some of my “must haves” when working from home. I hope this gives you some ideas and remember you can always grow and change your mind! For example, a standing desk is on my list but this is something I am working towards changing to by the end of this year!
Hardware:
When it comes to working from home, you will be your IT department! Spend some time figuring out what you like in a computer. Personally, I like a touchscreen laptop, that has enough RAM to handle everything that I will throw at it, and an Intel processor. This allows me to pick up and go, sitting at that cafe or on my back porch.
But, what about those times you want to kick back in your home office? Do you want to sit at the kitchen table? If your table is like mine, it is not optimized for this. I enjoy having a large computer screen that I can plug the laptop in via HDMI cable on my desk.
On the desk in my home office, you will also find an ergonomic mouse. I love this mouse! It is an easy jump going from a traditional mouse to this one, but this saves my arm from being twisted in an “unnatural” position for too long. There is also my ergonomic keyboard — I love this one! It is wireless, has a nice weight when typing, and helps keep you from putting your wrists at those odd angles.
A great headset with mic. Let’s be real here, no one likes hearing themselves coming through their co-worker’s speakers during a meeting! That is why anytime I have a meeting -video or not- I have a headset on. I have been using the same pair of SkullCandy earbuds for the past year — bonus points because I picked these up for under $15 at my local Wal*Mart! They are similar to these.
Furniture / Things to put other things on / Things to sit on
If push comes to shove, you can 100% work from home without a desk. But, if you are going to work remotely long term then it is time to assess what you have and what you want!
For the longest time I worked from home without using my desk for, well, work! And I still sit at many places besides my desk. I do not have a standing desk, yet– so I will stand at my kitchen cabinet and work when I need to change gears. How convent it is right there with the coffee! If you are going to stand, I do recommend wearing some supportive shoes or having a support mat.
Before I broke into the world of Customer Support, I went to college to become an Early Childhood teacher! So it is ironic that I still love flexible seating options. Right now I have a wobble chair and a kneeling chair — plus the normal desk chair. I also love working from a recliner — which will make any physical therapist flip out apparently!
As I mentioned earlier, I have an old school wooden desk (that I *naturally* painted teal). By the end of 2020 I plan on upgrading to a standing desk! One that can move itself from sitting to a standing position by pushing a button!
Things you love and show personality
Last, but certainly not least, find things that you enjoy having while working remotely! For me, one small thing that I love is having unique coffee cups! Sounds silly, I know. But, these little things bring smiles to my face and I am usually drinking coffee while working or listening to meetings. This is just one example of the many coffee cups you may spot me with in an internal meeting:
As always, if you have questions or want to talk more about working remotely let me know! I am always happy to talk shop! 😉