The working from home thread: tips and advice

Avoid the ikea desks with draws built in, like this, as they don't really leave enough room underneath for legs.

I work from home a lot.

I like the tips so far. I recommend getting dressed.

Here's a good one.

If you want to get shit done, spend the first 35 minutes or whatever planning the day. Put the stuff you think you can do in your calendar's 'day' view, blocking out the time for each activity / task.

This also gives you a record of what you have done.

Don't be too ambitious - like YAL says in the office there is a lot of time where we are not 'working' away on something, and obviously this doesn't translate well to home. If you can do more than 5 hours high concentration desk work per eight hour day you are doing well.

Ah had meant renting them out. Would pay good money to sit in an office with someone selecting gabber for me to listen to as background noise

For those bored of BBC doom-mongering / commercial radio adverts / spotify adverts / spotify suggestions / spotify fees, can I recommend fip? A great music app with just music, in four days of working from home it's so far served me well https://www.fip.fr/

Radio Paradise also an option https://radioparadise.com/player (although I'm a 6 music man, a bit of judicious pausing can get me through the day with no Lamacq).

Haha maybe we could arrange a swap. My missus to yours and you can have the dining table here :D

Tuned down a little for the afternoon...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=069qyw6U7LA

So with schools and nurseries closing on Friday. Anyone have any tips on how to work from home with a two year old demanding your attention?

Any books I should be getting delivered so I can organise some sort of creative play/learning for them whilst in the house for the next couple of months?

Ask your nursery for a learning pack - it’s the least they can do

Anyone have any tips on how to work from home with a two year old demanding your attention

You can’t unless they are asleep.

I read it that schools are closing (except for kids of key workers and those with EHCP) but nurseries and private schools are only being encouraged to do the same.

I don’t know your circumstances but can you take turns working/looking after kid with your partner? If all else fails, give them the iPad to watch alex and gabby on YouTube

My missus job is pretty full on and she won’t be able to give him as much/any attention. So I think it will fall on me:
We haven’t discussed it yet but I’m hoping we can work out some sort of rota/routine which means I can do some work in the 9-5 rather than early starts and late finishes.
A friend of the missus who does the same job is proposing that she (the friend not my missus) work 3-8 in the morning, look after the kids and then work 8-midnight.

Not sure she’ll last long on 3 hours sleep!

https://gofile.io/?c=dJKDGb

We're in a similar position, but with a 3yr old. We're trying 2 hours working then 2 hours parenting, one of us working while the other parenting, which gives us both 4/5 hours each during the working day. Then we both try to do 2/3 hours in the evening after little one has gone to bed to catch up on admin things that can wait. It's a long day though. Grand parents have also been chipping in with FaceTime storytime/nursery rhymes, so both of us can get an extra hour in. It's by no means perfect, but it adds up over the course of the day.

However you can't look busy at home because no one is watching and so you're just fucking about.

Amateur, all you have to do is look in a mirror.

Any hive mind tips on staying focussed when WfH? I'm a Project Manager so often my days are quite 'bitty' between several projects and i'm finding it tricky to settle into my groove with all the distractions of home around!

I work from home anyway but having the family around over the last few days has been carnage to my routine and focus (along with constantly escalating global pandemic)

I would recommend a book ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport

Top WFH tip for today! If you've got a whole load of messages on the go and you want to send the lyrics to "that boy is a bottom" to your friend, double check that you send it to the right chat and not to the HR Manager.
Though I guess this isn't specific to WFH...

Getting bombarded with 'Hey, can you do me a quick favour?' Teams messages at 16:30.

Fuck off, how about you get your shit together and plan ahead mate. Need it now do ya? Ha ha haaaaaah..... look who's offline....

Ok WFH tips:

Been doing it for about 5 years on and off

Use your outlook calendar to block out tasks and other activities. Block in your lunch ride/run with an obfuscating title like “Time/Motion efficiencies forum”

Invent a fake external contact, I have “Calvin Tang”. Calvin can plug the gaps, take the blame.

Book in your conference calls and remember to bother your line manager with a real question most days.

Other than that, get up at 6am and get all the admin done before the rest of the world wakes up. Then dip in and out of work, bike maintenance etc

This is worth a read, when you're on a break period.
https://guzey.com/productivity/

An hour and a half into working from home and, quite honestly, fuck this.

Edit: OK we've settled into it a bit now and we've all had some more food and tea.

same here but with 17 month old. He has good periods and he has bad periods (playing on his own vs needing you full time). We switch but I have to take most of the day because my OH's work needs to be done during the day.

So far it's been:

Work from 7-9 as he was playing on his own.
I take him from 9-11, girlfriend monitors my laptop for urgent e-mails, they can also always call me.
At 11 he eats so I can start working again, after eating he takes a nap at around 12, hopefully for three hours. After the nap the gf takes him from 15-17 so two more hours of work for me. 17-19 is quality time with everyone together. Then a quick dinner and depending on how much work is left I work 19.30 - ...

Hopefully we'll manage but I'm guessing most people are doing it this way + if I take unpaid leave no work gets done...

Also, don't sweat if you're not answering calls/texts/messages/mails/whatever promptly. I don't even do that at work.

I’ve worked from home since 2006. I log on at 7-7:30 and get the day over early (flexi time) I put the radio on as isolation is a git. Always walk away from the desk every hour, wash up to keep your hands warm, hoover up to get exercise. Don’t drink too much coffee or alcohol. Try to get out at lunchtime or faff about cooking your meal to get a break. Enjoy not commuting, wearing works gear but remember you are at work.

I should be WFH in the next few weeks, I plan to get up and cycle to work (do 3-5 mile loop)