How We Work from Home

Tips from our virtual team on working remotely during the coronavirus

by Meghan Hunt

Engage R+D Virtual Happy Hour

I wanted to start this article by acknowledging the impact that COVID-19 is having on life around us at the time of this post. The spread of the virus has been disruptive on many levels for many people all over the world. At Engage R+D, we are adjusting to new routines, taking time to reconnect with and care for family and loved ones, managing our work, and addressing day-to-day responsibilities and distractions as they come.

We have noticed that many of our partners who are able to continue working are switching to remote work from home. This may inspire some interesting home fashion, or you may be playing conference call bingo. Many of you are co-working with partners and pets while homeschooling kids. You may also be wondering how to make the most of this time. As a company with a virtual model, we have been learning how to work remotely for the past several years. So today I’m sharing our team’s top tips for working from home, particularly during these challenging times.

Establish a routine

In soliciting tips from our team, it became immediately clear that establishing a routine, or at least creating some daily rituals, was essential. Here we share tips to start and end your day, including for those who have kids of all ages at home with you:

Jenn: “I have a start-the-day routine so I can ‘come into the office’ with the right energy/mindset/focus. For me that means working out first thing in the morning.”

Giannina: “I'm in the thick of figuring out how to work from home WITH kids. We do a morning family circle time where we share our feelings and set our intentions or inspiration for the day, then move into family stretching/yoga time with meditative music. This routine has helped relax our bodies and minds before starting our chaotic day.”

Alysa reminds us that we must still tend to our basic needs, even while getting work done from home. “Eat at regular times. Socialize throughout the day if possible.” She sent me this over Slack after asking me how my day was going.

Meghan: “It is essential to me to have an end-of-day ritual or else it’s tempting to return to tasks during the evening and end up working all night. For me, I turn my laptop off and take the dog out. When I come back, it’s like coming home from work.”

Make the most of video conferencing

While the idea of logging on to your third video call of the day may make you groan, after working from home for two years I actually look forward to my Zoom meetings to connect with others. The conversation and collaboration keep loneliness at bay and, done right, your virtual meetings can be just as effective as your regular in-person ones.

Our top tools for virtual meetings:

Zoom: We created a Quickstart Guide for meeting participants.

Tools: Use two of Cristina’s favorite virtual facilitation tools

Cristina highly recommends the virtual meeting facilitation training by Training for Change. Her top tip: “Asking meeting participants to take a moment to stand up, get a beverage, and make sure that they have what they need to be completely present and engage in conversation.” She also recommends: “Inviting people to use the chat feature for an ice breaker and throughout the meeting can be a game changer, especially for people whose child or pet may be making noise in the background.”

Mary gave us the brilliant idea to use paneled room dividers as a backdrop for video calls. They can hide clutter, disguise your spare bedroom, or even allow the rest of the family to move around freely while you’re on camera. Use what you have on hand or check out this webcam backdrop that attaches to your chair.

Meghan: “Plan time into your meetings to set up technology and check-in. While the impulse may be to hit the ground running, everything will go more smoothly when you anticipate time to troubleshoot technology, train others, and just catch up.”

Boost your productivity

The most common complaint I hear about working from home is dealing with distractions that kill your productivity. Here our team shares how they stay motivated and on task.

Pilar: “My advice is to do walking meetings (even indoors) when you're having a brainstorm meeting. I've found that it helps to unlock more creative thinking when I'm moving around.”

Anna introduced us to FocusMate, a tool for virtual co-working with a total stranger. Log in, select a slot for a 50-minute session, briefly state your goals for the session, co-work until the 50-minute timer goes off, and reflect with your partner on how it went. “It sounds bizarre bordering on creepy, but after doing 6 sessions this week I’ve concluded that it totally works! It’s based on the psychology of how people get stuff done and enter into a workflow,” she says.

Clare: “Culturally, I think it's important to normalize distractions rather than frown upon them. Someone rings the doorbell to obtain a signature for a package delivery, for example, or perhaps the whistle of a roommate's tea kettle goes unanswered for a bit too long. Then there are the beautiful children who wander in and out of our video calls together. They serve as interesting reminders of the full lives we live beyond our professional roles. This one never gets old.”

Take care of your team

Throughout this time, our team's health and wellbeing is our top priority. Our co-founders Sonia and Clare share some of the ways they are supporting our team during this time.

Sonia: “We are encouraging folks to take a wellness break (8-12 hours billed to admin). This time can be used to step back, to connect with loved ones, and to consider what work schedule might be feasible moving forward. We recognize parents will need to support their children's education as they are schooled virtually and are prepared to make accommodations on this front.”

Clare: “During uncertain times, it's helpful to connect with one another regularly to discuss updates, to share what's going on with each of us, and to strategize about managing clients and project work. We scheduled a number of optional calls, from general check-ins to team happy hours and Zoom meet-and-greets so staff can participate in ways that they find most helpful.”

Got a tip to share? I’d love to hear! My husband, who’s essentially my co-worker now that we’re BOTH working from the living room, highly recommends getting a more comfortable chair…