PORTLAND, Ore. —
With many offices shut down, and the practice of social distancing, many of us are now working from home for what may be the first time.
Personally, I am now working from home full time, which I never thought was possible when my job is to be on TV.
But now my office is my dining room table (which might not be the best spot, but we’ll get there in a minute), with my work laptop in front of me, my camera on a tripod, and I’m conducting all my interviews via FaceTime, Google Duo, and Zoom.
Of course, there are some people who have been working from home for years. So, from the comfort of my own home, I reached out to three people who work from home all the time, to find out their tips for those of us who are new to the gig.
The great news is, these workers love working from home. Everyone I spoke with said they are more productive when they don’t have the distractions of the office. As long as you can distance yourself from the distractions of home (the couch, the TV, social media, etc.).
Here are some benefits of working from home:
Convenience: You can go to work in your pajamas, use your own bathroom, have your own food nearby.
Flexibility: You can be flexible with your hours and break times.
Home chores: You can be doing laundry at the same time as you’re getting work done.
Productivity: No coworkers are coming up and talking to you, you have less meetings, so you can actually get more done.
And here are some tips from three people who work from home full-time:
Have a designated, separate space to work in, away from your family. Do NOT use your couch as your work zone.
If you do work in an area where other people are around (your kids, your spouse, etc.), use visual indicators to show that you are busy (e.g. headphones).
Have multiple monitors on your desk, if possible.
Get a designated office chair to sit in.
Set a schedule and stick to it, and use calendar reminders for tasks and breaks.
If your job will involve video meetings, find good lighting and a good camera angle.
Are you working from home right now? Send me (Cassidy Quinn) a picture or video of your workspace, and we might share it on KGW!
