Working from Home: Best Practices

Work in your home office. If you don’t have one, create one!
- Let family members and housemates know you’re working and will need minimal distractions.
- Find an area where you can concentrate and be comfortable. (Try not to work from your bed; it’s best to maintain separate spaces for work and rest!)
- Get creative! Sometimes the best office is in your backyard.
Write out a schedule for your next day before you go to bed, and stick to it. Set an alarm, prep a lunch, take a lunch break, and clock out like you normally would. This ensures you’ll be productive during working hours and can shift into rest mode when you’re off.
Get showered and dressed like you would to go outside the house! This helps get your body into work mode.
Take regular breaks. This includes your lunch break, but also regular stretch breaks.
- Make it a point to get up and walk around every half hour. Step out onto your porch for some fresh air. Take your dog outside to use the bathroom.
- And be sure to inform your colleagues when you’re leaving and when you’ll return.
Stay connected with your teammates. Check-in frequently to make sure you aren’t missing any important communications.
Get some virtual facetime (or voice chat) in with your colleagues, whether it’s for a meeting or for friendly banter. Sometimes we don’t realize how much value these interactions add to our days, and it’s easy to skip out on them when you’re communicating in a text chat.

Mute your microphone when you are not actively speaking.
Disable video when not necessary to preserve bandwidth.
Assume the camera and mic are on at all times and act accordingly.
Be courteous with your conversation. Pause occasionally to see if anyone has any questions or interjections. Wait for your turn to speak. Stay on task and avoid rambling.
Avoid distracting sounds: this includes conversing with someone in the room with you, rattling ice, sucking through a straw, chewing, tapping on your keys, setting your cup down on the desk, etc. These seemingly quiet sounds become extremely loud over a conference call!
Let your family members and housemates know when you’re on a video call so that they are dressed accordingly if they wander behind you while conferencing.
Stick to an action plan while on a call. Make a list of items to address and projects you’re asked to tackle. Take notes for asking questions before the call ends or to address individually afterwards.