Tag: wfh

My dream of working from home started with this ad for IBM and Coppola’s Thinkpad (publish those visions you have)

The computer above, and the ad it is, came out in the mid 90s.

It was possible to work from home then, but it was not easy. I used to have a luggable computer that weighed 40 pounds and which I would …lug… home every day one summer to work from home. What I dreamed for, though, was to work from home with a small laptop like Coppola’s. A laptop where I could work from home daily, be it at a desk or in a beautiful kitchen like the one above.

It eventually happened. The laptops got better, the networks got better, and eventually the work cultures got better and I could do this. My kitchen wasn’t as nice, but everything else was nice.

Creative people, keep putting out your visions for a better world. You never know what dreams people will have. It might be as simple as a dream of working on a laptop in a kitchen. A dream that becomes more achievable once people can envision it.

Does your WFH desk / work area need a refresh?


If you are feeling your work from home (WFH) work area needs some new ideas, I think you should check out the following links for inspiration.

For example, this setup was designed to maximize productivity while minimizing your screen time. Also good:  every one of these wfh furniture pieces includes a secret feature to keep your work and life separate. Cool. Cool too are these Panasonic desks: komoru. (More on that panasonic desk, here.)

Need more ideas? Then check out these great  desk setups with minimal designs to increase your work from home productivity.

 

 

 

 

Minimalist desks to meet your minimalist needs

As we move to living in smaller places as well as working from home, minimalist desks can be the solution we need to get things done. For example, this ignite desk that separates work and personal life in a simple yet effective way:

Very nice. Or how about these sleek desks designed to perfectly meet your work from home needs declutter your workspace:

Love the wood. Need more? Here’s  10 desk designs every workaholic needs to amp up their productivity, including this one from teenage engineering:

Awesome.

We all need a good surface to work from. Sometimes that surface doesn’t have to be very big. These desks prove it.

All images and links from Yanko Design. If you are in need of a minimalist desk, check them out.

 

The WFH wars and other work related ideas

Zoom — yes, that Zoom — was in the news lately due to their mandate forcing people to work in the office. Here’s just one of many pieces on it. Buried at the bottom of that piece was this:

Zoom (ZM) has had its own difficulties as demand wanes following a pandemic-fueled surge. In February, Zoom (ZM) cut approximately 15% of its staff, amounting to about 1,300 employees, after growing too quickly. Members of the executive leadership team also reduced their base salaries by 20% for the coming fiscal year and forfeited their fiscal year 2023 bonuses.

Relatedly, a union drive is underway at Grindr. So what does Grindr management do? Try to force employees back into the office too. See here for details.

Look, management can have many reasons for having people come back to the office. While those reasons are often portrayed as positive, they might not be. Want to shed employees because business is bad but don’t want to have to lay them off? Then force them to come into the office like Zoom. For some it will be impractical or undesirable and they will leave. Voila: workplace reduction achieved. Want to make it difficult for employees to organize a union? Make them come to work where you can monitor them closely. None of these things are about employees being more productive, etc….they are about using the office as a weapon to manage your business woes.

I suspect these WFH (work from home) battles will be ongoing for a few more years, until leases come up for renewal. I could be wrong, but once that happens, I suspect more and more companies will eliminate costly office real estate from their assets and working from home (or temp offices) will become the norm. That’s going to occur over the next few years though, not immediately.

Meanwhile expect more WFH stories as employees and management adjust to our post-pandemic work life. Stories like this: some executives are finding  forcing workers to come into the office is a big mistake. Or like this piece that argues the way to get employees to come to the offices is by giving everyone their own office. (I personally think that’s a nonstarter.)

Regardless of where you are working, here’s some tips on balancing work and life I recommend you read. And if you do have to go to the office, read this good piece on how leaving the office at five is not a moral failing,

To close off, here’s three pieces on badness at work:

 

 

Thursday is a good day to be productive. A playlist can help

Thursday is a great day to be productive: you just got over hump day (i.e., Wednesday) and if you can get a lot done today, you can feel more relaxed as you head into Friday and then the weekend.

If you have your own playlists, I recommend you put them on. If you do not, that head over to domino.com and read this: A Good WFH Playlist Is the Difference Between a Slow Day and a Productive One. They have a number of lists from various people: one of them is bound to help put you in a mood to GTD (get things done) as you WFH (work from home).

Happy Thursday!

What do you do if you want to keep working from home

While many of us have been forced to work from home during the pandemic, that time may be ending some time this year. Many people will be delighted to go back. If this is not the case for you, then read this article.

That article contains good advice for either finding a new job that is full time remote, or finding a job that can be a hybrid. Either way, if you want to continue to work from home, I recommend you start thinking of how to achieve that now.

(Photo by Collov Home Design on Unsplash )

 

New office chair and phone ideas (or, be good to your back and head :))

chair

Two things that can make our lives easier as we work from home are a good chair and a good phone. If you are in the market for a new office chair, see this:

Best office chairs of 2021 for your home office or student workstation – TechRepublic.

If you are in the market for a new phone, consider something out of the ordinary, like these minimal phones.

The pandemic isn’t over and neither is working from home. Why are you working like before times?


Until recently, I was working like I always did: get up, get coffee, start work around 9 and finish work around 5 while sitting in the same place for the whole time. Then I read this:Working From Bed Is Actually Great – The New York Times.

After reading it, I thought: why am I working like I used to? Why not take advantage of being at home to work better? For example, last week I was working on a hard problem and I was sitting at my desk and getting nowhere. I decided to go out for a walk. After about 20 minutes of walking the solution came to me. I went home and wrote it up!

Likewise I have weights next to my desk now. When I get stuck I get up an do a microworkout. Other times I will take a break and do a drawing. Or stretch. Anything to get my brain going.

Consider shaking up your own work routine. I know for some people, that’s impossible. End of story. But if it is not impossible, try doing what I did. Or work from a different part of the house. Even the bed.

We are going to be working from home for some time. Let’s make the most of it.

(Photo by Avi Richards on Unsplash)

 

The perfect headphones for working at home may be these Grado’s GW100 Wireless Headphones. Here’s why…

If you are in the market for headphones and you work by yourself at home, consider the GW100 from Grado. If you need convincing, read this rave review in Forbes. Working in a space with others isn’t great with them because they are open back (i.e. others can hear the sound). But WFH alone, these would be perfect. Sure, you can also go with the wired versions that Grado makes. They are also great. Even the lower end models are excellent. However, the wireless is a great feature, especially if you want to move around some or want to avoid yet another wire to deal with. 

In Canada, you can get the GW100 and so many more at Bay Bloor radio.

 

You may be working from home for awhile. Here are some tools to help you stay focused

This is actually a great looking set of tools to help you work from home: Eight apps to help you stay focused when working from home – The Globe and Mail

Normally when I see such a list — and there have been many — I see the same tools over and over again. Not with this list. Moreover, they are a diverse set of tools to help with various difficulties when you work from home.

Have a look. I’d be surprised if there isn’t one there you could use.

You’ve been working from home for awhile. You need to spruce up your space. Here are some ideas. #wfh

Many of you have been working from home for several weeks now due to the pandemic. You may be getting fatigue for a number of reasons with your environment. Worse, you might have to keep doing it for some time to come.

Don’t fret. Here’s 10 Home Office Ideas That Will Make You Want to Work All Day from Real Simple magazine. Lots of good ideas in that piece, and nice photos to offer up some inspiration. Best of all, most of the ideas are affordable. If you can’t get out to shop and don’t want to shop online, consider “shopping your house” (i.e. take pictures, rugs, clocks, etc from other parts of your home and put them in your work space. Hey, you are there most of the time, why not make it shine). Also Google things like “home office gallery wall” or “home office decor ideas” for more visual ideas.