Our Thinkwellian Cynthia Sharpe created a list of tips and tricks on how to best adjust to working from home during this time period.

1. Welcome to my world.
Cynthia’s top 10 hints for being a telecommuter

2. Hi. I’m Cynthia
I’m a Principal at Thinkwell Group, and
I have telecommuted from KS to Los
Angeles for sixteen years. And I’m mom
to a high school junior - so I’m in that
telecommuting while parenting boat, too.
Me and some very confused sheep near
Hadrian’s Wall, in 2016.

3. So. How to
telecommute, be
effective, and not
lose your mind?

4. Not pajama pants.
Not workout pants.
Definitively not no pants.
REAL PANTS. (or skirt, or dress, or shorts, or kilt, or toga, you do you)
But the point is: get up and get ready like you normally would. If you work out
in the morning usually, do a home workout, too. These signifiers of ‘I am starting
my day’ help your brain transition from ‘home time’ to ‘work time’
#1Real. Pants.

5. My colleagues might enjoy when I do
video conferences in front of my fireplace
on a cold winter’s day, but I do have an
office and use it. Find a space, even if it’s
not a room, that you can allocate if at all
possible so you can ‘end your work day’
and walk away from it. Or make a ‘desk
kit’ that you can easily clean up and stash
when done with work.
#2Dedicated work space if possible

6. If you work in an open office with lots of
‘go talk to colleague’ time, your step
count is going to plummet. Set a
reminder and get up and move. Walk a
couple of laps around your apartment or
house. Put on your favorite song and bust
a groove. Do some yoga. Something.
#3Shake it off, shake it off

7. Eat meals. Don’t graze.
Having your kitchen right there can
be really bad for your eating habits.
Take a break and sit down and
have lunch.
#4Good eating habits

8. #5
Take 15 minutes at the beginning
and end of your day to review
where you’re at and what you
need from other people in order to
knock things off your to-do list.
Send the appropriate emails or tee
up the Google hangout convos for
the next day, as needed.
15 minute daily startup and closeout

9. Communicate clearly with your
roommates, housemates, friends,
and family that you are working and
what your working hours are. And
maybe lock some doors.
#6Make it clear you’re working

10. #7Bless and release
Extend grace and patience to
your colleagues.
This is hard: they can’t see your face
or body language except on video
calls, and even that’s not great. We’re
all kind of frazzled. So try not to
impart meaning to what you perceive
as tone, and be clear and concise in
your communications in return.

11. #8Take notes like you’re back in school
Notes. Take them.
Being on call after call can be
numbing. Bust out that notebook and
take your own notes.
Review them before next meeting.

12. #9Documentation is king
You will no longer be able to ‘touch
base’ in the aisles or kitchen on things.
So write those emails, ask questions in
hangouts, and that way you can refer
back to it or easily share info with
others. Be clear with action items and
timeframes: I need you to do X by Y.
And saying clearly what you need - or
someone telling you clearly what they
need - isn’t being obnoxious, it’s crucial
in this weird liminal time.

13. #10Art of the video hangout
Log on early to make sure your setup is working. Mute your mic when not talking
and disable notifications so if you’re screen sharing others won’t see them.
Don’t sit with a window/lighting behind you.
Running the meeting? Share a detailed agenda in advance, state the goals for the
meeting at the outset so everyone knows what you’re trying to get done while
together, and do a roll call. Share large decks or videos in advance: they can be
slow and jerky in screenshare.
If you’re talking, pause regularly and ask if everyone’s clear or if there are
comments. It’s old school, but raising your hand can signal you have something to
say if others aren’t hearing you try to talk. And text the meeting organizer if you are
consistently having a problem - they can ‘throw it to you’.

14. Bonus

15. Wash. Your. Hands. Washyourhands. WASH YOUR HANDS.
*With graduate level work in relevant stuff like virology and immunology. WASH YOUR HANDS.
I’m a human geneticist*.