As with so many office-based businesses in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Redeam has instituted a work-from-home policy. Working from home (WFH, also known as telecommuting, working remote, and working virtually) is a brand-new world for some Redeamers, while others have been full-time WFH the majority of their careers. We asked those veteran WFH folks for productivity and work-life balance tips for the first timers. We amassed such an incredible list, we thought we’d share it outside of Redeam to help others in need of this advice, too. Enjoy! (The image above features Redeamers at their home office desks…or just the desks themselves — we do have a lot of reclusive engineers here, you know!)

PRODUCTIVITY TIPS

• Keep your get-ready morning routine. Wake up at the same time. Make your bed as you always did before. Shower and get dressed. Eat breakfast. Some people even get up, leave and walk around the house/down the street! This routine helps you focus on the fact that you are at work and not just at home.
• If possible, physically separate your workspace. If you can’t have an actual home office, have a place or space that’s exclusively dedicated to your desk and your work. When milder weather arrives, change your scenery – turn your desk around a face a window if possible. Research shows that people are much more productive seeing nature.
• Know what keeps you focused. As examples, for some, that’s keeping music going in the background; for others, it’s complete silence. Once you know what that is, ensure you have access to it.
• Know how to get your daily energy fix. If you relied on the office coffeemaker to keep you going all day, it might be time to splurge for machine of your own. Or get an insta-hot water pot and you’ll have tea or French press coffee in no time! Same goes for those vending machine runs. You might want to stock up on packages of your favorite treats. You just need the discipline to not over-indulge just because you don’t have to pay for them each time.
• Institute boundaries and cues for housemates and loved ones. For instance, “If the door is fully closed, it means I am not to be disturbed. If the door is open a crack, it means, knock first and wait for an invitation to come in.” One Redeamer has a pleasant “code phrase” with his fiancée to avoid hurt feelings and unnecessary conflict: “Honey, I would love to spend time with you, but right now I need to get some work done.” Another Redeamer shared this great relationship management tip from Twitter:
  

• Create a schedule or work plan. Use the same productivity and calendaring tools at home that you’d use in the office.
• Create office-like interactions (especially if you’re a people person). Use your webcam to schedule video calls instead of phone calls. Do a virtual coffee meeting. Check in on your office mates now and again. If you are using a video teleconferencing platform and there are other people in your household, you might want to use a headset to reduce the amount of noise for both your housemates as well as for the people in your meeting. And don’t forget to mute yourself if you’re only a listener and not a participant!
• Turn off all unnecessary alerts. You don’t need personal alerts distracting you from your work at hand, particularly when you have an important deadline to meet. Silence your phone. The same alert muting applies when you’re video conferencing. Turn off all your computer’s email, Slack, LinkedIn and other notifications during that time. They’re highly distracting to the other people listening in. (You’ll just need to remember to turn them back on when your meeting’s over!)
• Plan and take healthy breaks. Healthy breaks – breaks that literally serve your health — help with the monotony of the day. They can be in-home workouts (traded-out for lunch breaks), 15-minute walks around the neighborhood, 15-minutes sitting in the sunshine or observing nature. Take your calls standing up. Whatever gets your pulse going and your body moving from Point A to Point B. Sitting at a desk all day isn’t good at the office, or at home.
• Mix up your lunch time. Try not to always eat lunch at your desk. Since we can’t go dining establishments right now, consider alternative places to eat lunch at home or doing different things instead of just working through your lunch break. Listen to a podcast, stream your favorite show, play a video game, read a book, walk your dog, take a nap, call a friend, do a lunch date over video. (NOTE: These activities can also be used to reset your brain when you’re stuck on a problem.)
• Set a timer. If you do take a break to deal with a personal matter, set a timer to help you stay on-schedule.
• Avoid distractions. Put your phone away. Stop checking the news.

WORK-LIFE AT HOME BALANCE TIPS:

• Don’t work on your lap from a relaxing place. You will need that space when you switch off.
• Don’t just sit and munch on poor food. Shop and prepare good meals. If you like cooking use a slow cooker so that by the time dinner comes, you’re salivating!
• Know when it’s time to step away. It’s easy to “just keep working” because there is no “going home.” If you have a lock on your office, open and close every day like you’re opening up.
• Don’t look at work equipment or paperwork after you call it a day. It’ll just put you right back into that mental mindset.
• If your workday permits it, give yourself latitude for flexibility. If it’s more helpful to stop working at some point in the day and make up for it later at night, schedule that alternative commitment.
• Schedule activities that force you to stop working like networking events or social get togethers (not now, of course).

Now that Redeamers have shared their work from home tips, what are yours? Feel free to email us your add-ons, and if we use it, we’ll give you a shout-out on social!

Redeam is a global technology company that empowers the growth of tours, attractions, and activities so that more people can enjoy the world. Redeam is the only global experiences-centric technology company with an independent channel manager solution connecting Supply and Demand of the Experiences sector of travel. Redeam enables the seamless and automated passing of product and booking data back and forth between Operators and Distributors, thereby enabling the sale of more tickets, a better check-in process for guests, elimination of operational strain caused by too many manual processes or fraud, and improves payment reconciliation timelines.