SHIFT normally works at a community-based shared office space. The hours are flexible and people are coming and going, but most of us still meet at least some of our teammates during the day. We have been working 100% remotely for almost a week now, which basically makes us experts on the topic. Based on our experience, we put together the following list, which may help some of you in your home offices, adjusting to the new situation!

Stay connected

It’s not fun to be isolated. Often far from it, so stay connected. We use Slack, but it can be any quick message platform. Check-in when you start working in the morning and let your colleagues know when you’re done for the day. In other words: keep up the routines you’d have in the physical office. There is a lot of laughter at our office space – let’s not let that die during the period of working from home. Share that funny idea and GIF in #random-channel – no shame in that!

Leave the office, not your calendar

The importance of a calendar increases when working from home. Reserve time for the time-consuming tasks and keep track of your working hours – just like when working at the office. But what’s even more important is to schedule the things you usually wouldn’t! We recommend you to create a social calendar next to the work-related bookings. Schedule breaks, book joint lunch breaks with your teammates, and make sure to stick to these plans! This gives your days structure and prevents you from sliding into the vortex of unproductive hours and solitude.

Take the opportunity to educate yourself

Change in routines offers an opportunity to reconsider how you manage your time. The upcoming weeks in isolation reduces the number of interruptions during the day. How about taking this time to educate yourself? Or maybe you already have started an online course but were too busy to finish it? This is your chance! Multiple organizations offer superb online courses. We got inspired for instance by the Ivy League Courses, The Elements of AI by Reaktor & University of Helsinki and FITech’s Network University’s selection of online courses in Finnish Universities.

Create a playlist

White noise helps many of us to maintain concentration. If we weren’t living such extraordinary times, we’d encourage you to try working in a cafeteria. Since that’s not a recommended option, how about creating a playlist and sharing it with your network?
This one is from us to you: SHIFT – Working from Home. 

Experiment

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to remote work. This is a good time to experiment and see what works for you. Maybe the productive hours are actually before taking a shower and changing off from pyjamas? Or maybe a short walk after lunch gives your brain an energy boost for the afternoon hours?

Experiment and develop a pattern that works for you. Maybe, once the remote work period is over, you’ll be able to adapt some of these learnings to your everyday work life!

Ps. We have been writing haiku about remote work life. If you want to pitch in, send yours to us in Instagram or share them with hashtags #haikufromhome #theshiftfi.