7 Ways to Be Productive in Your Home Office

I've been working out of my home either part-time, or full-time for the bulk of my career now.  Honestly, I've had my ups and downs with it.  There are some pitfalls to working at home, and some simple ways to avoid the dangers.

These seven tips have helped me to become an effective remote worker.  I've learned them through years of hard knocks and observation: 

1. Dedicate Your Space  - I started out working from home full-time when my oldest son was first born.  We lived in a 80+ year old home with hardwood floors, plaster walls, and zero insulation.   Working out of a spare bedroom, I spent most of my days on conference calls.
   
   I realized I wasn't isolated enough when my conference call co-workers would ask "Is your baby OK?".  Connor was "Colic-y" :)
   
   We moved about six months later, and I built an office in my backyard.  I wouldn't say that everyone needs to do the same, but having a quiet, dedicated space makes me seem more professional, and helps to minimize the distractions.
2. Manage Your Time Proactively - This leads me to time management.  I have always been naturally spontaneous.  I enjoy reacting to the moment and acting on it.
   
   When I'm working, I've learned that I have to plan my day, inject a few work breaks, and stay focused.
   
   If I don't, this is becomes my days schedule:

• Child #1: "Dad, where's my baseball mitt?"
• Self: "I have time to read the news"
• Child #2: "Daddy, can I play on the Wii?"
• Wife #1 (of 1 :) ): "Tim, can you check the car seat?  It seems loose."
• Self: Personal Email
• Child #3: "Ummmmm......   Daaaaaddddyy.......   Ummmmmmmm......  Welllllllll............", etc...
• Self: Hey why did Pandora stop playing,  I better fix that....
• Child #4: Bursts into room, does a dance and climbs in my lap
• Cat #1: Paws at my face until I throw her out.
• Self: Oooh .... Shiny thing......
• Wash, Rinse, Repeat.....
  

Take some time to study the masters of time management.  I personally have found these two to be useful:
• "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" Steven Covey
• "Getting Things Done": David Allen


3. Be Visible  - A short time after taking a new postion (working from home), my manager once said to me:
       "Tim, I've had several people come to me and ask if anyone has filled your position."
       I asked, "What do you mean?"
       "I mean they don't know your there.", he said.
   
   It's easy to disappear from everyone's radar when you work from home.   As a remote worker, you have to learn to promote yourself.
   
   Some tips and ideas to be more visible:
   
   • Be specific about what you have worked on during team meetings.  Don't waste time, but recognize that most people won't have any idea what you've done if you don't tell them.
   • Actively participate in email discussions.  This is your opportunity to be on the same playing field as your co-workers.
   • Pick up the phone and call people when you have questions.  This is a big one.  If you would have yelled over a cube wall, or walked down the hall, then you should definitely pick up the phone.
   • Call or email everyone who should be interacting with you regularly, just to let them know you're there and available.
4. Connect With Co-Workers  - Manager in team meeting:  "So project X is underway, and the CEO has his eyes on it.  How is it going?"
     [You ask yourself: "What is project X, I've never heard of it"]
   Team mates: "It's going great.  We've got the requirements defined, and we're ready for Tim to do his part."
     [Huh??]
   I ask: "I'm sorry, but can you tell me what Project X is again?"
   
   If you work remotely as part of a group that is usually in the office, you've probably felt left out at some point or another.
   
   Replace the water cooler talk with regular conversations over the phone, or with instant messenger.  A lot of information moves about in an office through informal conversation.  Find excuses to pick up the phone or chat with each of your co-workers regularly.  I suggest at least weekly, if not more.
5. Make Time for Face Time  - In the end, nothing beats a face to face conversation.  If possible, I try to find a way into the office weekly.  I schedule team meetings during that day so we can all connect, and I generally don't plan on getting a lot of technical work done on that day.  Instead I focus on decision making, collaboration, and relationships.
   
   If you can't make weekly work, then schedule quarterly visits, or arrange for video conferences.
   
   Connecting a face to a name is a key part of building trust in relationships.
6. Stay Relevant  - Working at home, you will get left out of the loop at times.  You'll miss conversations, and people won't understand, or even notice that you don't know about them.
   
   One struggle with being at home, is finding ways to stay "in the know" without those conversations.
   
   As a home worker, you need to become a leader of ideas and projects.  If you're in charge, you will always be in the know.  People will look to you for information, and that will keep you relevant.
   
   When you're not in charge, inject yourself into conversations when possible.  Be on the alert for changes that you may not have been informed of.  Then, contact someone who does to fill you in.
   
   Tip:  Find an insider.  Build or leverage a relationship with a team-mate, or even your boss to seek out this information and keep you informed.
7. Build an External Social Network  - Many people build their friendships and social status on the relationships they have at work.  When you're working at home, those opportunities disappear.
   
   I highly recommend reaching out in your community and building personal and professional relationships independent of your workplace.  This gives you better life balance, confidence, and a broad network/safety net if your work environment changes for the worse, or you lose your job.
   
   I personally joined Rotary, and Toastmasters.  I identify strongly with the ideals of Rotary, and I find kinship with the people there.   Toastmasters has helped me to grow professionally.  It given me a lot of tools to accomplish many of the previous items (Staying relevant, Being visibly, etc...)
   
   Other people may connect with their church, with intramural sports, local government, etc.   Whatever you do, you will need a social outlet.  Work won't fill this need when you work out of your home.

How to Change the World

I went to "We are Family Day" at the Safeco Field last weekend.  We go every year because our family belongs to two groups that purchase tickets up in the nose bleed sections:  Kitsap Adoption Group, and Kitsap Foster Care Association.

Sitting in the stands I realized I was among people that were changing the world.  People who committed to something, and are now changing the world through subtle, everyday choices.  Those choices impact the lives of one (or two or three .. or four) children at a time.

I am proud to be a part of that.

• ‘Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’

— Margaret Mead

Margaret Mead has it right.  We all change the world every day.  Your actions, no matter how small, have ripple effects that change everyone around you.   Chaos theory suggests that a butterfly's wings can cause a storm around the world.  Your actions can do the same.

If you want to achieve something, aim high.  You can change the world.  In fact, you already do.  The challenge is to change it for the better. That takes thought, commitment, and inspiration.

How do you measure your success?  When I set out to do something, I want it to have a lasting effect.  That is success to me; knowing I made a difference.

How will you change the world?  I challenge you to commit to one thing that will make a difference.  Think about what actions you will take to achieve it.  Find what inspires you so that you can remain committed.

Make your choices every day to have an impact.  Take risks.  Be thoughtul.  Care about people, and your impact on them.  When you do, you will change the world for the better.

Finally, post a comment, here, Facebook, or wherever about what you commit to.  Writing it down will help you to sustain it.  Own that change, and make it happen.

Staying focused at home

Does this conversation sound familiar?

"That's really great that you get to work from home Tim.  I could never do that."

"Sure, I love working from home.  Why do you think you could never do it?"

"Every time I've tried to work from home I end up doing something else.  Laundry, dishes, playing with the kids, whatever.  There are just too many distractions."

The truth is: this can be a real problem when working from home.  But it's not a new problem, and it's not unique to working out of the home.  Most professionals face it at some point or another.  They reach a point where they are responsible for their own priorities, managing their own time, and they start to lose day to day focus.

Going in to an office daily has two natural effects that help us to stay focused in our work.  The first one is the more obvious point:  You are nearby to your boss or coworkers, and there is some fear of being caught off-task.  This seems sensible on the surface, but in reality how much do you really see your boss when you're in the office?  Probably not much.  And how many of your co-workers have you caught playing solitaire or surfing Google?  In many cases, alot.

The more important effect is less obvious, but thankfully we can reproduce in our homes.  What I'm talking about is the effect of context.  Essentially, we train ourselves to think and work in specific ways based on our surroundings:

• When you enter a restaurant, you begin to feel hungry.
• When you smell a certain perfume, you are reminded of a past flame.
• When the TV or radio are on, you are compelled to watch or listen.

Context is a major part of how we progress through our day.  Our brains are hardwired to translate our surroundings into matching thoughts and actions.   We train ourselves to attach specific surroundings to specific actions. 

The problem is that we can also introduce context that is counter to our goals.  For example:  A common cause of sleep problems is working or studying in bed.  This confuses our sense of context, and our brain stops identifying the bed as a place to sleep.

Back to comparing a workplace.  When we go to an office to work, we have clearly defined context.  Our brains are trained to focus on work while in that location, and distractions are kept away.

We can reproduce this in our home by creating a dedicated workspace.  Find a quiet part of your home, and use it for work, and work alone.  Don't do your bills there, or play video games after the work day in that location.  Find another place for those activities.

If you control your surroundings in a dedicated workspace, and then limit your time there to work alone,  you'll find yourself getting more done before you know it.   When you need a break, get up and walk away to another part of the house.  When you come back, get right back to work.  You'll find your worktime focus will be as good or better than in your old "cube-o-rama".

Welcome Back!

Sometimes we have to renew and refresh.  I was looking through some of my old works and realized it was time for fresh look on this blog.

I have some great ideas for topics to share here.  I hope you enjoy them.

Beware Internet Scams!

Have you read about those scams where someone tries to get you wire money or use your Paypal account to steal thousands of dollars? Maybe you know someone who has been hit by one of these scams, or maybe you yourself have suffered. I had the chance to intervene on one of these this morning. Here's the scoop:

I started my morning off early, planning to attend my local Rotary club meeting and settling back into some normalcy after the holidays. I sat down with a bagel and orange juice to check my mail, and I quickly got a comment from someone I know in the Phillipines. (I've been working some with folks in that area for outsourcable tasks. Kay (not her real name), has been helping me as a Virtual Assistant.)

This was around Midnight there, so I had a feeling something was wrong.

This is the message I got:

I dont know what to do with my other employer i have been crying for an hour now. [Their client] have emailed me and they says that I should call paypal but its international

I spent some time chatting with her, and found out that she had been tricked into a very dangerous scam. As a virtual assistant, she offers her time to help business people be more efficient. This particular person, had given her an email address, and phone number here in the United States. He claimed to be a financial advisor to a company call Cold Code Co. Cold Code Co, however turns out to be in Russia.

At this point, I could tell she needed help, and I decided to fore go my meeting in the hopes that I might be able to help her.

Here is what I learned about the scam:

• They hired Kay as a virtual assistant, and had her do a handful of small tasks to establish a relationship with her.
• They told her that as a Russian company they could not get a Paypal account, and that they would like her to accept payments for products they sold on her account.
• They placed a product (In this case, a high value, minted coin) on ebay, and set the payment to go to her Paypal account.
• When the payment was received, they told her to withdraw the funds from Paypal and send it to them via Western Union

Fortunately for the buyer, and for Kay, the buyer requested a shipment tracking number. When Kay could not provide it, the buyer opened a Paypal dispute, which froze the funds at Paypal before Kay withdrew them. They had also frozen Kay's Paypal account from any other transactions.

The amount was several thousand dollars. This is a lot of money here in the USA, but in the Phillipines, it's huge. And the buyer was threating all kinds of terrible things to get their money back.

If Kay had followed her employers instructions quickly, the buyer would have been out her money, and the only person she could have lashed out at was Kay.

At this point, Kay was scared, and confused about what had happened. She had never needed to use any of Paypal's dispute features, and she was completely intimidated by the website and their phone system. In fact, she had no way of calling paypal without incurring high long distance fees that she could not afford.

I decided to help her out. I worked with Kay to get all the details we would need to discuss it with Paypal. I then opened a three-way Skype to Paypal, and I acted as her advocate. After working through a couple layers of Paypal phone support, we managed to fully refund the Buyers money, and Paypal waived all related transaction fees so that Kay was not paying for them. They released the lock on her account, and explained that this is a twist on a common internet scam that they have seen before.

Kudos to Paypal

Paypal was great with all of this. They did the right thing freezing the funds. I believe they need to facilitate the resolution a little better. Kay tells me that she would not have been able to work through the process with help, and I believe her. The website was a bit confusing about the lockout, and we had to work through several layers of phone support to resolve the issue.

However, if they had not intervened, the scammer would have gotten away with a terrible crime, and an innocent person would have likely been blamed for the theft.

I'm glad I took a couple hours out of my day today to make a difference. I only wish there was some way to point the authorities to the scammer. I'm sure he's doing the same thing to many other people.

Watch out for these type of scams. Never, ever, handle funds for someone else's transactions online.

I've posted before about joining Toastmasters and building my skills. I'm glad to announce that I'm launching a new website focused around public speaking.

I've learned a lot in the last couple of years. I'm still basically a newbie when it comes to this skill. But I can honestly say that I'm no longer scared to the point of inaction when it comes to standing in front of a crowd.

I've done some speaking outside of Toastmasters. Some at service clubs such as Rotary, where I do things like announce events and assignments, or introduce other speakers.

More importantly, I've been able to use my new skills to advocate for kids in my household. This has probably been one of the most rewarding things I've been able to do in my entire life.

I'm collecting what I've learned in to some public speaking articles. I've also transcribed, or recorded some of my speeches. I've posted those examples of public speaking on the site too.

I'm also teaching myself the art/science of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It's amazing how much effort goes into getting visibility to quality content. I hope that through these efforts, I can bring a large audience to the new website. Helping a few people to take that leap and become effective speakers.

Tim

Foster Respite Care

Tonight I'm giving my second Toastmasters speech. It's all about foster parenting. Specifically it's about foster respite care. What is "respite care", you ask? That's a good question. Most people I talk to have not heard of foster respite care. When you take in someones children for a few hours or days to give them a break, that's respite care. You're giving the parents respite. Most parents find some sort of respite from their parenting duties. Taking time for yourself is an important part of being a good parent. It not only allows you time to refresh, but it also gives your children an example of how we should make time to take care of ourselves.

Foster parents are more limited than your average parent. They have to follow guidelines and laws set by the state when making decisions about the children in their care. This extends to their choice of caretakers. A foster child can't be left in the care of friend, neighbor, or even family member for long or regular periods of time. Instead they have to rely on other people who are foster licensed.

Have you ever heard this term: "It takes a village to raise a child." It means that parents rely on their social network to be successful. Short breaks and emotional support are a key part the village. Foster respite care providers are at the core of that village.

The state recommends that foster parents get about two days per month of respite care. Unfortunately, there aren't enough people in the system to provide that kind of support. We met a couple at a support group recently who had not been able to find any form of respite in over six months. We offered to take care of the kids for a day, and I believe we have made some very dear friends for doing so.

I believe many people see foster parenting as an on or off issue. Either you open your home to all types of kids, on a moments notice, for an indefinite time, or you don't get involved. But actually it's not like that at all. Some foster parents do open their homes that way. But, they can also offer as little as a few hours here and there. Having a foster license could just mean that you volunteer at your nearest DSHS foster care office. I was told last year that they are understaffed, but they can only accept volunteers who are licensed.

So tonight, I'm crusading for a cause. I'm hoping to open some eyes about getting involved with the foster care program. Perhaps I'll recruit someone new. Maybe I can help someone find a new way to make a difference.