How I Work From Home

Who wouldn’t want to work from home?

No commute? No dress code? Dogs allowed! How could anyone deny the allure of working from home? Seriously. It’s pretty freaking great!

I’ve been working from home for about 8 years now, and I’ve learned a lot about how to be successful at it. With anything, there are always pros and cons, and remote work is no different. Still, the idea of not having to fight rush hour traffic day after day so you can arrive at the office, rush to your desk, deal with fluorescent lighting and a constant roar of background noise for 8+ hours, then battle your way home through even more traffic is undeniably appealing for most people. While living in Austin, my commute to the offices at which I worked was usually 30-45 minutes each way. If traffic was especially bad on a given day, that could easily exceed an hour. In fact, when I used to work on 7th St, there was a day where it took me 3 hours to get home from work and I only lived 9 miles from the office. I don’t miss that part of the daily grind! As a bonus, I’ve gone from putting about 12k miles a year on my car to about 3k miles a year.

Aside from not having to drive to work, I’d say my next favorite aspect of working from home would be the lack of dress code. Don’t get me wrong, I always make sure to look presentable since Zoom calls have been a common part of my daily routine. I’m not wearing tank tops, ratty shirts, or shirts with offensive things on them. That said, I won’t hesitate to admit that I do often wear ratty shorts or torn up jeans because no one can ever see below my waist. Why dirty my good stuff if it isn’t even going to be seen?

Some would argue that always eating at home would be somewhat of a downside of remote work. That’s certainly understandable, but I actually feel the opposite is true. I do intermittent fasting and eat a very low carb diet. Additionally, I also have celiac disease and gluten-free options aren’t always the easiest to find. My eating habits on work days couldn’t be simpler: I eat one meal, usually around noon, then my last meal an hour or two after I close my work laptop for the day. Generally, a bowl of eggs with some salsa is that first meal, and it only takes me 5 minutes to prepare. I take my eggs back into my office, check for any new Slack notifications, and spend another 5-7 minutes eating while I read a news article or watch a video online. The bowl goes into the sink and I immediately go back to work. It’s a simple routine that I’ve been doing for years and it works for me.

There are a litany of other benefits to working from home. My dogs walk into my home office a few times through the day and it brings a smile to my face every time it happens. If a package is delivered, I can bring it inside immediately keeping it out of the elements while reducing the chance of porch pirates making off with it. On the rare occasion that I need a home repair or some contract work done at the house, I just make sure to schedule during a period where I have no meetings and I don’t have to make any other special arrangements. You have your creature comforts and a whole lot of convenience that you wouldn’t have if you worked in an office, and I absolutely love it!

Remote work can have a bad reputation

Many companies have a negative perception of working from home, and I get it. There’s this idea that remote workers will be distracted or more likely to commit time theft. While those things can occur with remote workers, they’re not exclusive to any work arrangement. In fact, I’ve worked in many office settings before and I’ve certainly witnessed this sort of thing happen there, as well. To pretend that in-office employees have fewer distractions, are more productive, and are less likely to commit time theft is completely false. Every office has at least one person who’s always on their phone, scrolling through social media, watching YouTube, or posting on Reddit. I’ve seen these things happen countless times. When you work in a tech office with amenities like game rooms, ping pong tables, and multiple places to eat and get coffee, the number of distractions grows even more. The bottom line is that if someone is going to be distracted or steal time, it will happen regardless of where they are working.

Another common concern about remote work revolves around meetings. I understand how some employers might reach these negative conclusions, but I don’t think their concerns are well thought out. When I worked in-office at Indeed and it was time for a meeting, there was quite a process involved. First, I had to unplug my peripherals from my laptop and close it up. If the day was full of meetings, there was always the chance my laptop battery was low, so I’d need to unplug my charger and bring it with me too. Since it was a multi-story building, I often had to take the stairs or an elevator to reach the meeting room. More often than not, the team that reserved the room before us would run over their allotted time. Once they finally left, my team entered the room, and everyone immediately started opening laptops, plugging in chargers if needed, and setting up the conference room camera and microphone for any remote participants. As a remote employee, I simply click on the meeting link and continue working until everyone else joins. I’d argue that meetings for remote teams are substantially more efficient!

Some employers claim collaboration is difficult with remote employees. Maybe if your team is in sales, UX or graphic design, or another field that benefits from face-to-face interaction, this could be true. However, for software teams, I’d argue there’s little benefit to collaborating in person. Most code editors come with collaborative features, and screen-sharing is a standard part of most video call applications. We also use various messaging platforms like Slack to stay connected. In my experience, these tools make collaboration easier than ever before. There’s no need for a software engineer to look over someone else’s shoulder to collaborate effectively. While every field and team has different collaborative needs, software engineers likely benefit the least from face-to-face interaction.

Remote work is not for everyone

It would be dishonest of me to pretend that remote work doesn’t have its downsides, and I think depending on your personality, those downsides might present a big problem for you. The primary concern that comes to mind is spending too much time at home. There have been times in my 8 years of remote work where I’ve realized I was more irritable than usual. This wasn’t apparent during work hours but certainly showed up outside of them. It isn’t fair to my family, so I’ve had to make a conscious effort to get out of the house more often — whether that means going out on weekends, dropping by my dad’s place after work, or offering to run errands for my wife. Essentially, I’ve had to remain mindful of how long it’s been since I left these walls and be intentional about changing my scenery.

If you’re a social butterfly, working from home might not suit you well. Transitioning from an environment filled with watercooler chats, hallway conversations, desk neighbors, and constant foot traffic to one where you work alone in your home office might leave you craving social interaction. Over time, this can affect your mood and overall well-being. If you work remotely from a city far from your company’s offices, you’ll also miss out on the possibility of bonding with colleagues at off-site events. While I’m not the most social person, there have been times when I’ve realized I need in-person human interaction. My wife and son have their own schedules, so I can’t always rely on them for that connection. On days when their social batteries are depleted by the time they get home, they might not feel up to chatting or doing something fun. To fulfill my limited social needs, I’ve taken extra steps.

The best thing I’ve ever done is build a garage gym and convince my buddy to lift weights with me three days a week. We chat while we work out, and he’s fallen into a post-workout routine of going into my backyard and throwing the ball for my dogs. Additionally, I make it a point to see extended family on weekends. My uncle lives about four streets over and has a pool so, in the summer, I often spend at least one weekend day swimming with him, my cousins, my dad, and other family members. I’m also a musician who’s been in several bands and, after a few years’ hiatus, I’m actively assembling a new cover band. This provides me with weekly practice sessions with friends and the occasional gig at a local bar. Having a social life while working remotely requires effort and some creativity.

Finally, if you’re not very active, working from home can be hazardous to your health — both physically and mentally. If your job requires sitting at a desk for 8+ hours daily and you also watch a lot of TV or play video games, commuting to an office might actually benefit you. At the very least, you’ll get some steps in during your commute. A sedentary lifestyle increases your chances of health issues and is generally considered to shorten your lifespan. I’ve already mentioned that I lift weights, swim, and play in bands, but even those activities aren’t enough to counteract the lack of movement during workdays. For example, I went from getting 10,000–12,000 steps when I went to the office to only 1,000–2,000 when I initially started working remotely. Again, this is another situation where you have to be intentional with your actions to mitigate one of remote work’s downsides.

To combat this, I often join my wife on her two-mile evening walks when I don’t lift weights. I also have an electronic drum kit that I play at least once a week, and jamming to metal songs definitely gets the heart rate up and the sweat pouring. Outside of that, I might go golfing or play disc golf, walk the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings, mow the yard a couple of times a week, or drive into the Wichita Mountains for a little hike. When you work remotely, you have to be very intentional about staying active.

Have a dedicated workspace and a solid routine

Most people who have worked remotely for any considerable amount of time will tell you that you need a dedicated workspace. I’ve noticed several ex-colleagues getting onto Zoom calls from their living room or back porch, in coffee shops, etc., and they don’t consistently use one place as they seem to be always moving around. While this might work for some people, I tend to agree that having a dedicated work space is the best approach.

For me, this workspace is a bedroom in my house that I call my home office. My musical instruments, 3D printer, and electronics workbench are also in this room, but the vast majority of the time I spend in here is spent working. There’s no TV in here, and this room doesn’t have direct line of sight into anything other than my entryway. Furthermore, the room only has one window, which I keep covered with a blackout curtain. The window looks into the side of my backyard so there wouldn’t be a distracting view even if I didn’t have the window covered. Having a distraction-free room in which to work every day is a huge benefit to my productivity.

Establishing a routine is also something I would argue is key to being a successful remote employee. Some folks I’ve known seem to sort of blow in the wind when they work from home. I guess that can work for some, but I’m generally against this idea.

My routine is simple and I adhere to it pretty strictly. While I have an alarm set for 6am every day, I almost never sleep until it goes off. Instead, I wake up, let the dogs out, start a pot of coffee, and turn on my personal PC. I usually spend time on whatever side projects I’m currently working on, catch up on some news, etc. At 6:30am, I put my PC to sleep, turn on my work laptop, and begin my regular work routine. I eat my first meal when I feel hungry, and since I have larger dogs that don’t need to go outside as often as smaller ones, I usually just let them out when I get up to make my meal and bring them in when I take my dishes back to the kitchen.

As long as I don’t have a late meeting, my work laptop gets shut down around 4pm. At that point, I either go straight to the garage for my workout or head to whatever I have planned for the evening. I’ve found that having a routine is a great way to stay focused and productive. Humans are creatures of habit!

Another thing you have to consider as part of your routine is taking an occasional break. There are lots of blogs and videos that make hard claims like “work an hour, break for 10 minutes,” etc. Almost nothing in this world is a one-size-fits-all solution, so maybe experiment with some of those ideas but stick to what works for you. If you sit a lot, standing up periodically and taking short breaks is obviously a good idea. I don’t have a set schedule for breaks, but 2 to 3 times a day I step outside for five minutes or so just to get away from my desk and get some sunlight. Interestingly, I’ve found that solutions to problems I’m working on often pop into my head during those short breaks. I think we just need to step away and clear our minds a little bit here and there.

Fill your workspace with the best equipment for the job you do

Note that all links are for items I have personally purchased and used, otherwise I would not recommend them. Additionally, none of these links are affiliate links.

While you can certainly work from home with nothing more than a desk, a chair, and your work laptop, there’s a strong argument for optimizing your work-from-home setup. This will look different for everyone since your optimal setup may vary from someone else’s. However, you should put some thought into how you can be best equipped to do your job from home.

The most important thing, in my opinion, is your choice of office furniture — mainly, your desk and chair. One of the biggest occupational hazards of any desk job is lower back problems. This can be somewhat mitigated by selecting a high-quality office chair with at least some ergonomic design that feels comfortable to you. I’ve gone through way too many chairs over the years looking for the perfect one for me, and while I don’t think I’ve found it quite yet, I’m pretty satisfied with my current chair. I also decided when I first began working from home to get a large sit/stand desk and a standing mat. This allows me to stand for at least a couple of hours a day, which reduces some stress on my lower back and is good for circulation. Ensuring you are comfortable and taking care of your body are arguably the most important things to consider when setting up your home office.

After office furniture, I would argue that your choice of PC peripherals is the next most important thing to consider. Some of the other big risks to your health as an office worker are carpal tunnel and problems caused by excessive eye strain. You’ll want to use the right equipment to lessen the risk of suffering from these issues. I spent years (and more money than I care to discuss) buying keyboards looking for the one that was best for me. I settled on a split, ergo keyboard with a columnar layout and opted to pick up their optional tenting addon a few years back and couldn’t be happier with that decision. That keyboard had a learning curve, and my typing ability took a hit for the first few weeks, but I can now type faster than ever before and feel nerve pain in my forearms and wrists substantially less often than I used to. To take it further, I use a handshake grip mouse while working (I use a gaming mouse outside of work hours because I do occasionally game on my PC). My advice on mice is not to spend too much money as I’ve burned through many over the years (both cheap and expensive) and have failed to see any benefit in the more expensive ones. They provided no additional comfort and didn’t last longer than cheaper models. Finally, get yourself a decent monitor…or two…or three. Some monitors can cause additional eye strain for various reasons, and you want to take care of your eyes. I run a three-monitor setup with my 32” 4K IPS gaming monitor as the centerpiece, an Asus ProArt monitor for color accuracy, and a cheaper one just to have my terminal and work calendar. Essentially, you want monitors with a good refresh rate, good contrast, and the ability to adjust blue light output. Many monitors have features they advertise that help prevent eye strain as well. I also recommend looking at monitor arms to maximize desk space and provide yourself with the most flexibility.

If you will spend any considerable amount of time on video calls with colleagues, consider what could improve the experience. Some folks are fine using the potato camera and craptastic mic built into their laptops. Some are okay with being in a room so dark that the picture gets grainy and they’re difficult to see. Yeah, that’s fine for them, but it isn’t fine for me. The obvious thing to do here is buy a decent webcam. Most webcams have a mic built into them, and while they can’t hold a candle to the audio quality you get with a dedicated mic, it is at least a step up from laptop mics. If you want to take your camera setup further, consider getting a webcam stand on which to mount your webcam so it is sturdy and not obstructing any of the image at the top of the monitor where you would have mounted it. If you like to work in the dark, like me, I recommend looking for a key light or ring light. Being that I’m also a musician, I’m much more critical than most regarding sound quality mic, so I also sprung for a nice microphone and mic arm to ensure that the sound coming from me is the highest possible quality within reason and my mic is easy to move around. I used to run a nice XLR mic through an interface, but I’ve found that modern high-quality broadcast-style mics that connect via USB have come a really long way in terms of quality and noise cancellation and are more than enough for video calls. Lastly, consider how you hear audio. A good headset can serve as your mic and audio device if you want to be efficient, and you will certainly get better results than with a laptop mic and speaker. When I replaced the surround sound in my living room, I moved the old receiver and powered subwoofer to my office and picked some decent bookshelf speakers that I’ve placed around my room. This setup is especially good if you like to listen to music, podcasts, etc., while working.

Lastly, you want to adorn your home office with things to make it more comfortable for you. I’ve mentioned my blackout curtains, but I’ve also got some colored LED lighting all around my room to create a pleasant ambiance and prevent being in total darkness (another scenario that can be hard on your eyes). There’s a KVM on my desk to allow me to easily switch between my keyboard, mouse, and monitors for my work and personal computers with the push of a button. There is also an audio switcher under my large monitor to provide the same convenience with my audio output devices. I have a small fan mounted on the wall blowing across my desk for those times when pushing my computer all day turns my room into a sauna. My home office also has some things on the wall that make it feel a little warmer than a cold, sterile office space. Not all of these things are necessary for everyone as setting up a home office to be productive is something that will look different for each person.

Make working from home work for you

If you get to work from home, don’t abuse the situation and pee in the Kool-Aid for those of us who don’t! Set up your home office to suit your needs and minimize distractions, and you may find that you get more work done at home than you ever did in the office. It takes some time, planning, effort, and money to build the perfect home office, but it is totally worth it once you’ve gotten it figured out and set up. I can honestly say that I’m not only happier working from home but also get a lot more work done. There are downsides you should consider before taking a remote position, and it certainly isn’t something that everyone is cut out for. If you are, though, you’ll find that it is a great way to work and a great way to live.