· March 9, 2020 Making Remote Work… Work
Like many companies, LGND went fully remote this week in light of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
While remote work is not business as usual for many companies or employees, it’s an easier transition for LGND since a majority of staff already work remotely.
So we asked our team for tips on how they create a successful remote working environment—regardless of where their “office” might be.
Ryan McCahan, CTO
Aurora, CO
“Make it a point to have casual Slack conversations, turn some emails into video chats even if they don’t need to be, and schedule occasional non-work meetings with other team members just for the social interaction. People in offices take time to just talk, so should you. And stick with a regular schedule whenever possible—don’t let work time seamlessly take over personal time.”
Mary Spacapan, Associate Creative Director
Santa Barbara, CA
“Whether it be work or community, in order to be healthy enough to show up for each other, I believe we must be able to show up first and foremost for ourselves. That is why I make it a practice to start my workday only after a foundational morning ritual that includes meditation & prayer, exercise (and coffee).”
Jason Kirtley, Senior Art Director
Austin, TX
“In physical offices I always had people come by to chat or ask questions several times a day. While I enjoyed catching up, a lot of the conversations weren’t time-sensitive, so it was a lot of distraction. That’s the nice thing about remote work–I can get a lot done. At my home office, I have a standing desk which I work at most times (because I hate sitting), and I handle a lot of calls from the couch with my pups. I’ll hit up coffee shops from time to time just to get a different atmosphere vibe going. So to me, the remote model lets you flip the script on how your day goes and puts you in the driver seat of controlling distractions and getting stuff done.”
Joey Seales, Art Director
Birmingham, AL
“I’ve been a solo worker for just over a decade now and have found that having a set place where most of my work gets done is best for me. My mind “goes to work” when I’m there and I can get up and leave when needed for mental and physical breaks. Thanks to the iPad’s illustration capabilities, now I can schedule drawing time and get out of the house with it—even if it’s just back in the woods. Still, most of the time when I’m “at work,” it’s in the same spot with minimal distractions and music at hand. Jason has just reminded me that my desk will crank up to standing position—should probably go back to that once in a while. Gotta say though, having access to everyone in Slack has been a game-changer for solo worker sanity.”
Jeff Bridgforth, Developer
Chattanooga, TN
“My recommendation is to find ways to stay connected to teammates. I would actually like to schedule more Zoom meetings to enjoy casual, water cooler talk. Getting to know people personally has big advantages in working with them. I also like to have a dedicated place to work, but I like the freedom to try new places just for a bit of variety; like the couch or a coffee shop or a co-work space. And don’t forget to set boundaries. You need to turn off work. Try to set office hours and keep them. There are always exceptions to this, but for the most part, I try to turn off around the same time each day.”
Patrick Hunt, Executive Producer
Tysons Corner, VA
“I’ve built out my home office to be exactly what I need. Being a freelancer before made that necessary since day one. I try to get collaborative work done during normal work hours and my video editing work is done at oddball hours. But I work best listening to loud music, essentially in a vacuum all by myself.”
Mike Aleo, President + Creative Director
Frederick, MD
“Having a great officemate is important for being remote. Whether that’s your spouse working remotely, or something of the four-legged variety. Also music. All the music.”
Jack Mallory, Director of Strategy
Los Angeles, CA
“I tend to think of the phone as a micro office. Tools like Slack obviously help. But beyond sheer functionality, I think there’s a mentality shift from the phone/computer as a device to get work done, to more of the actual space (especially when you’re remote full time). I find that I do work best in a ton of locations—whether around the house, coffee shop, outside, etc. And the idea of the phone as the office helps me stay engaged. And then just coffee. Never work in the bedroom when it’s early. Turn all the lights on. Fake that it’s a reasonable time until at least 8am.”
Patrick Sims, CSO
Washington, DC
“I don’t work remote often, but when I do I have a workstation I can always fall back on when pace is essential. I like to move around the house throughout the day–to take calls from different rooms and occasionally switch to an iPad where I can read and take notes. But then I like coming back to my command center to increase my pace and productivity.”
Do you have tips for how to create a successful remote working environment? Let us know!
…
What’s next?