"Hey son", I yelled when I came in last night, "do you remember the working-from-home rules?"
"Fire & blood" he answered.
My team went 100% teleworking beginning today. For me, it was 2002 all over again. Back then, my group was spun off from the larger company when the founder sold it. He retained my small group. Being the only person on the East Coast then, he asked if I was willing to telework. I did it from my utility room because that is where the internet line came into the house. Wifi did not really exist then.
Little did I know, I'd be in that utility room, I mean home office, for eight years.
My son was 12 at the time. The first day he was home from school while I worked, we worked out the rules. He could come in and if I wasn't on the phone, he could say hello, ask a question etc. If I was on the phone, he could not interrupt me unless it involved fire or blood. A simple enough test.
It worked well. He never had to interrupt. Although, that first day, he walked in while I was doing a demo via Webex. He looked at me a moment -- you could see the wheels turning over in his head --"Not fire, not blood." I could see him thinking. Looking worried, he turned and walked out of the room.
My concentration was shot. I explained to my prospects that he was home with me, about the rules and how he looked so worried. I excused myself to find his concern was minor. Coming back, my prospects were amused and understanding.
Flash forward to today. I'm not in sales any longer, but instead mentoring an awesome group of people working a tech support help desk. My day consists of moving resources around, mentoring (the best part), assisting and empowering them by building tools for them, and reminding them where to find the tools we have for them.
My in-office work day is normally at my desk. Some of my team are feet away, some are the other end of the building, and more and more they were teleworking. Now they are all teleworking.
You would think a day without my 45 minute commute to & from would be restful, but the struggle of keeping a big picture of what was going on by looking at stats and keeping up in chat tools was exhausting. Thankfully I could nap in the next room from my office soon after my work day ended.
Yes, I 'am no longer in the utility room. The router is now upstairs in a room my son and set aside as as a home office for me, computer game room for him.
He went on a 3 hour, four store quest today for basic groceries while I worked. And now he''s cooking dinner. My wife is on her way home, this may her last day of in-office work itself.
I just hope the internet to the home holds up under multiple people working in the home, and kids on the net as well for school and gaming. Every home on the street is using more bandwidth than ever before. I didn't notice any issues today.
My advice to first time, full time work from homers? Establish boundaries with your family. Make your kids understand you are WORKING from home, not just at home. You can't cook them a meal, come fix their computer, go for a walk with them, etc. You are working.
And establish rules like Fire & Blood for when they can interrupt you. And schedule breaks in your work day so you can acknowledge them.
It gets dicey when you have two people working from home. Hopefully you have the space for each to have a work area. Thankfully we set up an area for my wife in the dining room weeks ago. It has more light than the home office. And those co-working spouses have to have an understanding and respect for each others work days. I'm sure my wife and I won't have any issues. More on that in the future when we've actually worked from home on the same days.
My biggest issues from 2002-2010 was loneliness. Having my son and wife around should alleviate some of that isolation.
Unlike back then, I cannot go out at night and mingle with people..
This won't be eight years again, but it may easily be months. We can do it. The alternative is grim.
"Fire & blood" he answered.
My team went 100% teleworking beginning today. For me, it was 2002 all over again. Back then, my group was spun off from the larger company when the founder sold it. He retained my small group. Being the only person on the East Coast then, he asked if I was willing to telework. I did it from my utility room because that is where the internet line came into the house. Wifi did not really exist then.
Little did I know, I'd be in that utility room, I mean home office, for eight years.
My son was 12 at the time. The first day he was home from school while I worked, we worked out the rules. He could come in and if I wasn't on the phone, he could say hello, ask a question etc. If I was on the phone, he could not interrupt me unless it involved fire or blood. A simple enough test.
It worked well. He never had to interrupt. Although, that first day, he walked in while I was doing a demo via Webex. He looked at me a moment -- you could see the wheels turning over in his head --"Not fire, not blood." I could see him thinking. Looking worried, he turned and walked out of the room.
My concentration was shot. I explained to my prospects that he was home with me, about the rules and how he looked so worried. I excused myself to find his concern was minor. Coming back, my prospects were amused and understanding.
Flash forward to today. I'm not in sales any longer, but instead mentoring an awesome group of people working a tech support help desk. My day consists of moving resources around, mentoring (the best part), assisting and empowering them by building tools for them, and reminding them where to find the tools we have for them.
My in-office work day is normally at my desk. Some of my team are feet away, some are the other end of the building, and more and more they were teleworking. Now they are all teleworking.
You would think a day without my 45 minute commute to & from would be restful, but the struggle of keeping a big picture of what was going on by looking at stats and keeping up in chat tools was exhausting. Thankfully I could nap in the next room from my office soon after my work day ended.
Yes, I 'am no longer in the utility room. The router is now upstairs in a room my son and set aside as as a home office for me, computer game room for him.
He went on a 3 hour, four store quest today for basic groceries while I worked. And now he''s cooking dinner. My wife is on her way home, this may her last day of in-office work itself.
I just hope the internet to the home holds up under multiple people working in the home, and kids on the net as well for school and gaming. Every home on the street is using more bandwidth than ever before. I didn't notice any issues today.
My advice to first time, full time work from homers? Establish boundaries with your family. Make your kids understand you are WORKING from home, not just at home. You can't cook them a meal, come fix their computer, go for a walk with them, etc. You are working.
And establish rules like Fire & Blood for when they can interrupt you. And schedule breaks in your work day so you can acknowledge them.
It gets dicey when you have two people working from home. Hopefully you have the space for each to have a work area. Thankfully we set up an area for my wife in the dining room weeks ago. It has more light than the home office. And those co-working spouses have to have an understanding and respect for each others work days. I'm sure my wife and I won't have any issues. More on that in the future when we've actually worked from home on the same days.
My biggest issues from 2002-2010 was loneliness. Having my son and wife around should alleviate some of that isolation.
Unlike back then, I cannot go out at night and mingle with people..
This won't be eight years again, but it may easily be months. We can do it. The alternative is grim.
Comments
Post a Comment