With so many people just beginning to work remotely, we thought we might offer some tips and tricks to assist as you adopt a new work lifestyle. 

At Starin, we practice what we preach.  This means that our entire organization from the outside sales teams, to the warehouse staff, are all fully engaged via Zoom.  We use all facets of the Zoom platform and have for many years.  From webinars to personal conferencing to Zoom Rooms and our latest addition Zoom phones, we personally engage and utilize these tools daily. 

How to Stay in Contact When You Work From Home 

Working in an office every day has a subtle routine.  You come in and say hello to your teammates.  Perhaps go to the breakroom for a cup of coffee and then settle in for the day.  If working from a remote location is new to you, here are a few tips to help ease you into your new routine; 

1. Routine

Keep your routine as close to normal as possible.  This means getting up and getting dressed for the day.  Dress for success! 

2. Take breaks regularly

Just as you would in the office, you should take regular breaks.  Get up, walk around.  Take your dog for a walk, do the dishes, throw in a load of laundry.  Anything that helps get the blood pumping and allows you a moment away. 

3. Stretch and Breathe! 

At least once an hour try to get up and do some stretching.  Concentrate on your breathing.  Some of the best advice I’ve been given when getting ready to face along week comes from my boss who always includes a line item reminding me to breathe.  It’s simple yet great advice.   

4. Communicate

When using Zoom you have the ability to set your “light” to green for available and ready to assist, red for busy in a meeting, or Do Not Disturb mode which is used when you just have to get something done.  It’s amazing how much our teams rely on that light.  It drastically improves our communication unless of course you run out to lunch and forget to change your status.  We almost called police for a wellness check when this happened.   

5. Quick huddles help 

We have found that by having a quick huddle each morning within our department is a huge time saver.  It works best with smaller groups.  The idea is that in a quick 10-minute huddle we can self identify what projects are taking place that day, who is overwhelmed and who has some extra bandwidth.  It assists us in prioritizing tasks for the day and identifying what projects need further conversation at a later time in the day.  It helps in keeping everyone on the team aware of workloads and tasks and to feel more connected as if we were in the office together.  

6. Privacy Please

In a work from home environment, it is important to allow others in your household to be aware that you are in a private meeting.  Any type of sign or signal can work.  This way no one embarrassingly walks in the middle of a conversation to ask what’s for dinner tonight!