OT: General Off Topic Thread [NO Politics, Race, Religion, etc.]

[jute2003]

For those who work fully remote, what are some of your tips in general? Tips on how to stay focused, tips on things you need to buy in the office, etc. I got an offer for a new gig that’s full remote and I never have been save for a month during Covid before my office went back to in person.

I've been remote for 4 years now (I go to the office maybe once a month).

Even though I have no set hours I try to keep a regular schedule. I'm not starting at 7 one day and 9 the next day.

Have a dedicated work space/office if you can. Ideally a room where you can shut the door if there are other people home.

A quality chair is essential. I always had a home office but once I started full time WFH I bought a high quality chair. I don't remember what I paid for it. I got it at either Office Max or Office Depot. A few spots on the arms have some wear and tear but otherwise it's still going strong and most importantly it's comfortable.

It definitely requires some discipline, especially in the summer.

All of this. I don't wfh but I'm self employed and spend large chunks of time in front of a computer. Same kinda deal.

-Seperate workspace from home space
-Develop a routine and stick to it
-Chair!!! Both my wife and I have secret labs gaming chairs. She's had hers for like 5 or 6 years and it still looks new. Takes a bit to break in but its amazing after.


I have to shower and put real clothes on in the morning to feel properly motivated. That's probably just a me thing.

Don't take things for granted. The work in front of you has to be done even if there's other **** in your house to play with. If you put things off or half ass it, it always finds it's way back to kick you in the nuts.

[MissKhriddleton]

Make sure you know how to use Zoom. Assume everyone on the call can see all your tabs at all times. I once accidentally shared my personal email for a few seconds on a zoom which was not great. Also nothing more annoying than the person who is asked to present something and then has to troubleshoot for 5 minutes why their screen share isn’t working.

Make sure your lighting is good. Looks much more professional during meetings. I bought a super bright type of light bulb for my office because the soft yellow wasn’t cutting it.

Pets and kids on screen is unprofessional imo. I get it if it’s a super informal, quick chat sort of thing but c’mon people.

I don’t like using headsets but get one in case your neighbor decides to use a wood chipper during one of your meetings to try and reduce some of the background noise.

[MickeyDavis]

Some good points the past few posts.

I always shower and dress as if I'm going to the office. Which is casual but not sloppy. I'm usually on cam a couple hours a day.

Second the pet/kid thing. I don't want to talk to someone with their cat walking across the their desk or a dog running around in the backround. No it's not "cute".

[HaroldinGMinor]

I have a standing desk that I use quite a bit. Since there is no more walking to a conference room for a meeting, I end up sitting for hours at a time which is not healthy at all. So I got in a routine that any meeting 60 min or less I'd stand. Works well for me.

[MissKhriddleton]

Definitely take advantage of it though. Do laundry, dishes, walk the dogs, go grocery shopping, take your car in, mow your yard all on the clock. I always like to be prepared to abandon whatever I’m doing immediately and be within 30 minutes of home though in case someone needs me to jump on an unscheduled call. Then I can say, hey just stepped out for lunch, can I call you in 30.

[MickeyDavis]

Definitely take advantage of it though. Do laundry, dishes, walk the dogs, go grocery shopping, take your car in, mow your yard all on the clock. I always like to be prepared to abandon whatever I’m doing immediately and be within 30 minutes of home though in case someone needs me to jump on an unscheduled call. Then I can say, hey just stepped out for lunch, can I call you in 30.

Hell yeah. I try to mimic being in the office to a point. But definitely take advantage of WFH.

[crkone]

I keep my work laptop for work stuff even if I don't have to. I have a phone if I need to check personal stuff.

I try to be as accommodating for people who have to go into the office so if I need to make an early morning or evening meeting I can usually make it happen.

I always have my camera on for video calls unless it's a town hall type meeting where I don't have to contribute. It's good for people to know you exist and helps disarm people by seeing someone else there instead of a name.

Besides that a routine is uber important.

[jschligs]

Good stuff, guys. Looks like I was on the right track. I have an office with French doors, I’ll be adding blinds. My desktop has 3 monitors which I can route to a work laptop if needed. I just bought a new desk chair 6 months ago.

I also plan to buy a whiteboard for one of the walls. With kids I have to be up to get them to daycare and I always need to shower in order to function. But then I need to figure out what routine works best. Start with setting top tasks to complete each Monday for the week, and then every day in the AM. I think I’m going to like being fully remote. While I loved the interaction with the coworkers, driving 25 minutes to a town with nothing but the office (and a KT) sucked.

Work needs to be done, I’ve been fired before for no real reason so I know not to **** off and risk it. Hopefully they provide some $$$ for office stuff.

[Ryan5UW]

Maybe this is common sense, but make sure you still take care of yourself - take breaks away from your desk during the day, try to eat lunch somewhere else in the house, run an errand, go for a walk, take sick and vacation days like you normally do.

When I switched over to full time WFH, I spent every day working non-stop, eating lunch at my desk while working (or just skipping lunch), only stepping away from my desk for the 20 second walk to get water or go to the bathroom. Unless I physically couldn't get out of bed, I'd work when I was sick. I stopped taking days off - the first couple of years I'd have to take off most of December just to avoid losing vacation days. I put on an unhealthy amount of weight because now I was just sitting at my desk all day. Don't be dumb like me.

[ReginaldDwight]

Drives me absolutely bananas when I am talking on a "zoom" call and one of my coworkers interrupts me. I work with a woman who literally can't help herself form interjecting with some BS when I am leading a call. I work in sweatpants basically everyday I certainly am not the need to get up and shower type. The main perk for WFH for me is the extra sleep I can catch in the morning. I do work the same hours everyday for the most part. I would recommend doing that and also set aside time on your calendar for time to work uninterrupted other I find its easy to get pulled into endless calls and what not and not have time to do any actual work.

[MickeyDavis]

A huge benefit to WFH is not having people come up to you when you're in the middle of something. I'd always have people stopping by. Sometimes work related, sometimes sports or other stuff. Sure I'm happy to talk about the upcoming Packer or Bucks game but I hate getting interrupted. Too many people in offices spend half their day walking and talking.

[jschligs]

A huge benefit to WFH is not having people come up to you when you're in the middle of something. I'd always have people stopping by. Sometimes work related, sometimes sports or other stuff. Sure I'm happy to talk about the upcoming Packer or Bucks game but I hate getting interrupted. Too many people in offices spend half their day walking and talking.

I’m a pretty social guy, I like to think well liked. The amount of drop by conversations not related to work were fun to a degree but holy cow talk about time wasters

[ReasonablySober]

The best advice has been given, but reiterating take walks. When I'm in my office I just naturally feel the need to get out of the space and walk around a bit, even if it's to the cafeteria or the bathroom at the other side of the building. We've got a building with a nice walking path in some woods that I usually go around a few times a week. I did significantly less of that when I worked from home. One of the many things I'd do differently if I had the opportunity again.

[MissKhriddleton]

Anybody know anything about well water and whole house filtration systems? We live in the New Berlin area and have a private well, have super hard water, and when we bought the house there was an aquasana filtration system set up in addition to twin water softeners. The aquasana system is due for replacement and I’d really like to figure out if the whole thing is overkill before I drop $2500.

[dbrodz7]

Anybody know anything about well water and whole house filtration systems? We live in the New Berlin area and have a private well, have super hard water, and when we bought the house there was an aquasana filtration system set up in addition to twin water softeners. The aquasana system is due for replacement and I’d really like to figure out if the whole thing is overkill before I drop $2500.

I don't know a ton about this, but I also live in New Berlin on a private well. All our stuff is serviced by Guthrie & Frey which includes an Iron Curtain filtration system and I think just a regular water softener. We don't have any issues. I was told that we own the system it isn't leased.

[buckboy]

I'm looking into this today. Our water is basically orange right now. We have filtration on the fridge, but nowhere else. We'll be adding a filtration system of some kind if our well isn't just shot.

[humanrefutation]

I was fortunate enough to be in the path of totality for the eclipse today. Highly recommend. It's an incredible thing to witness.

[Siefer]

We drove down to Cinci and went to the eclipse viewing party at Miami University. I've seen partial eclipses before, but they didn't prepare me for what totality was like in person. That was one of the more amazing things I've seen.

[humanrefutation]

We drove down to Cinci and went to the eclipse viewing party at Miami University. I've seen partial eclipses before, but they didn't prepare me for what totality was like in person. That was one of the more amazing things I've seen.

It was just astonishing, really. Pictures don't do it justice.

If I'm still alive in 2044, I'll definitely make a point to travel to a spot where I can see it the next time it comes around.

[Finn]

Naturally, it was cloudy & spitting rain where I was trying to look at it.