Working From Home. Karen Mangia
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you're trying to manage your career from your bed or your couch, you're not thinking about this the right way. Double duty is deadly; a dedicated space – even if it's a small one – is crucial.
Boundaries are the key to your success. As Robert Frost said, “good fences make good neighbors.” And fencing off an area for you to work – exclusively for work – is just good business. And trying to pull double duty in a space, or cut corners, can be disastrous – and painful.
Work is a guest in your home. It only shows up where it's invited. You control the invitation. If you don't want work creeping into your family time or your fun time, don't let it. A separate space (even a section of your space) is the first step. But don't stop there.
“Here's where it all started,” Kendra tells me, pointing behind her. She's a thirty‐something product manager living in a studio apartment in Manhattan. She leans forward and twists, so I can see the area in question: it's just above her left hip. Turns out, millennial back pain is actually a thing. Especially if you're confined to a cheap chair. “Not a good idea,” Kendra explains, elaborating on how she started working from home: sitting in a dining room chair for 9 to 12 hours a day. She saw the error of her ways. Kendra ends our call by pointing to the newest addition to her small space: a highboy leather office chair that looks like a pillow on wheels. “Now I'm all set,” she says, leaving her back pain behind her.
A Seat at the Table? Unnecessary
Some folks don't even require a chair. I know, because I'm one of them. In my home office, I have what's called a treadmill desk. Some might say I've decided to take a stand against sitting in a chair.
Here's why: it's been said that sitting is the new smoking. That's right. Sitting down all day seems harmless at first but it's actually bad for your health. Our bodies were designed for motion. Sit/stand desks allow you to get on your feet, aligning your body and getting your blood flowing in the way that even the most comfortable office chair never could. (For more cool tips on how to turn your office into a fat‐burning machine, my blog post [http://successwithless.net/moving-body-mind] shows how to burn 800 calories and buzz through 300 emails at the same time.)
The treadmill desk looks exactly like it sounds: a simple treadmill – not nearly as big or elaborate as what you would see at the gym – sits in the corner of my home office. The treadmill is fairly small, but still gives enough room for a good stride. At the front, held up by two gray pillars, is an adjustable‐height desk. The desk is wraparound style: looking at it from above, it's shaped like a kidney bean. There's an indentation in the center (so I can walk comfortably and be close to my laptop). On either side, small wings hold notepads, a water bottle, and other office paraphernalia. The most important thing, right next to my laptop, is a small table lamp. Because, in my line of work, I need to be seen and heard – just like you do. The treadmill desk gives me quick access to tools, right at my fingertips – plus, I can still hit my Fitbit goals and get in those 10,000 steps per day.
I'm also a big fan of multitasking, so walking while I type this chapter is just how I roll. (But never rolling faster than 2 mph, because that's the maximum speed. Turns out that anything faster than a normal walking pace can cause a misstep. Believe me, losing your footing is a lot worse than a typo when you're on a treadmill.) On a video call or delivering a virtual keynote, my world is at a standstill – I don't walk. But I'm still standing, because that's how I feel most comfortable delivering the kind of work that I do.
And did you know that you can get going on a treadmill desk for as low as $400? Since the desk contributes positively to health and wellness, you can qualify to use your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) for the purchase. When I got mine, I experienced increased productivity, increased movement, decreased anxiety … and a diminishing waistline.
I know that my choices may not be right for you, so don't read my experience or personal decisions as a prescription. I'm just describing the alternative that works best for me. So let me ask you: What's your alternative? What's going to make you feel productive and energized in your home office?
Whatever you choose, choose comfort. A comfort that inspires you – not one that shows what you slept in last night.
Because you can't be at your best working in your jammies.
Arianna Huffington (https://bit.ly/wfh-arianna1) explains why:
“I fainted from sleep deprivation and exhaustion,” she shares in her book, Thrive (Harmony, 2014). The incident left her with a broken cheekbone and provided a painful inspiration for her next book, Sleep Revolution (Harmony, 2016). In it, Arianna asks us to rethink rest – a subject I wrote about in my first book, Success With Less. It's vital that we take a pause – a break – in order to see things in a new way. That powerful pause is vital when you're shifting from your home life to your work life. There's a shift, but your location doesn't change. If you're wearing to work what you wore to bed, you're missing a powerful pause. And a critical mindset shift for your success.
Arianna says that having specific clothes for a specific task is critical. Find something that you can wear when you sleep and only when you sleep, she says, because it's a crucial distinction that our brains need. In a COVID‐19 world where boundaries have been blurred, setting up the right context is crucial.
“Something switches in our brains when we put pajamas on,” Arianna shares, describing the cues and clues that our bodies need in order to slow down. “On my nightstand is a pile of books that have absolutely nothing to do with work. They're novels, poetry, and books about spirituality.” She doesn't drink caffeine after 2 p.m., and finishes her day by writing down three things she's thankful for, in a gratitude journal. Again, the distinction between waking and sleeping is a model of best practices when working from home. “Slipping on sleepwear is a signal to our bodies: time to shut down.” What signals are you sending to your body when it's time to get to work? And when it's time to step away? Strategically, clothing choices can separate one function from another – even when those functions occur in basically the same space.
Your office environment is where you will spend some serious time. Shifting into an environment that serves you best is a small price to pay when it comes to your career. Virginia Woolf was right: a room of one's own is ideal for your creative pursuits. But what if you find yourself in a small space?
Marisol is laughing at that question. She always looks fantastic on video – I've been a guest on her global Zoom sessions for the pharma company where she works. Basically, she's broadcasting at TV‐station quality with impeccable form and professionalism – but she's not in a studio.
In a private video call, she's acting like she's got a secret – and I'm wondering if she's ever going to stop giggling. I had simply asked her to pan to her right and left, because I was curious about what her home office space looked like. “You know what?” Marisol asks me, “you would find that I am literally in the corner of my bedroom,” she says, lifting her laptop and panning to the left to show that she is quite correct. Her broadcast booth is wedged into a corner. Beside her are some toys on the floor next to an overflowing laundry basket and what looks like a half‐finished school project – something to do with lava, I'm guessing, from the mountainous shape and colors. In other words, her place probably looks a lot like yours – but she's dedicated a small area inside of it to creating big results.
“I hadn't noticed it before,” Marisol says, swinging the camera back to its original position, “but when I take my laptop here and there and everywhere in my house, I suddenly make every place my workspace. When I spread work out all over,” she says, catching her breath, “I can't go anywhere to get away from work. There's no delineation – no boundary.” That kind of work situation – where work is anywhere, everywhere, and always on – is a real turn‐off for office success.
Surround Yourself with Success
When