Work from Home like an Outdoor Writer
Treeline Review writer Melissa “Treehugger” Spencer writes from her adventure van (seen parked outside Bend, Oregon). Photo courtesy Melissa Spencer.
We’re a virtual company here at Treeline. Our writers and editors have always have the freedom to write from the couch, ski resort, or adventure van.
One of our founders has been working from home since the last century (well, 1999). And while there are pros and cons to everything in life, we tend to be in the pro-work-from-home camp. We feel more productive working from home – in both work and life tasks. As an outdoor company, we know we can attract the best writers by not tying them down to a place—each person on our team has the freedom to live and play in whatever climate they like the best.
Some people take a while to adapt to working remotely (and may never fully embrace it). Others take to it immediately.
Here are our best working from home tips after years of trial and error.
Have a place
Don’t work from the couch with CNBC or Law & Order SVU in the background (trust us on this one). Designate a place in your home as a workspace. While it doesn’t need to be a formal “home office,” it should be free from distractions, with a table and chair.
Get comfortable—but not too comfortable. We’re a fan of wearing house slippers to stave off cold feet when working from home. Photo by Liz Thomas
2. get comfortable
We don’t advocate working from home in your pajamas or robe. But when you’re working from home, you’ll want your home time to be as pleasant as possible. That means decluttering your dedicated working space (see Tip #1) but also making sure you feel comfortable enough to be productive.
Unlike many offices, it’s ok to wear athleisure wear. You’ll be ready to take on exercise mid-day (see Tip #7). There’s no need to wear painful high heels or neckties when you’re working from home.
One major difference we’ve noticed between working from home and working from the office are temperature controls. Especially in winter and spring, personal homes can be cooler than offices (which often have large building-sized boiler systems). Our team members have good pairs of house slippers and comfy socks.
Treeline editor Naomi Hudetz works from her covered porch. Working from the porch, balcony, a park, or backyard can be just the change you need to re-focus. Photo by Naomi Hudetz
3. Change it up
If you tend to get stir crazy working in the same place all day, try a new venue. Take advantage of beautiful weather and work from your front porch or backyard. Invite your pet to join you.
Coffee shops work great as a second home office (plus you’re supporting a local small business). Drop into a co-working space (note: these last two won’t work during the time of the Coronavirus).
4. Treat working from home like work
Don’t work in your pajamas. Take a shower. Put on pants for video calls. Whatever helps signal to your brain that this time should be taken seriously.
5. Have a schedule
Just as if you were going to an office, keep a regular schedule. Get up, meditate, shower, get dressed, have breakfast...then start working. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you need to be working all. the. time. Set your hours and keep to them. At the end of the working day, shut down your computer, and walk away.
If you’re sharing your space with other work-from-home people, do yourself all a favor and get noise-cancelling headphones for everyone. It’ll help you keep the peace and stay productive. Photo by Liz Thomas
6. keep it quiet—especially if there are multiple people in the same house or apartment
If you’re not the only one in the house working from home, make sure that each of you have your own place and a set of noise-canceling headphones.
It’ll keep you from hearing partner’s phone calls. Noise-canceling headphones block home noises like the dishwasher or your neighbor’s leafblower, too. Bonus – these work great for airline travel as well.
7. End your workday with something fun
Make sure you end your workday when you want it to end: schedule an exercise class or meeting with friends for the end of the day so you HAVE to leave your computer.
Liz Thomas adventures to a local park mid-day (see the street and the cars in the background?). Turn it into a training session by bringing your backpack or gear with you! Photo by Miguel “VirGo” Aguilar.
8. Exercise (and try to make it outdoors!)
As an outdoor media company, exercise time outdoors is built into our work. But the evidence is clear and overwhelming for everyone: time in nature and exercise are good for your mental health and productivity.
It’s also clear that the timing of your exercise matters. Schedule exercise for a time when you’re usually unproductive (say, around 3 pm), and it will help boost your energy and focus.
For a shorter break, close your email and spreadsheets and take an online yoga class. Turn your home office into a personal studio with your own yoga mat. See our Best Yoga Mats story for our recommendations.
9. Don’t be distracted by household chores
It’s easy to procrastinate when you’re tempted to clean your bookshelf that hasn’t been dusted in 6 months. If you must do household chores, only do them during your scheduled break times and set a timer. Get as much done as you can in 10 minutes and then get back to work.
If you must do chores, consider saving them for when you’re on less formal work phone calls. One Treeline team member takes calls using the Jaybird Vista wireless earbuds so she can have her hands free to fold laundry.
Lauren Hudgins in marketing says it’s all about the athleisure wear when working from home. It’s leaves her ready to exercise and get outdoors for breaks throughout the day (and is more comfortable, too). Photo courtesy Lauren Hudgins.
10. Take regular breaks
Set regular break times in your schedule. Make a fresh pot of coffee. Have some avocado toast. Take a walk around the block. Put some laundry in the washing machine. Do some stretching, pull-ups, or a round of push-ups and sit-ups.
Back in the office, you may have naturally had those breaks built when a colleague would stop by to chat. When working from home, build breaks into to your routine. Set a cue and reward system. Example: every time I get an email from a certain colleague, I do 10 push-ups.
Breaks make us more productive. (But beware social media-centered breaks that can become distracting—see 8 and 9 for more on that).
11. Minimize online distractions
If you’re tempted by social media, shopping, or online gambling, be proactive and take steps to minimize these temptations. The easiest way – use an incognito browser window so that you won’t be logged in to your social media accounts. This will eliminate your notifications and keep your focus on your work.
12. Use a news feed eradicator
If you need to use social media as part of your work (like if you run a social media account), get News Feed Eradicator extension for Chrome. It allows you to still message, post, and look up information without the distractions.
13. Set boundaries
As someone who’s worked from home for many years, people still seem to think that if I’m working from home, I’m not really working. No, I can’t go for a 4-hour hike on Wednesday afternoon...I’m working! Don’t be afraid to say no.
Treeline Review editor Liz Thomas finds reading drafts and taking phone calls outside can improve her mood. Photo by Brian Davidson.
14. Have outside time
It’s probably no surprise coming from an outdoor media team, but getting outside (you know, with trees and stuff) is an absolute must.
When you work from home, it’s easy to find yourself never leaving the house. Take a long walk. Take the dog to the park. Go to the gym. Go to a yoga class (or in this time of social distancing: lift weights or yoga on your porch).
Even if you don’t feel well or don’t want to exercise, just sitting outside and taking phone calls will make you feel better. The fresh air will do your mental and physical health good. Find at least 20 minutes of outside time— rain or shine.
15. Talk live with your coworkers
If you’re missing the social aspects of office life, use Zoom or Skype to video conference with your coworkers. Invest in a good web camera. Treeline Review writer and adviser Duncan Cheung likes this Logitech model that comes with its own lighting and microphone. It’s positioned so it allows you to maintain eye contact during conference calls (the difference in our online meetings is quite noticeable). Stay active on Slack or other chat programs your company may use. Use the telephone! However you keep in touch with co-workers, it will help you feel less isolated.
Treeline Review writer Mike Unger has an impromptu co-working session with his foster kitty. Photo by Naomi Hudetz.
16. Have an impromptu co-working session
Do you have friends who also work from home? Get everyone together for an impromptu co-working session.
These sessions can work exceptionally well if you all have completely different fields of work – sometimes, the perspective of someone outside your area is precisely what you need.
This won’t work during the time of the Coronavirus, but maybe you can recruit your pet.
17. have a snacking plan
It’s easy to eat the whole bag of chips when you’re at home with the whole bag of chips. If snack foods easily tempt you, don’t have them in the house. If you must have a cookie during the day, make it part of your “get out of the house” routine: stop by your favorite coffee shop and pick one up.
If you must have snack foods around (or your local coffee shop is closed), opt for snacks whose packaging designed to prevent overeating. Keep healthy single-serving packages of protein rich foods like almonds and Epic jerky bars (which are more likely to feel filling). Set a snacking schedule (like almonds at 10 am and one bar at 2 pm) and stick to it.
To prevent from over-eating when working from home, Treeline editor Liz Thomas sets rules like “no food at the desk.” If she wants to eat a snack, she has to eat it at the dining table. Photo by Liz Thomas
18. Remember to eat
While this has never been a personal problem for our co-founders, it’s easy for many folks to get so caught up in work that they forget to eat. Without colleagues asking to go to lunch together, you must be your own reminder to nourish your body. Set an alarm. If you’re accustomed to relying on restaurants or a work cafeteria for your lunch, consider having healthy re-heatable prepared foods ready. It’ll save you time hunting down take-out while also preventing you from half an hour of assembling lunch from scratch.
19. Stay hydrated
We all know how important it is to stay hydrated while doing physical activities, but it’s also important to stay hydrated to stay focused. There’s evidence that water improves focus, short term memory, and reaction time. And flavored electrolyte drink mixes may help you drink more while also helping to balance your body’s salt-to-water ratios. See our electrolytes story for our recommendations.
Keeping a journal helps you stay focused and on task. Photo courtesy Monica Craggs.
20. Keep a log or journal
If you’re worried about accountability with your boss, keep a record or journal of how you spent your day. I’ve found that this also serves a second, but probably more important, purpose: it keeps me on-task, focused, and accountable to myself.
21. Use productivity mind tricks
Staying motivated will be different for everyone, but find what works for you and stick with it. Impose artificial deadlines on yourself, collaborate with an accountability coworker (or even friends in unrelated fields), keep a detailed to-do list...whatever it takes.
We recommend using an accountability journal and record at the end of each day which “mind tricks” worked for you (and what was a bust). Little by little, you’ll develop your own work-from-home routine and learn what works best for you.