When Two Isn’t Company

I’ve worked from home 7-8 years now. (I’ve honestly lost track!) During that time, there has only been the rare day when my husband has also worked from home. He’s one of those office people. When he’s been home, it’s been novel, cute, and a bit of a treat. But then suddenly, he began working from home daily. Every. Single. Day.

I love my hubby more than anything. We had our first date 13 years ago today. I never thought having him here all day would create an impact on our work and home lives. And yet, it has. Here are some experiences and tips to cohabitate together to keep work productive and home life sane.

Physical Separation – You must be in different spaces. Preferably different rooms. You and your significant other didn’t sit across from each other before, and there is no need to now. When you learn your spouse is a “loud talker” or “dad-joke maker” or “let’s put a pin in that” person, you can never go back. You see them differently. Let them keep their work disguise on. And same for you – you don’t want them to really know how you yell at your team do you? Not only this, but it’s likely that you talk about confidential matters, you type really loud, or your mere cuteness is a distraction.

White Noise/Noise-Canceling – Even with space, it’s possible for noise to travel. Sometimes these noises are just nuisances, and sometimes these can be private conversations that really shouldn’t be overheard. You may not realize it, but most office buildings have white noise at all times. This helps to deaden the sound and keep your noise from carrying. You can do the same at home with a white noise machine or app on your phone. My prince charming shakes his leg all day. He’s a tick he has. He doesn’t do it on purpose. He’s now sitting directly above me in his office and that shakes the floor. It’s amazing how loud it is, at least when I’m used to the only noise being me. I’ve been telling “what’s her face” over here to “Play some background music” when it gets to be too much. If adding some cover-up noise doesn’t help, you can remove the noise altogether by sporting some noise-canceling headphones. The only problem here is that when I yell to tell someone to stop shaking their leg, they literally can’t hear me!

Do Not Disturb Notice – Sometimes you need to let the other one know that you cannot be interrupted. There are multiple creative ways to achieve this. You could simply text each other. You could have a sign on your door. We’ve devised a creative way with smart devices and lightbulbs. We each have a button that controls a light in the other’s office, and turns on red if in DND mode, and then cleared when not. It’s kind of like an “on air” signal. This is the least invasive way for us. It also allows us to keep the signal up for the duration of the need.

Share Your Schedule – I don’t mean you should make your calendar public. But, we do discuss meetings we have for the following day to generally understand what we have going on. In particular, if we have meetings with senior executives, are conducting training, or otherwise have some of those “do not disturb” times, we let each other know in advance. This helps us as well with managing our dogs and other potential interruptions by planning ahead. It’s even as simple as lunch. We work at different times as we support different timezones. I want to ride the bike during lunch that is next to his office. Usually that’s ok, but if he doesn’t want the TV, 3 dogs, and me at that time, letting me know allows me to shift my schedule or plan an off day.

In general, I go about my day as if my hubby isn’t here. I’m at work. He’s at work. We have work to do. He’s adjusting to working at home in general. Meanwhile, I’m adjusting to the changes his presence brings to my operating procedures. With some open communication, creativity, patience, and lots of love, we’ll be able to keep working together for as long as necessary.

To my hubby – I love you so much! Thanks for your support now and always. There’s no one else I’d rather share an office with 💕 XOXO

Where in the world is...?

Carmen Sandiego? I never could find that lady!

Previously I wrote a post about cutting the invisible tether that ties at-home workers to their desk. This tether exists largely when you cannot be seen, as it is assumed that you aren't working. This is a stigma that will take time and experience to overcome, but there are things you can do to help.

One of the easiest ways to gain trust is by being transparent with your schedule.

Let's assume one of the pointy-haired boss-type people is trying to find you, but you are off today. They email. They call. They IM. And they get no answer. They will obviously be frustrated and blame your at-home status for you being unreachable.

The easy answer to this: Let them know you were off today.

Seems so simple, right? Duh! Well, you'd be amazed at how often these little things are not done. Transparency helps build trust. When others are aware of where you are scheduled to be, then they will not question your work ethic when you aren't immediately reachable. And it builds trust for those non-scheduled times too! If you are willing to share your whereabouts, people will become less suspicious of all of your time. By illustrating you have nothing to hide, you are saying "Seriously people, I have nothing to hide! I'm working here!!"

Here are some simple tips to help improve your location transparency:

• When out of the office for an extended period:
• Set an auto reply on your email. Be sure to note when you will be returning and who can be reached if immediate help is needed. (It's ok for that to be someone else. You don't always have to give out your personal cell phone!)
• Block the time on your personal calendar. If someone wants to schedule a meeting with you, your calendar should not make it appear that you are available to meet. Nothing more frustrating than scheduling a meeting with someone to hear "Oh, I am off that day." Block your calendar properly and the meeting will be scheduled properly!!
• Let your team know in advance. You can do this through a shared team calendar or meeting invites or simply discussing in a staff meeting. Don't let your auto-reply be the first they hear of it.
• Inform other key colleagues and customers in advance. Maybe tell them in passing or during during another meeting, or even add your planned time off in your email signature for everyone to see.
• Update your voicemail to also indicate your whereabouts. When gone for an extended period, a custom message with your return date may be helpful. In may cases, simply changing to say you are not in the office today will suffice. 
• When in the office:
• Be sure your calendar reflects where you are and when. If you need an hour to travel to/from a meeting, put it on your calendar. If you want to block time to indicate you go to the gym during your lunch hour, put it on your calendar. 
• Be sure your IM status is current. Most Instant Messenger platforms can sync with your calendar and your activity to inform people of your location and availability. Sometimes you may override this, particular for Do Not Disturb moments, but be sure to set it back. Having a status of "Away" for 4 days doesn't leave the right impression. (And be sure to actually sign out if you are done for the day!)
• Attend the meetings you accept. Don't falsify your calendar. People will catch on, and it won't be pretty. 
• Be sure your calendar also reflects your working hours. If you work an alternate shift, ensure your calendar illustrates the same. If people are contacting you at 4:00 PM and you leave at 3:00 PM, how else might they know? 
• In general:
• Let people see your calendar. Really, what are you hiding? If something is sooooo private, then mark it private. But 99% of the meetings you attend, time you block to do work, or even appointments aren't so special that you can't let others know what you are doing. 
• Make sure that your electronic media is always accurate to your current location. It's great to say you're out of office today, provided you change it back when you return. 
• You don't have to update for the small things like a nature break or a coffee. The more trust you build with the bigger things, the less the little things are of consequence.

If you were physically in the office, people would be able to see when you are on the phone, in a meeting, or simply out for the day. When you are at-home, people can't just see that. Cameras all over your house would be creepy. So you need to let them "see" through other avenues. It's the same cues you provided before, only in electronic format. When people can see where you are, they wonder less about where you might otherwise be.