Telecomm -uting Tool Kit in 6 Easy Steps

by Christina Frei

So you’re telecommuting. Congratulations! This means no commuting in traffic, lots of quiet time to concentrate, the freedom to do your work in your leisure suit (!). I telecommuted for years for a small high tech firm in the Silicon Valley and I discovered a few key things that insured my continued success.

Here is a Telecommuting Toolbox for you.

1. Seeing Eye to Eye: A Clear Contract with Your Employer / Client

It is always a good idea to have a clear job description, but as a telecommuter, it is especially important. After all, you only have the results of your work to show for your efforts. You won’t exactly have opportunities to schmooze your manager over a cup of office coffee. So being clear and focused about your role really helps. Do you have a clear list of deliverables? Do you have a way to show the results?

If your job is relatively straightforward, it should be pretty easy to document your results. But even if your tasks are more complex and you are managing people and projects, you still have a list of deliverables. As long as you can show results, this will keep you in good stead with your employer, which will mean many days of commute avoidance!

2. Routine: The Shape of Your Day, Week, Month, etc.

Do you have a routine? It doesn’t have to be overly complex to work. As a telecommuter, you don’t pass a familiar coffee shop on the way to work, participate in office gossip sessions, arrive at a familiar desk each morning and nor do you get to impress anyone with your outfit.

So instead? Regularly scheduled calls and meetings with key client and company contacts may seem like a regular part of business, but I found it especially important to have them working from home. They give your week shape, make your job seem more official and steady, and give you social contact.

I also found it helpful to have official start and end times for my day at work. I would also only leave my computer turned on during “work hours.” These things give further shape and are helpful to making you feel as though you’re at work. Finally, taking breaks keeps the day manageable. So take a real lunch break. Make yourself mid-morning tea or coffee. Take an afternoon walk. All these things give your day routine and definition.

3. What’s the Plan? A Planning System that Works for You

Have you settled on a time management system that works for you? With less structure in the day and sometimes dividing work between the office and home, you may find planning a bit tricky. Being satisfied with some kind of system is a great help. Everyone has their own method and there are countless books and courses on time management. I found To Do, Doing, Done by G. Lynne Snead and Joyce Wycoff and Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern to be great. They both encourage you to operate largely from intuition.

4. The Cheerleading Department: Motivation

Your boss isn’t breathing down your neck. You’re not surrounded by colleagues who busily tapping away on their computers. What do you do to get yourself motivated? This is a wide open field, but it’s simply important that you have something. You could take an energizing walk, treat yourself to a nice lunch as a reward for tough work, read something funny (see www.theonion.com) or inspiring such as Louise B. Hay’s Power Thought Cards, and consider hiring a personal career coach. For roughly $50-75 a session, you can have your own coach that will help you maintain focus and keep you excited about your path. Do whatever you need to do to keep motivated.

5. Your Office: Trespassers Keep Out

You’ve equipped yourself with the essentials: neck-friendly phone, back-friendly chair, desk, computer, Internet connection. Now it’s time to get creative. What kind of work area really inspires you? You don’t have to worry about anyone else’s opinions, except maybe your housemates’. To illustrate, I have John Mayer paraphernalia all my office area, since he really floats my boat(www.johnmayer.com). I also have lotions, tea bags, magic wands, glittery roses, a tiara, cactus plants, and Swedish crystal glasses. I really enjoy my desk. Have fun with it!

6. Balance: Social Life? What Social Life?

I’m a huge proponent for working at home, but I also know that it can be isolating. I make sure I had social plans almost every night and on weekends. This really works for me, since I love working in peace and playing in noise. Are you getting out? Do you use weekends to connect with people? Each of us has a unique quota for social interaction, so do what works for you. Even if you are on the phone a health amount, be sure not to leave yourself high and dry in the social department.

I found that these elements really worked during my years as a telecommuter. Good luck in your endeavors and enjoy the commute down the hallway!

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Christina Frei may be contacted at cfrei@pacbell.net. Click here to view more of their articles.
Christina Frei is a freelance writer and songwriter living in Berkeley, CA. She has worked in high tech and advertising, with experience on accounts such as Cisco, Intel, Coca Cola and Nissan. As a psychic minister, she teaches meditation classes and does clairvoyant readings at the Berkeley Psychic Institute.