Telecommuting Office Setup – How to Begin the Transition

By Helene Segura, M.A. Ed., CPO® | March 20, 2020 |

The Coronavirus (aka COVID-19) has pretty much turned the world as we know it upside down. If you weren’t already told by your employer to stay at home, you may have just been issued a recommendation by your governor to shelter in place.

If you’re now going to work from home, here are some first steps to take with your telecommuting office setup:

  1. Take a deep breath.

There’s a lot of noise and confusion out there. Turn off your radio, television and devices for an hour so you can just be at peace and calmly think through what you need to do.

  • Check with your employer.

Each company is different so you’ll want to ask your employer questions like:

              Can I work from home?

              How many hours per week?

              What am I allowed to work on?

That third question sounds funny, but we need to consider the transport and storage of sensitive information.

  • Set up your home office.

If you don’t currently have an office, this could be in a guest bedroom, the dining room, the edge of the kitchen counter or the end of your couch. Officially claim your spot!

  • Set hours with your household.

Have a family meeting to decide who is doing what, when and where. If your kids are trying to have playtime when you’re attempting to have a virtual conference on the couch next to them, that won’t work. Discuss schedules and spaces in order to lessen tensions.

These are surreal times. It’s beginning to feel like something out of a sci-fi movie. But this is our new normal for at least the near future, so we might as well face it head on and do what we need to do to keep on living.

If you need more advice on your telecommuting office setup, join me for a live webinar. Get details here.

About Helene Segura, M.A. Ed., CPO®

As The Inefficiency Assassin™, Time Management Fixer Helene Segura empowers professionals on the go with the tools to slay lost time. Personal inefficiency at work leads to increased stress levels, lower morale, higher absenteeism, more turnover – and rising spending on employee health care and hiring. Why not improve productivity, decrease stress levels, and increase profits instead?The author of four books – two of which were Amazon best-sellers – Helene Segura has been the featured organization expert in more than 200 media interviews. She has coached hundreds of clients to productivity success and performance improvement by applying neuroscience and behavioral modification techniques to wipe out destructive, time-wasting habits.Helene turns time management on its head by sharing both client case studies and pop culture examples to teach her mind-bending framework for decreasing interruptions, distractions and procrastination so that companies can spend more time generating revenue.

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