Wondering how to work from home productively and not turn into a filthy grotbag?
We’ve gathered a bunch of brilliant tweets about social distancing and working from home that fit into one of three categories:
1) genuinely helpful.
b) wickedly relatable.
c) just completely ridiculous.
For some of us, this whole social distancing thing couldn’t come soon enough.
To be honest I’ve been ready to self isolate since 1992.
— Susan Calman (@SusanCalman) March 12, 2020
While some of you might have been doing it for a long time, all in the name of freelance.
Big shout out to all the freelancers who won’t be able to tell the difference between self isolating for Coronavirus & a completely normal day at work.
— Aisling Bea (@WeeMissBea) March 9, 2020
Hey, some people have been practicing all their lives!
GOVERNMENT: We need you to stay home & avoid people
GAMER: [tipping hat] Say no more
— Roxi Horror 💀🌸 (@roxiqt) March 11, 2020
But it’s important that we all get to grips with this potential new normal, especially as more and more companies are now encouraging their employees to stay at home. In preparation, we’ve scoured the internet for all the best advice, so that you can spend your time diligently updating Excel spreadsheets and checking in with your colleagues on Slack, rather than mindlessly scrolling through Twitter.
For starters, this is important to learn.
During social distancing, it’s important to remember good conference call etiquette:
– awkward silence
– can you hear me
– [weird small talk because someone is 10 min late]
– BEEP BOOP
– strange crunch
– heavy breath
– oops sorry you go ahead
– sorry no, you
– BOOP beep
– bye?— Julieanne Smolinski (@BoobsRadley) March 10, 2020
And whatever you do, don’t be this guy.
— Selma (@selmaxba) March 10, 2020
Stay in front of the damn screen or you will get caught out.
Try not to become this guy!
Boss: “we will be working from home for the next month in wake of the corona virus”
Me the first day back:pic.twitter.com/QGI0kIgHWr
— Dillon Appleman (@DayDayAppleman) March 12, 2020
But a heads up: you will almost definitely become this guy…
Day one working from home:
2 breakfasts by 11am
1.5 lunches by 3pm
18 animal crackers by 6pm
2 glasses of wine by 8pm
0 showers by 9pm— Andrea Lavinthal (@andilavs) March 12, 2020
And, oh god, nobody wants to be this guy…
everyone laughed at all the huel in my kitchen cupboard but you’re not laughing now are you, and neither am i because it’s horrible
— Abby Tomlinson (@twcuddleston) March 11, 2020
Instead, do yourself a favour and eat (and/or nap) responsibly.
My only advice about working from home is don’t have carbs for lunch, they make you need a siesta. Or factor in the siesta. But have lunch. You’re not a savage.
— India Knight (@indiaknight) March 11, 2020
In other words, try and make sure you have something other than biscuits and sweetcorn in the house.
Day 1 of working from home:
I might make myself some nice food as a treat.Day 5:
Forgot to shower again, but that’s not a problem for I no-longer wear people clothes. Lunch was sweetcorn I scooped up with a biscuit. At breaktime, I snarled at the locals from behind my bins.— James Felton (@JimMFelton) March 6, 2020
And here’s some purrculiar advice, but important nonetheless.
tips for working from home:
•work‘s important but so is befriending local cats. dont neglect it.
•you cant know if somethings changed in the fridge unless you get up and look. go on. have a peek.
•order a lot of shit online to guarantee you’ll talk to at least one person a day— beth mccoll (@imteddybless) March 11, 2020
A warning for all those living with their partners!
Please spare a thought for those of us who work from home already, who now face the very real and terrifying #COVID19 prospect of our spouses also working from home. Suddenly become so territorial I’m genuinely surprised I’m not pissing on the carpets and scratching up the couch
— 🌈👩🍳📚Jack Monroe (@BootstrapCook) March 12, 2020
Remember to check the time and take regular breaks!
Welcome, newcomers to working from home! Right about now, you should be realizing that it’s been 5 to 6 hours since you sat down to have your coffee and “just quickly scan your email,” and you have yet to shower or eat lunch. This is unfortunately normal!
— Kris Vire (@krisvire) March 11, 2020
Make your house look nice so people think you’re cool and cultured!
Working from home:
Expectation: put on nice top, keep pjs on bottom, skip commute, no problem
Reality: Madly grabbing every poster and print in the house to put on the wall behind you for video meetings so you dont look uncultured compared to the effortlessly chic Paris office
— Maria O’Brien (@malteasermia) March 12, 2020
…and invest in a good pair of PJs that aren’t actually PJs!
My working from home tips included pajama-adjacent trousers (Uniqlo lounge pants are my rec), a shower at 5pm and a lunch break that is more than 10 mins (I am v bad at the latter but it helps to have a TV show to watch).
— Emma Fraser (@frazbelina) March 12, 2020
Ha! Hahaha! No, but seriously. I asked a few serial WFHers for the lowdown on how you should really go about working from home, and they came up with some pretty solid advice:
My good friend Jess, a fellow writer, reckons the very best thing you can do is find a dog to keep you company (she’s signed up to Borrow My Doggy), and I don’t disagree. She also says that you should make yourself a boujee breakfast, just because you can — and always work in a tidy space. (But I’d be careful not to assume this translates to “spend the entire morning cleaning your flat, poaching eggs and smashing avocados, rather than doing any actual work”.)
Chloe, a copywriter, says GET OUT OF YOUR BLOODY PJS! And stick to the same schedule as you would at the office — start at 9am, finish at 5:30pm, or however it usually works for you.
Finally, Mia, a retouch and CGI producer, reiterates the no pyjamas rule by encouraging you to shower, get dressed and stop moping around. It’s easily done, but come on, you’re a p R o f e S s i O n a l.
I’ll finish with a couple of very helpful Twitter threads, which are well worth a read. They’re full of tips for boosting productivity, staying healthy and generally staying sane.
✨HOW TO LIVE/WORK FROM HOME AND SURVIVE✨
-Possibly without going crazy-
A thread of tips learnt in years of being a freelancer working from home.
Disclaimer: this is my personal experience, ofc can’t apply to everyone, but hopefully will be helpful to some!
(1)— Enrica Eren Angiolini (@ErenAngiolini) March 12, 2020
I’ve been working from a NYC 1BR for 3.5 years now. During this time, I’ve lead projects with 3-30 people involved, often needing lots of discussion, prototyping together and visual communication. it’s difficult. Here are some things I wish I’d been told:
— SIMD Crawford (@omershapira) March 8, 2020