Your Work from Home Life: Redefine, Reorganize and Reinvent Your Remote Work

By M. J. Fievre and Becca Anderson

Reorganize and Optimize Your from Home Remote Work Life

“A productive guide for our new world of remote work.” —Paula Rizzo, media consultant, speaker, and author of Listful Living

Whatever your remote work circumstance, learn how to be productive at home with nuggets of hard-earned wisdom. From choosing the best colors for workspace productivity to starting a business, these remote work gurus offer everything needed for a smooth work-to-home transition.

The new world of working from home. No longer does the average worker have long, frustrating commutes to crowded offices for jobs more comfortably worked from home. In this day and age, not only are more employers offering remote work, more people are creating their own opportunities for non-traditional work from home. Whether you are a remote work employee, freelancer, or someone who dreams of giving up the daily grind for a career of your own design, Your Work from Home Life is the next step to becoming the ultimate work nomad.

Productivity tips and much more. Remote work gurus Becca Anderson and M.J. Fievre guide you through the online search process and help you create a list of online certification programs, blogging opportunities, and jobs that allow you to work from home. Together, they offer advice on planning, budgeting, contingency plans, and other resources. Along with advice on how to be productive at home, this fun and uplifting book includes bonus checklists and templates to help you:

• Take advantage of technology and platforms, home office set-ups, and breaks at work
• Work with colleagues while redefining collegial camaraderie, avoiding overwhelmed and isolated feelings
• Develop time and distraction management to meet pressing deadlines and achieve focused, deep work
• Discover the important role of self-care and personalize your very own self-care strategy

If you enjoyed books like Remote, Indistractable, The 4 Hour Work Week, or Nine Lies About Work, you’ll love Your Work from Home Life .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Feb 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781642504910

M. J. Fievre

MJ Fievre has many years of experience working in non-traditional and remote roles as an educator, writer, coach, translator, and entrepreneur. She currently works as an acquisitions editor for the fastest growing publisher in the United States, and also serves as a project manager for a multi-faceted corporation with a multi-national consultant base that provides art, writing, and translation services to clients world-wide. In this book, she shares her decades-long experience in remote work, beginning with her work as a freelancer in Port-au-Prince, Miami, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, eventually starting her own company.

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Copyright 2020 M.J. Fievre

Cover Design: Roberto Nuñez

Interior Layout Design: Jermaine Lau

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Your Work from Home Life: Redefine, Reorganize and Reinvent Your Remote Work

ISBN: (p) 978-1-64250-490-3 (e) 978-1-64250-491-0

BISAC: BUS097000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Workplace Culture

LCCN: 2020951518

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Rules of Engagement

Chapter 1 Know What You’re Signing Up For

The Pros and Cons of Working Remotely

Your Pros and Cons

Questions to Ask Your Employer

Additional Questions

Questions to Ask Yourself

Additional Questions

Teams: The Who’s Who Checklist

Finding Remote Opportunities

Chapter 2 Create Your Workspace

Tips to Set Up Your Workspace

Best Colors for Productivity

The Essential List of Office Supplies for Your Home Office

The Documents Checklist

Your Hanging File Organizer

The Password Organizer

Setting Up Your Virtual Office: The List of Essential Apps

Essential Apps: Your Own Research

Strategic Organization

The Home Office Decluttering Checklist

Chapter 3 Know Your Peak Hours…and Eat the Frog!

Peak Hours: The Getting Started Routine for Your Work from Home Life

The End-of-Day Routine

Take a Break

Take a Break: The Basic Rules

Three Scientific Reasons to Prioritize Breaks at Work

Take a Break: Seven Break Methods to Try

Signs That You Should Take a Break

Three Things That Help You Feel Recharged

Things to Do During Your Break

Learn Something New

Over One Hundred Skills to Learn

Journal It!

Chapter 4 Understand the Basics of Planning and Scheduling

The Essential Planner

The Essential Planner

The Weekly To-Do list

The Daily To-Do List

Ten Minutes to Reflect on your Day

Journal It!

Chapter 5 Set Boundaries Between Home and Work When Work Is at Home

The Perfect Work-Life Balance

Avoid Distractions

Time Management: Fifteen Ways to Avoid Distractions

Six Ways to Avoid the Social Media TemptatioN

How to Deal with Time (and Energy) Vampires

Delegate

Thirty-Day Deep Clean and Declutter

Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids

The Meal Planner

Be Flexible

Ways to Pat Yourself on the Back

Chapter 6 Stay Connected

Online Meeting Etiquette: Ten Things to Remember

Proactive, Creative, Positive: Ten Helpful Rules for Remote Work Communication

Fun Ways to Keep in Touch with Coworkers While Working Remotely

Stay Connected—to Others, to Your Pets, and to Nature

Google How To…

Activities and Ideas to Stay Connected

Journal It!

Chapter 7 Practice Self-Care

Twenty Tips for Personalizing Your Self-Care Strategy

Ten Tips for Overcoming Fear

Changing Your Environment Helps You Remain Positive

Use Movement and Music

Journal It!

Be Creative

Ten TED Talks to Boost Your Creativity

My Own TED List

Five Free Apps that Can Boost Your Creativity

Other Apps I Want to Look Into

Be Creative: What to Do with Empty Notebooks

Chapter 8 Work on Your Career, Your Finances—and Yourself

Month at a Glance

Your Budget Categories

SMART Goals

Dreams and Goals

Thirty Days of Purpose

Chapter 9 Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help/

Expect the Unexpected

Your Crisis Management Team

Ten Things to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant

Watch Your Back: Backing Up Data and Critical Records

Be Prepared

Be Prepared: Basic Emergency Supply Kit

Journal It!

What about Altruism and Gratitude? Ways to Help During a Crisis

Journal It!

Bonus Chapter Gratitude

Thirty Days of Gratitude

Conclusion You Have the Keys

About the Authors

Our Kick-Ass Reference List

Introduction

Technological advances have made it possible for more workers than ever to give up their long, frustrating commutes to nine-to-five jobs. Instead of languishing in crowded offices, employees can work from the comfort of their own homes. Not only are more employers offering their workers remote positions, more people are creating their own opportunities for nontraditional work. If you are reading this book, chances are you are one of the many people who have either shifted to a remote career or are considering it. Welcome to the world of telecommuting!

Whether you are already a remote employee, a freelancer, a consultant who is looking to boost productivity and troubleshoot distractions, or someone who dreams of giving up the daily grind for a career of their own design, Your Work From Home Life is the book you need to reorganize and redefine your career.

Whatever your aspirations for a work-at-home career, it is our hope that you’ll find this book fun and uplifting and that you’ll put to good use the checklists and templates we provide. They’re meant to help you maintain your health and sanity by adding joy to your workday and help you take advantage of technology and platforms. In these pages, you’ll find tips and templates for home office setups, time and distraction management, discipline, and (a lot of) self-care. In addition to planning, budgeting, and so on, Your Work From Home Life focuses on ways to love yourself because working from home requires that you practice self-improvement and become centered.

This book will help you understand the pros and cons of working from home, learn to maintain strong bonds with your colleagues while redefining collegial camaraderie, clearly establish boundaries between home and work, avoid becoming overwhelmed and isolated, and learn how to handle an emergency or crisis. It will also allow you to help your managers by prioritizing and staying focused and on task in order to meet pressing deadlines and to research your competition, discover new ideas and skills, and provide value to your ideal customer.

The authors of this book have wisdom to spare in the work from home field. M.J. has many years of experience working in nontraditional and remote roles as an educator, writer, coach, translator, and entrepreneur. She currently works as an acquisitions editor for the fastest-growing publisher in the United States and serves as a project manager for a multifaceted corporation with a multinational consultant base that provides art, writing, and translation services to clients worldwide. In this book, she shares her decades-long experience in remote work, beginning with her work as a freelancer in Port-au-Prince, Miami, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and eventually starting her own company.

Becca is a writer and editor who works from a home office in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an expert in cultivating camaraderie, agility, and collaboration within her online team. In Your Work From Home Life, she shares powerful advice gleaned from professional experience. Originally from Ohio, Becca credits her first-grade teacher as a great inspiration and runs several popular online classes and workshops.

Whatever your circumstances, you’ll find nuggets of hard-earned wisdom in this book, along with hacks, how-tos, and advice from other teleworkers and experts.

We wish you prosperity in your work from home ventures!

M.J. Fievre and Becca Anderson

The Rules of Engagement

I.Know What You’re Signing Up For

II.Create Your Workspace

III.Know Your Peak Hours

IV.Understand the Basics of Planning and Scheduling

V.Set Boundaries Between Home and Work When Work Is at Home

VI.Stay Connected

VII.Practice Self-Care

VIII.Work on Your Career, Your Finances, and Yourself

IX.Know When to Ask for Help

X.Don’t Forget about Gratitude

Chapter 1

Know What You’re Signing Up For

While working from your couch sounds great in theory, it’s important to understand the pros and cons so you know how to best optimize your arrangement. A pro of working from home may be that you can lounge in your sweatpants and stretch out with no one to notice the cookie crumbs on your keyboard, but the temptation to tap the on button on the television remote can be distracting, and, come summertime, if the kids are home during the day, it can become a challenge to focus on anything above the din of temper tantrums and calls for your immediate attention. Working from home is no less challenging than working from an office. It’s all work, after all. Keep the right mindset—knowing you may be putting in more effort than before.

The Pros and Cons of Working Remotely

Pros

•True independence—you learn to rely on self-motivation, self-discipline, focus, and concentration. You may also have the ability to work anywhere.

•Flexible hours and increased productivity—you can get more work done, with the opportunity