Tips for Remote Work

• Never borrow from tomorrow. Don't take "time loans". You will not double your output tomorrow. Do not play catch-up. Your time can be spent and wasted, but never saved. Start each day with a clean balance.
• Adopt shutdown rituals to demarcate phases of your day. Do not let your career bleed into your personal life, and vice-versa.
• Willpower is worthless. Set up self-sustaining systems like nowify.
• Use physical objects to remind yourself (and others) that you're busy. Headphones universally convey "don't talk to me". Also consider candles, incense, literal thinking-caps, ambient lighting, and playlists.
• Consider Weekend Whenever.
• Do "autopilot" tasks during meetings (e.g. cleaning, weeding, walking). Never attempt manual multitasking during meetings (e.g. messaging, programming, writing). If your attention isn't useful in a meeting, politely leave.
• Track your time. You can maintain a simple paper log, or use software like RescueTime and Toggl.
• Be sensitive to friends and family. Your work schedule may matter to them.
• You can schedule emails and Slack messages for future delivery. This is especially helpful to not disturb others' weekends and evenings.
• Take vacations -- you don't need an excuse or explanation. Don't hoard PTO without specific plans. You should use at least 50% of your accrued PTO hours each month. If you have "unlimited" PTO, take 2-3 days off per month at minimum.
• Turn off work notifications outside of working hours. Alternatively, extinguish all notifications. If this is not possible, ask your employer to adopt "on-call" schedules.
• It's easy to get depressed while working from home. It's difficult to find a therapist when you're depressed. To be safe, meet with a therapist monthly, even if you feel fine.
• Don't mistake busywork for meaningful output. Treat meetings and messages like wasteful overhead.
• Be cordial, but maintain boundaries between personal and work communications. If you want to chat with coworkers, send them friendly messages outside of work channels. And try to keep work gossip out of personal conversations.
• Don't greet. Don't ask to ask. Message/call/huddle and they'll respond if they're available.
• Divide your physical space into 4 "stations": exercise, sleep, recreation, and creation.
• Perform a fake "daily commute". Consider fetching coffee or taking a short walk before you start your day.
• Don't feel obligated to enable your camera for video calls. But please be polite with your microphone.