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How to work from home - the experience of Plesk removers

Many Russian companies transfer employees to remote work because of the coronavirus. With the advent of the virus in Novosibirsk, Plesk ceased to be an exception - the company's management invited employees to leave the office with the necessary equipment and go to work from home. It would seem that here he is a paradise office - your cozy home, where there is everything for full work: a laptop, monitors, a comfortable chair, coffee with cookies and even the opportunity to take a nap at lunch time. However, after several days of such comfort, some employees begin to notice that not everything is as rosy as it originally looked. Someone loses focus on tasks, since there are a lot of distractions at home: children who crave attention - after all, since you are at home, then you have a day off; pets reflexively requiring food and scratching behind the ear; a book that I have long wanted to read;a dusty character whom I have long wanted to pump. And, of course, there’s no boss or team at home that will stand above the soul if you slow down. Someone, on the contrary, turns into a Stakhanovite and works from dawn to dusk, because now you don’t even have to spend time on the road. Then comes sudden fatigue or even burnout. Attempts are made to enter the office in order to return to their usual lives. But the virus does not sleep, from all sides slogans like “Stay the f * ck home” are pouring more and more often.in order to return to their usual life. But the virus does not sleep, from all sides slogans like “Stay the f * ck home” are pouring more and more often.in order to return to their usual life. But the virus does not sleep, from all sides slogans like “Stay the f * ck home” are pouring more and more often.

For a while, everyone will definitely have to work from home. But how to quickly organize yourself and be no less effective than in the office? The answer is to use someone else's rake.

Some Plesk employees have long been working remotely for personal reasons. They were able to organize their work so that colleagues did not feel their absence in the office - the timing, quality of work, communication - nothing was hurt. We conducted a short interview with our regular remoters, and we hope that their stories will help you shorten the way you debug work from home and be as effective as possible.



Svetlana


I have been working from home most of the time since about 2014. I feel quite comfortable. If there is an understanding of the reason why you choose this particular mode of operation, then you will treat it very calmly. There are always pluses and minuses, and I prefer to focus not on limitations, but on additional opportunities that open up when working from home.

Of course, like many, I ran into certain difficulties. When you are at home, sitting and looking at the screen, others (not only children, but also some adults) may perceive this as if you are doing nothing now, which means you can pay attention to them. It helps patience, not to succumb to attempts to distract yourself in the details and explain many times what you are doing. In the end, everyone gets used to the fact that you actually work. The second difficulty is to remain physically in the same place, really mentally switch and be as much as possible in what you are doing now. There is no one who came to the office and everything is clear here, you work, then you go out and do other things. Just, for example, if I spend time with a child, then at this time I try to stop twisting work tasks in my head. And vice versa, paying quality attention to the child,I try to concentrate fully on work.

How did I adapt? At first, I thought more about how to distribute all the tasks during the day. Then it turns into its own routine, where the working time is divided into parts and alternates with other affairs.

I don’t presume to give advice, everyone has their own conditions, but I can share what helps me:

  • Recognizing the pros - why exactly this mode of operation at this time is better for me.
  • Set your schedule and stick to it.
  • Instead of tea with cookies, make useful pauses during work - at home, you can choose exercise or small household chores (water the flowers, turn on the laundry) as a pause.
  • To enter a walk in the fresh air a day - I had two trips on foot to school and back, about 11 thousand steps daily. In the new conditions, this point will have to be organized in a new way.
  • Do not try to do everything at once, switch between tasks.

Sophia


I started working partially from home four years ago when I worked as a technical writer. The reason was that I live in Akademgorodok (30 km from the center of Novosibirsk), and most of the people with whom I had to interact were in the center. That is, in any case, I had to go to the center, and it took too much time (2-3 hours daily, which could be spent with greater benefit). Therefore, I agreed with the manager that I would work from home as an experiment. The experiment was a success, the quality of work was not affected. So I switched to a new mode - I work from home and sometimes come to the office.

For me, this mode turned out to be very convenient, because in those days when I am in the office, I can chat with colleagues personally, attend internal conferences or classes in English, etc. But the rest of the time I do not spend time on the road and work in a more free mode.

The main difficulties that I encountered:

  • There are a lot of distractions at home. I usually alone at home during working hours (only a cat who likes to lie on my arm so that I can’t move my mouse can interfere with my work). And still - you remember that you need to start the wash, get something out of the freezer, just go for tea, you see the dust - you want to wipe it ... in general, in order not to be distracted, you need to try and use your willpower. Those who have children and other family members at home, of course, are even more difficult.
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However, it was not difficult for me to adapt, since I still worked in the office twice a week, so the lack of communication was compensated for these days. In the days of work from home, I set myself working hours, when I am always in access (from 9 to 18), get up on the alarm clock, as usual, and sit down at the computer always at the same time in the morning. The workplace is more or less comfortable, a chair with a special overlay on the back. I do gymnastics a couple of times a day, sometimes I can lie down to sleep for about 20 minutes and every day I try to go out for a walk and breathe in fresh air.

Some tips for working from home:

  • Organize a convenient workplace: table, chair, if necessary, connect a large monitor to the laptop.
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I permanently work from home on a regular basis from 2016 to 2018, after 2018 - partially, because connected with the transition to a new project, where it was required to be in the office for at least part of the day, and then all day.

The feeling of working from home is not a habit at once. I began to feel comfortable only after quite some time. For several months I got involved because I had been working in the office all my life before. And this is the experience of two decades after all. After you get involved in the rhythm and mode, the sensations are already simple - you get used to and do not distinguish between work at home or in the office. Both options have their pros and cons. I am equally comfortable now in the office and at home. But this did not happen right away.

There were several difficulties. The very first is to force yourself to plan your day. At first glance, this is not difficult, but immediately I began to fall into a change of day regimen. More opportunities to sleep longer, go to bed later. Such a regime of the day with a bias at night, I like, but in this case I am lost for the family. You go to bed at 3-4 a.m. and sleep until noon. After waking up, the head does not think very well for the first few hours, and this is already 2-3 hours, after which it is necessary to work. That is, work and sleep quickly become your daily routine. That was bad for me. It was decided to force myself to get up at a certain time, share my work and not forget that I have my own house, which requires my attention as men, children whom I love and want to spend time and, of course, my beloved woman,for which such a regime of the day is almost equivalent to the regime of my business trip to another city - that is, I am not! The second difficulty was in preparing the workplace. This is a very important moment of udalenka - where you will work, so as not to disturb the family (if they were at home, and mine were at home), and so that they do not disturb you. The third is the understanding of the whole family that you work at home and not just your day off. We discussed this in advance and made a general decision. Now there are no particular difficulties. Unless at the moment electricity or the Internet sometimes disappears because I live in a village where there are no really providers, and I still have the Internet through two channels for reliability - ADSL 6Gb + LTE via Microtic 15 Gb. Not fast, but there are two channels that matter.The second difficulty was in preparing the workplace. This is a very important moment of udalenka - where you will work, so as not to disturb the family (if they were at home, and mine were at home), and so that they do not interfere with you. The third is the understanding of the whole family that you work at home and not just your day off. We discussed this in advance and made a general decision. Now there are no particular difficulties. Unless at the moment electricity or the Internet sometimes disappears because I live in a village where there are no really providers, and I still have the Internet through two channels for reliability - ADSL 6Gb + LTE via Microtic 15 Gb. Not fast, but there are two channels that matter.The second difficulty was in preparing the workplace. This is a very important moment of udalenka - where you will work, so as not to disturb the family (if they were at home, and mine were at home), and so that they do not interfere with you. The third is the understanding of the whole family that you work at home and not just your day off. We discussed this in advance and made a general decision. Now there are no particular difficulties. Unless at the moment electricity or the Internet sometimes disappears because I live in a village where there are no providers, and I still have the Internet through two channels for reliability - ADSL 6Gb + LTE via Microtic 15 Gb. Not fast, but there are two channels that matter.The third is the understanding of the whole family that you work at home and not just your day off. We discussed this in advance and made a general decision. Now there are no particular difficulties. Unless at the moment electricity or the Internet sometimes disappears because I live in a village where there are no providers, and I still have the Internet through two channels for reliability - ADSL 6Gb + LTE via Microtic 15 Gb. Not fast, but there are two channels that matter.The third is the understanding of the whole family that you work at home and not just your day off. We discussed this in advance and made a general decision. Now there are no particular difficulties. Unless at the moment electricity or the Internet sometimes disappears because I live in a village where there are no providers, and I still have the Internet through two channels for reliability - ADSL 6Gb + LTE via Microtic 15 Gb. Not fast, but there are two channels that matter.but there are two channels that are important.but there are two channels that are important.

My adaptation went through difficulties. Forcing yourself to follow a plan that you compose for yourself. A great help in adaptation was from the family because we talked about it, and I enlisted their support and understanding. We have arranged a workplace. By the way, one funny difficulty was with the children - a powerful computer, we bought a game configuration with my eldest daughter, half investing in its cost. She came in the evening, and she wanted to play or draw (she enjoys drawing in graphic editors). And this, too, was at first a mutual insult - I did not have time to do something in a working day and I sit late, I do not let her go. We had to talk about this, and we agreed that I myself plan to work so that by 19 o’clock to free the computer. But at the same time, if there is an emergency or an accident, the children unconditionally let me into the computer.It seems ridiculous but, my daughters are already adults and we have to learn to negotiate.

You can give a lot of advice, but I do not know the current situation in people. It was easier for me because I had a place - an office, this is a workspace. Try to discuss everything at once with your home, all aspects and nuances. Listen to and understand the rest and try to find a mode of the day when you can combine work, family, hobbies and, of course, your responsibilities towards your family. Well, and try to get into this rhythm - alarms and scheduling applications with reminders helped me

Maria


I have been working from home since 2008. Before that, I started to have serious health problems, and the company, without further ado, went to meet me. So I started working from home.
For me, working from home is the only possible productive mode, so I feel great in it. I participate in team rallies on slack, it is possible to watch broadcasts simultaneously with everyone or later, communication through slack and skype works. Sometimes I came to informal meetings with my department and colleagues. Of course, there are nuances depending on the profession, but I got the impression that we have no obstacles to organizing work outside the office. It’s just that it sometimes takes time to solve some problems, but everything is solved promptly.

My main problem, again, rests on health. If you discard it, then I think a lot depends on stress resistance, because at first in an unusual situation you start to get nervous, doubt yourself, how much you will cope with the tasks and in general, when it all ends. Over time, you equip your workplace, immerse yourself in tasks and adapt, and all sorts of bad thoughts recede. It was difficult for me (and still happens) to get involved in a group discussion and receive feedback. This is individual, I believe that the majority will not have problems with this. Sometimes I start to do a task and forget to complete it on time at Jira.

When I switched to home mode, the guys in the IT department helped set up VPN access to shared resources and always responded if any communication problems started. My colleagues in the department and my unit manager also helped, including by taking on some of the working communications when I had problems with speech.

So the hardest thing, probably, was to establish personal communication and independent planning, resource allocation.

In the office it is easier to concentrate on the task: everyone has a common cause, it is easier to gather as a group around one task, the atmosphere itself will contribute to the working mood.

There can be many distractions at home: family, noisy neighbors, couriers, anyone. I know people who have panic attacks when working from home. You find yourself alone, and the main minus of this state: quickly switch to communication and discussion is more difficult than in the office, you begin to reflect and doubt more than usual. Perhaps this depends on the personality traits, and each of us will stumble on our own pitfalls, which we did not even suspect. The main thing is not to resist, accept them and adapt to the internal and external state.

If anxiety intensifies, which is quite normal amid news of the pandemic, consult a specialist, since now there is an opportunity to do it online. There is not enough familiar communication - organize conferences. Difficulties begin with planning or completing tasks - rearrange the schedule to your own rhythm, exit social networks if they are too distracting. Sometimes it’s useful to switch and take a walk - while walks outside crowded places are not prohibited, there is no quarantine. If children, relatives, pets require your active attention, then you need to defend your personal boundaries as an employee - not all families perceive you in this capacity, and in the current situation your interests are more important. If, against the background of stress, you have exacerbated chronic diseases or become ill, notify your team leader and team and start treatment as soon as possible!I do not need to endure to the last (this is my personal sin) - from my own experience I can confidently say that you will always be met and will sympathize with your health problems. I have never encountered an identity in our company.

And in conclusion: even at home, do not lose your spirit, if possible, isolate yourself, do not use bullshit, follow the recommendations of the WHO. Working from home, we reduce the development of the epidemic and reduce the risks to the medical system - this is not only self-preservation, but also socially useful behavior. Health to all and a working, friendly atmosphere, wherever we are!

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