Technology Tips for Those Who Are New to Remote-Working

Welcome to the Corona-pacolypse! It is a weird, strange, darkest-timeline kind of world in which we find ourselves. Many of our bosses, in a sign of heart-squishy solidarity, have benevolently given us the opportunity to work from home.


I exclusively worked from home for a couple of years, and honestly? Your mileage may vary. If you're an extrovert I predict you will hate working from home. Introverts (hey there! hi! I am your people) do better, but it's not like we won't be called into meetings, chats, etc.

So! On that note, I have advice... It's all tech-based, which is way more practical than how many different kinds of cookies you should have o hand (But the answer is three. I'm a Trinitarian.)

1) Unless you're speaking on a call, mute your device. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people loading the dishwasher...walking the dog...rolling through the drive-through at Starbucks...

 
2) Earbuds with a microphone are the best option for cutting down on ambient background noise (dogs, kids, doorbells, etc.). Side note: Cell phone speakerphones are AWFUL on conference calls. Don't use them.

3) If you join a web conference or call via computer and use your laptop's audio, do NOT type while your mic is unmuted. Why? Because your delicate, nimble typing sounds like King Kong pounding on the keyboard.

 
4) Cover your laptop camera. Some web conference software automatically launches the camera (Surprise! Everyone can see you pulling your hair up into a ponytail...and down again...and up again...). If the little light by the camera is on, we can see you.

5) Dress appropriately for whatever the camera can see, just in case you need to jump on a video call. Translation: pants are optional.