Like many of you in the creative industry, over the past few weeks we’ve been adjusting to life working from home. As a team that’s used to collaborating/chatting/seeing each other’s faces IRL on a daily basis, this has come with its challenges, but almost a month in and we’d like to think we’re getting the hang of it.
In an attempt to provide some light relief, and as an antidote to all those articles on ‘how to work from home’… we thought we’d take what we have learned and pull together a list of what not to do when you find yourself working from home for the first time, expertly advised by the Fiasco Team.
Tom, Head of Creative
- Don’t take meetings from the bath, you’re not Madonna.
- Don’t want to go on video for a zoom call? Didn’t I hear you had problems with your internet connection? Terrible that low bandwidth.
Julia, Creative
- Don’t let your mum into the room when on a video call with the team. She will bring photos of you as a chubby baby.
- Don’t deny yourself the urge to turn up to every team call with a new look – wigs, outfits, whatever feels good.
Sam, Senior Account Manager
- Don’t leave the dog to roam around the rest of the house and close the office door for video calls. They’ll spend the entire time sounding like your MC and scratching the door.
- Don’t drink your monthly supply of wine in the first week.
Ben, Senior Designer
- Do not book meetings between the hours of 1pm – 2pm. There are roughly 7,300 episodes of ‘Home and Away’ and they are all fantastic.
- Don’t Skype call on your phone. There is no ‘good angle’ you can hold for more than five minutes before your arm feels like it’s on fire.
Hayley, Account Manager
- Keeping a coriander plant alive for two weeks is quite the achievement, but it doesn’t make you Alan Titchmarsh, so stop searching online for houseplants.
- Don’t try making friends with your cat. She didn’t like you before, and now you’re taking up even more of her personal space…
Nick, Creative Technologist
- Don’t let your cats into your workspace as they may decide to knock plants over during a video call.
- Don’t run out of coffee during a web build(!).
Meg, Community Manager at Gather Round (& honorary FD member)
- Don’t sit right by the window to work. It’s not productive – you just end up spying on your neighbours to check if they’re putting the recycling in the correct bin.
- In the morning; get up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast and sit at a desk. DO NOT go directly back to bed after your shower. It’s almost impossible to get back up again.
Jason, Co-Founder
- Don’t eat dinners for lunch!
Mike, Senior Designer
- When working in the evening, it’s advisable to stand cautiously and remember to check for appropriate headspace.
Marj, Account Manager
- If you’re making the valiant effort to continue working out from home, remember to close the blinds to avoid awkward exchanges with neighbours mid-jumping jack.
Have you got any tips for how not to work from home? We’d love to hear from you! Let us know over here or via Twitter.
