Virtual Office Resource

I’ve worked from home, at least in some capacity, for the better part of the past 15 years. Right now I work exclusively from home and on the road for my two jobs, but I’ve also done a combination of some days in an office and some days at home over the years. What I have learned is that I am capable of being extremely productive working out of a “virtual office,” but it requires discipline and good habits to be successful.

Since I work in the tech space, connectivity has never been a problem for me. I prefer to sit at my desk and work on my laptop, but I also travel and the laptop and my phone are all I need to stay connected. I have even used my iPad with a portable keyboard to get my work done and have come up with lots of creative ways to connect to the Internet during power outages and in other extenuating circumstances. One of the keys to being successful in a virtual office environment is flexibility.

I do like having a designated workspace though, and while I don’t require a physical office, I have my desk set up in a sunny corner of our family room. This works well for me as it is away from the flow of traffic when other distracting humans happen to be around, which unfortunately happens quite often, yet I don’t feel isolated from the rest of the house. Having this space is helpful for me since it’s specifically meant for work, and I’m not tempted to start up a personal project or chore when I’m settled in here.

There are pitfalls, of course, to the virtual office. One of the main ones is a lack of face-time with colleagues and friends. I’m lucky in that both of my jobs may be done mostly via unified communications – email, text and phone. I do have to travel occasionally for face-to-face meetings and other work for my non-writing job, so that offsets the isolation of working remotely. I also make sure to get out each day, either to meet with friends, run errands, etc., because human contact outside of family members is non-negotiable.

Some fields of work will obviously require a higher degree of connectivity, and technology has made it possible to enjoy all the benefits of enterprise communications cost effectively, in a virtual office. Companies like Phone.com provide all the bells and whistles of enterprise systems, including assigning multiple phone numbers, call routing and forwarding, portability and more. And because services utilize VoIP, costs are reasonable for the small remote or virtual office.

The main thing to remember when working virtually is to create an environment that works for you. For me that’s my desk area and the occasional road trip. I’m pretty good when it comes to working from coffee shops and tuning out distractions but that may not be the right environment for everyone. Do what works best for you and your specific field of work to create healthy, consistent habits.

Finally, it’s important to draw a clear line between work and personal time. I create set work times throughout my day and these may vary depending on my schedule or workload, but I try to clearly separate work and non-work chores and tasks. And if you work virtually on a full-time basis (as my good friend does), it’s important to sign off on work at a designated time, or close to it. It may be tempting to check work emails during off hours, but this can be a slippery slope and cut into valuable non-working hours. Once again, good habits and discipline can create a fantastically productive environment for virtual and remote workers.