- Number 1 tip for working from home.
In our weekly Q&A with our company’s CEO, the top question was, “What suggestion would he give to employees for working from home?” And as the title of this note reveals, ‘Wear your pants’ was his answer.
Since March 14th, the company has recommended employees work from home because of COVID-19. And one week after that, it became “mandatory.” It has been more than 3 weeks since we started to work from home. To be honest, I have not always followed the “№1” tip. (Once I wore shorts during a meeting right after I finished jogging), but overall, things are under control.
There are a few things that are different:
#Work
I feel I am more productive in terms of programming while working from home. I can focus on coding for a big chunk of time without the need to pay attention to what other people are doing or talking about around me. No one will disrupt me for random questions or ad hocs in need of my help.
Meetings, though, are more challenging, apart from the technical issues, to get everyone’s connection working the first time. People often easily talk over each other when it comes to discussions. But as time has gone by, people have come up with solutions to resolve this issue. For example, there will be a moderator for the meeting, and whoever wants to speak can raise their hands first. (And the team which developed the meeting tools even added a virtual hand-raising feature to it!)
We have a daily morning virtual standup with our engineers. We talk about what we will be working on today and any blocks that need help. It is helpful to know what other people are working on and to see if we are blocked by anything. Plus, it feels nice to socialize a bit at the beginning of the day.
Overall, I can do almost all of my work at home. One issue I have had so far was connecting my Android test device to the VPN at home. But one co-worker helped me test it. Another issue that is harder to do remotely is recruiting. We are trying to recruit two bootcampers to join us, often we would invite them to sit with the team for a day or two, work on a small task, and go out for lunch. Although I feel we can get connected and convey our welcoming messages via video chat, I think an in-person experience is irreplaceable when it comes to recruiting a new member.
Something I did that I feel proud of during this period: I organized an online Pictionary game during our usual Friday office happy hour. It was so much fun to see people drawing and laughing at the same time, and the winner, of course, was our team’s designer. ;)
#Food
We are fortunate to have free food/snacks provided for us in our company. I know many of us might take it for granted. I have heard people complain about the food for its lack of authenticities, lack of variety. Personally, I am always grateful that we have free food; not only do we have free food, but we also have an abundance of options. That includes my favorites like a salad bar with fresh avocado, wasabi peas as a topping! There is a pizza section, many sandwich bars, and a soup stand. We have ‘Make your own Pizza’ day on Wednesdays, ‘Anything you would like’ omelet day on Fridays! I can list more foods I enjoy.
But now, I am stuck at home, and it’s costly to order delivery for every meal. This has forced me to cook more of my own meals. On the first day working from home, I did not have any time to make my lunch. So I simply made some oatmeal with milk. (don’t get me wrong, it was tasty and healthy), but it is maybe a bit sad too. The hilarious part is that there is even an internal group for people to post pictures of their ‘sad work from home meals,’ so I posted it on there too, and my manager apparently had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.
After the first day, I ordered some groceries online and was determined to cook my own food.
For lunch and most weekday dinners, I ate frozen food, which just needed to be microwaved. It is convenient and tasty. But for weekends, I started to cook some real food. On a Saturday night, I wanted to cook some chicken. There was a whole fresh chicken in the fridge. But I have never cut up or cooked a whole chicken before. I felt a bit overwhelmed when I saw the chicken head, butt, and feet still with its long nails…So I called my mom and asked for help. She instructed me how to cut the whole chicken into pieces using video chat. And I managed to cook the chicken into two delicious dishes. Chicken soup and a stir-fried chicken dish in the end! And my mom and I talked about an old memory that I used to be her little helper in the kitchen when I was still in elementary school. It was a nice change of pace from her normal loving-style of “nagging” ;)
#Social
Friday nights are the most different. On a typical Friday night, I want to blow off some steam either by playing basketball or going out partying with friends. And now I just basically get up from the couch where I have been sitting all day working and walk a bit in the living room to stretch my body. A few minutes later, I find myself sitting on the couch again, staring at my laptop — again. Apparently, the most significant difference between working from home and going into the office is that there is no clear boundary between work and life anymore. But I have been trying to stay connected with friends online. One night we had a virtual dinner party, played Pictionary and Codenames, which made those two hours pass quickly. Another evening one of our friends was celebrating his birthday, so we each held up a candle to the camera and sang the birthday song to him. It was sweet and a bit romantic. ;) And I reached out to many old friends who I hung out with when I lived in D.C., whom I have not talked to for quite a while. As some people say, this is more about physical distancing than social distancing.
#Workout
I would typically work out 4–5 times a week, including at least one basketball game and going to the gym 3–4 times. So this working from home situation drastically changed this number from 5 to 0. And the first week, I often felt a bit of pain in my lower back after a whole day of sitting on the couch. So that forced me to find new ways to exercise.
Thanks to YouTube, there are numerous and endless training tutorials to teach you how to work out at home without any equipment. I found a few full-body cardio exercises that I really enjoy. I often get all sweaty after 10 mins into the workout. Working out with the T.V. screen as my gym teacher isn’t so weird after all; in fact, it’s quite interactive and even satisfying.
Then there is a great park (Crestview Park) within walking distance of where I live. It has this glorious panorama view of a state park nearby. It also has a basketball court (but the rims are blocked by the park staff to prevent people from playing together), it has a running track field as well. So I have been jogging there after I finish my workday; usually, each time I ran 10 laps (2.5 miles). And It’s nice to see some people play games and run and laugh while I keep my distance.
When I don’t feel like doing a workout at home or running that day, I walk to the top of a hill nearby, which has a steep incline and is not an easy walk. But it is very well worth it. Once I get to the top, I can see the whole Bay Area from the peak, from the high-rising buildings in downtown S.F. to the docks on the East Bay. And I can even see some lighting in San Jose if I care to look for it. And I have seen people come there to have their lunch while enjoying the view. Apparently, this is a known spot for people to hangout. It is stunning at night.
#Learning something new
Working from home, we have more time to spend time with family, or myself in my case. I figured that this would be an excellent time to learn something I always wanted to try. So here we go, I bought a guitar on Amazon. I have wanted to learn how to play since Middle school. Yet, I never had the time or patience to really do it — before now. But I feel I can do it this time. Luckily many apps can teach beginners like me how to start playing, and I have time and patience now. I hope I can play a simple song when this lockdown is over.
#readabook
Finally, I finished the book “Undoing Project,” which I had planned to finish in Feb. because it was not an easy read and I was lazy. Now because I have to stay home even on the weekend. I have a lot of time to read. The book is beautifully written by Michael Lewis. It talks about the close relationship between two top Israeli psychologists and their work on heuristics rules on common human error in judgment and decision-making, and how their relationship eventually fell apart.
The second of the four heuristic rules makes people misjudge: availability. This resonates with me the most.
And I am touched by how their relationship fell apart when their lives took different tracks, and they drifted away from each other.
#Write on Today
The date is 04/09, as I am writing this last paragraph. When we started working from home, there were a few thousand confirmed Coronavirus cases, but it is 460,000+ confirmed cases and more than 10,000 deaths as of today. The Good news is that we are seeing a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel. The number of people hospitalized is decreasing, the projected death toll has been adjusted to a much lower number. So things seem to be moving in the good direction. I look forward to the day I can go out normally for exercising, socializing, and eating some authentic Chinese food because I’m not that good a home cook yet. But I am a believer that everything in life has a reason. Life reminds us again all of life is not in your or my control. But there is always one thing I can do, that is to take a deep breath and be present. It might seem daunting now, but mountains get climbed one step at a time.
P.S. A brain teaser: In all English words, are there more words starting with K or having K as the third letter? The answer of most people is “words starting with K,” according to the authors’ research. That’s actually the wrong answer, and we think that’s the answer because words with K as the first letter are easier to remember than words with K as the third letter.
weekday log:
Wed 03/25
Wake up: 9:15am
Washed and made grilled cheese for breakfast. Meditated for 10mins.
Starting working at 10:00 am
Eng standup at 11:50am
lunch 12:20- 12:50
work from until 7:30 pm.
Went out for jogging till 8:20, some workout at home till 8:50.
Dinner with some salad and corn.
Played guitar for half an hour.
Watch some Youtube and chill.
Get to bed 12:20 am
some daily logging and get ready for sleep.