Posts

The Hidden Dangers of Remote Work 😱😱😱

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 by Melissa Smith / Posts

In the last issue of the newsletter, I teased that I was cooking up something exciting. It’s still cooking; no risk of whatever the newsletter equivalent of food poisoning from serving half-baked ideas. Nope. I don't want to spoil the day after the weirdest Labor Day ever. (Happy Labor …

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When Your Prefrontal Cortex is Closed For Business Due to the Pandemic

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 by Melissa Smith / Posts

Bear with me while I set a bit of context for today’s topic. First, let’s talk about executive functioning. That’s the set of skills you use to make decisions, prioritize, and plan your morning, your day, and your life. Maybe you have some days where you are …

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When Remote Work is a Literal Pain in the Neck or Back

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 by Melissa Smith / Posts

It is easy to accidentally spend the entire day curled over your laptop, typing away at your latest documentation manifesto. Or to have a million stressful chats, emails, and phone calls which leave your shoulders up by your ears. Your body will yell at you when you do these things …

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Separation of Work and Personal: Don’t Cross the Beams

Wed, 20 May 2020 by Melissa Smith / Posts

Today’s message is pretty simple: don’t use your work computer for personal business when you work from home.

This may seem obvious, but I think it's important enough that it’s worth reminding ourselves of it on a regular basis. When we’re at home the lines get …

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Calling in Sick

Wed, 06 May 2020 by Melissa Smith / Posts

It can be hard to figure out when to call in sick when you work from home. You don’t have to worry about getting your co-workers sick, so you might be inclined to call in sick only under the most extreme circumstances, right? That, my friends, is one of …

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Remote Culture Without a Petri Dish

Wed, 29 Apr 2020 by Melissa Smith / Posts

Straight to the punch today, let’s dive right into some ways you can build a great culture for remote workers within your company.

While Everyone is Still Remote

Start remote office traditions. For many offices, there’s a feeling of togetherness and camaraderie that keeps the team together and …

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10 tips for handling technical issues when you work from home

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 by Melissa Smith / Posts

Several people requested a post focused on technical support. There were lots of different questions covering many different platforms and needs. The specifics and details of peoples’ conundrums were far more specific than I could handle. But I consider it my job to look for patterns and universals, and find …

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Repurpose your Commute

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 by Melissa Smith / Posts

Today I want to talk about commutes. The wonderful thing about working from home, of course, is that you’ve reduced your commute time to less than five minutes. But commutes are valuable parts of the day by helping:

  • maintain a boundary between work from home so that work doesn …

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