They say necessity is the mother of invention. Over the last year, the need to work from home has inspired many of us to come up with creative ways to make the work go more smoothly. Our community has focused on ways to get better ethernet connections to taking time for lunch breaks with family. Read on to see what your colleagues are doing to make remote work easier or more efficient.

Christine Melendes, CAE

Senior Vice President for Events and Strategic Projects, Association for Corporate Growth

My biggest tip is connecting right into a hardline in my house. Wi-Fi was spotty at the beginning with everyone home and using bandwidth. Calling in the experts to get an ethernet line installed was the smartest thing I did.

Mary Beth Armbruster

Director of Operations and Member Services, Independent Electrical Contractors – Rocky Mountain Chapter

So many. One, Zoom filter “studio effects” that adds lipstick to my image. It looks like it’s just applied when my “real” lipstick has long worn off. Two, tall Ugg boots to keep my legs warm without running up my heating bill. Three, dual monitors to replicate office efficiency. Four, a sit/stand desk to allow ergonomic flexibility. Five, taking a short lunch break in another room, not in my home office.

Therese Brown

Executive Director, Association of Catholic Publishers

Starting the day by doing something I love to do—which for me is read. I pick up my current book and read for 30 minutes or so before I even leave my bed. It’s a great way to wake up. I’ve already accomplished something small in the day. And I’m always in a good mood.

Roger Nelson

CEO, West and Southeast Realtors of the Valley, Inc.

Create a work desk environment at home that is identical to the one I have in the office. I have three monitors, a desk I can raise and lower, a web camera stand, and a microphone.

Amy Mrugalski, CAE

Senior Strategic Initiatives Manager, American College of Trial Lawyers

Go for short walks at least twice a day. When I notice I am getting bogged down in email and not making progress on anything, I step away for five to 10 minutes and take a quick walk outside. While I walk, I’m able to think for a moment about what I really need to focus on, and when I return, I am ready to jump back in more effectively. I also vacillated for months about whether to bring home one of my large monitors from the office, but I’m in a small space working at my dining room table, so the thought of moving the monitor around each day and finding a place to store it was not appealing. At the TEC Virtual Conference, someone mentioned a wireless keyboard, and as simple as that was, it was a lightbulb moment for me. My laptop is still sitting on cookbooks, but my neck doesn’t hurt because now I can have the screen as high as I want and still type comfortably.

Brian Glade

Consultant

My son is attending high school virtually. Working from home, I would usually not pay attention to eating lunch at a specified time, grabbing something on the go, or sometimes not eating at all. But now, we have dedicated a specific time each day for us to eat lunch together. It has brought us together as a family, provided a needed break, and helped with our nutrition.

Steven Humphrey

Senior Director of Conferences, Meetings, and Technology Services, Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine

Wake up and get dressed like you’re going to the office. It makes the day feel more official than just staying in sweats.

 

(Daisy-Daisy/iStock/Getty Images Plus)