I've worked from home for 2 and a half years after working in only office environments in cubicles.
I find one of the hardest to define and most important was work signalling. When I worked in an office there were many signals that got me mentally and physically prepared to do work. These included:
Getting dressed - I have never worked in my underwear from home but I now make a point to put on some nice pants and shoes and fix my hair/wash my face etc.
Driving - Not commuting is a huge time and energy saver but it still gave me some quiet time to prepare for the day. I now either go for a walk in the morning or "get to work" 15 minutes early and read something interesting and tech oriented.
Greeting Coworkers - I still haven't found a good replacement for this. It's hard to catch up on water cooler talk remotely especially since half my team doesn't even use IM. I try to check in with questions from the previous day or a quick status update via email within the first hour of work.
The office - I've moved my office a couple of times and find it's best if the office is a dedicated room, not a nook or a corner of the living room but something with it's own decor and sense of place. I painted my office spring green to be cheery and have some plants and a bookshelf with tech books on it. I put a glass whiteboard up that I use to brainstorm and will point my webcam at it if I'm working with a remote coworker on something that requires it.
When I first started working form home I thought that distractions were my biggest problem but I've since realized that it's not so much getting rid of distractions, but getting INTO work.
I find one of the hardest to define and most important was work signalling. When I worked in an office there were many signals that got me mentally and physically prepared to do work. These included:
Getting dressed - I have never worked in my underwear from home but I now make a point to put on some nice pants and shoes and fix my hair/wash my face etc.
Driving - Not commuting is a huge time and energy saver but it still gave me some quiet time to prepare for the day. I now either go for a walk in the morning or "get to work" 15 minutes early and read something interesting and tech oriented.
Greeting Coworkers - I still haven't found a good replacement for this. It's hard to catch up on water cooler talk remotely especially since half my team doesn't even use IM. I try to check in with questions from the previous day or a quick status update via email within the first hour of work.
The office - I've moved my office a couple of times and find it's best if the office is a dedicated room, not a nook or a corner of the living room but something with it's own decor and sense of place. I painted my office spring green to be cheery and have some plants and a bookshelf with tech books on it. I put a glass whiteboard up that I use to brainstorm and will point my webcam at it if I'm working with a remote coworker on something that requires it.
When I first started working form home I thought that distractions were my biggest problem but I've since realized that it's not so much getting rid of distractions, but getting INTO work.