<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I\u2019m a teleconferencer now. That\u2019s a thing. A thing I do.\nHow I work. I don\u2019t go in to work anymore, thanks to the coronavirus. Now that Flagler\nCollege, where I work, has gone to online classes, staff like me are \u201ccommuting\u201d\nto our home offices where we\u2019ve setup lots of screens, consume tremendous\namounts of bandwidth and sit in front of video cameras in our pajamas where we\nsay to other co-workers in pajamas, \u201cSo, when was the last time you saw an\nactual, in-the-flesh human?\u201d or \u201cDo you know how we could make money playing\nonline poker?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s kind of cool and kind of spooky. Kind of high-tech and\nkind of disorienting. Millions of Americans just like me are now commuting to\nwork on Zoom, Skype, Teams or, for some of the less-technologically-advanced,\ntelegram by Western Union stagecoach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in the week I\u2019ve been a teleconferencer, I\u2019ve already\nlearned so much about how to be successful, and I thought I would share some tips\nwith you in case you\u2019re also stuck at home: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Personal hygiene \u2013 It\u2019s very important to keep this up,\nboth for your professional appearance, as well as your pride. Nothing screams\n\u201cI can\u2019t do this anymore \u2026 coronavirus take me now!\u201d than only shaving one side\nof your face, letting your hair look like it got caught in a blender or getting\non a video call with a toothbrush tucked behind your ear. Oh, and shower at\nleast once a week. They haven\u2019t shut the water off, and your smell is starting\nto wilt the houseplants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 People can see you \u2026 don\u2019t forget that \u2026 the whole time\nyou\u2019re on! \u2013 There are lots of videos out there showing how people are messing\nthis up. One woman went to the bathroom while on a teleconference. It\u2019s easy to\nget distracted and forget you\u2019re on camera. Like when your dog scratches on\nyour office door and you scream, \u201cIF YOU DO THAT ONE MORE TIME, I\u2019M GOING TO\nKILL YOU!!!\u201d Yep, all your co-workers heard that \u2026 and they\u2019re instant\nmessaging the ASPCA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Your dog will annoy you \u2013 Get used to it! This is just in\ntheir DNA. They see you at home and they think, \u201cAs I recall, he REALLY likes\npretzels. I bet if I act like I have rabies or gnaw on his chair, he\u2019ll go get\nthe bag!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Follow a routine \u2013 This is really important for productivity.\nFor getting into a rhythm, adapting to this new work environment and becoming a\nmore focused worker. I wake up, eat, get dressed in what I would normally wear\nto work, sit down at the computer with a cup of coffee, repeat to myself three\ntimes, \u201cI can do this! I can do this! I can do this!\u201d and then immediately go work\non the puzzle of Radio City Music Hall at Christmastime I started a couple days\nago. Thanks to these steps, I can go like this for hours! It\u2019s all about\nsetting a routine and following it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Don\u2019t freak out when the WIFI goes down \u2013 You\u2019re already\nunder stress, adapting to a new situation and your nerves are frayed. You\u2019re one\ncrisis away from running through the neighborhood naked while screaming, \u201cToo\nmany devices beeping at me!\u201d So, if your WIFI goes out, resist the urge to completely\nsnap, strip to your underwear and start throwing things around your office.\nRemember: People can see you \u2026 as your WIFI probably just came back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Recognize that people need people \u2013 I went to church on Facebook this past Sunday. It was strange. Not because of the service, but because my family and I were sitting around the office, I had a cup of coffee and we were all in loungewear. But I felt a bond with everyone that I didn\u2019t think you could get through high-speed cables or digital transmission. A sense of belonging and togetherness. A need to be together. People typed into the comments that they didn\u2019t feel so alone. It\u2019s incredible how technology \u2013 stupid, dumbs-us-down, Kardashian-loving technology \u2013 can bring us together when we\u2019re all feeling so isolated, whether it\u2019s work or wherever. So, use it to get better connected, and reach out to those who might also need a little person-to-person interaction. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good luck all of you brave workers doing the telecommute\nthing from home. Don\u2019t forget to brush your teeth, and remember that you\u2019re on camera.\nDon\u2019t throw stuff, go to the bathroom or yell at your dog. Remember: she just\nwants pretzels! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So, I\u2019m a teleconferencer now. That\u2019s a thing. A thing I do. How I work. I don\u2019t go in to work anymore, thanks to the coronavirus. Now that Flagler College, where I work, has gone to online classes, staff like me are \u201ccommuting\u201d to our home offices where we\u2019ve setup lots of screens, consume tremendous amounts of bandwidth and sit in front of video cameras in our pajamas where we say to other co-workers in pajamas, \u201cSo, when was the last time you saw an actual, in-the-flesh human?\u201d or \u201cDo you know how we could make money playing online poker?\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s kind of cool and kind of spooky. Kind of high-tech and kind of disorienting. Millions of Americans just like me are now commuting to work on Zoom, Skype, Teams or, for some of the less-technologically-advanced, telegram by Western Union stagecoach. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[576,577,559],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2020-nutshells","category-coronavirus","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2059"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2062,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2059\/revisions\/2062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}