With the spread of COVID-19 and the continued calls to stay home, our company also switched all employees to remote work as the basic mode of working at an early stage.

Since we already relied heavily on chat and video calls, I thought basic communication wouldn't be a problem. But as remote work has gone on for an extended period, I've started to notice some things that aren't going well, both individually and as a team.

In this article, I'll share what I personally keep in mind to keep working remotely well, along with some things we're doing as a team.

What I do as an individual

Our company already supported remote work based on each person's circumstances, but I've really come to realize that occasional remote work and working remotely every single day are more different than I expected.

Since remote work now means working almost 100% from home, I feel like switching mental gears and maintaining motivation haven't been going as smoothly.

Here's a quick list of things that seem to help right now.

Open the curtains, ventilate the room

I make sure to open the curtains and ventilate the room when I wake up. Getting sunlight and circulating fresh air helps me wake up properly.

It's a common piece of advice, but I think it's also important to firmly turn this kind of action into a habit.

Do light exercise like stretching

It's easy to end up not moving enough, so I make sure to do at least some light stretching. I also sometimes sit on a stretch ball instead of a chair while working, though I feel I should move my body a bit more.

Other team members say they do radio calisthenics, strength training, or jogging.

Take a shower and change clothes

Since I don't go outside, it's easy to let things slide—bed head, staying in pajamas all day—but taking a shower and properly changing clothes helps me switch into "going to work" mode.

Trying an outfit you're really committed to might be fun too.

Set clear time boundaries

Since you're at home the whole time, there's no commute or coming home, and it's easy to rush through meals as well. Because of that, it becomes harder to control your focus—you might end up working in a sluggish, unfocused way or skip breaks altogether.

The Pomodoro Technique is one way to stay conscious of time. You can adjust the intervals and method to whatever works best for you, but taking breaks at reasonable intervals and properly taking time for lunch seems to help you reset and maintain motivation.

Other things

I spend a bit more time than usual on everyday chores like brewing coffee, cooking, and doing the cleaning and laundry.

If I have the TV or a video playing, it tends to pull my attention away, so I mostly listen to music instead.

What we do as a team

Online lunch

Day-to-day progress updates and project meetings happen over video call, but recently we've also started connecting over video during lunchtime.

It's basically the lunch version of the online drinking parties that have become popular lately. It doesn't happen every day, and joining is entirely optional, but chatting casually seems to help everyone share how they're doing and refresh a bit.

Lunch breaks are usually around an hour, but apparently it works better to allow a bit more time when doing an online lunch—including time for preparing and cleaning up food—so people can join without feeling rushed.

Neither as individuals nor as a team are we doing anything particularly unusual, but I feel that writing it all out like this can also be a good way to organize and share our thinking. We'll keep feeling our way forward from here.