Working Remotely: Focus on Adrian Stanley

Adrian Stanley is Digital Science’s Managing Director, Publishers and works from his home in Philadelphia. Here Adrian shares his working from home tips which include chocolate, to-do lists and pet treats.

1. The first thing for me is having a clean/organized workplace, I personally also enjoy moving/working in a couple of locations in my house, having good light and an outlook are important to me and help set the right tone and environment working from home.
2. Organizing your tasks and knowing yourself, to-do lists are great, but also balancing what are the top priorities for the day/week, what are the tasks you can do quickly, and what tasks need more time and attention. Knowing your most productive times is also good, some of us can be morning people, some find quiet time on an evening to be more effective.
3. Healthy snacks, and moving around are important, tangerines when in season are good for me, but I also like to have some chocolate nearby for some time in the day (as a team, we often joke if we get some good news in, someone must have just had a tangerine or chocolate ;-). I also like to start the day with a fresh brew of coffee, freshly ground coffee beans also have a great aroma, it’s good to stimulate all your senses.
4. If you have pets/dogs, know the triggers that can set them off barking, e.g. mail delivery, a noise outside, if they do bark in the middle of a call, it’s ok to apologize and introduce them, also have some pet treats close to hand.
5. Now during COVID-19 we also have to get creative with our time, for me personally having a 9-year-old son at home, I like to wake early before everyone, get an hour or so of work in before others rise, it just helps me feel like I am ahead of the day. When we work in different global locations, you can find yourself waking to a full inbox of emails.
6. Ensuring your computer and phone are synced for email and have the work messaging software is also important, easy to keep in touch. During this current situation, having your email set up for Offline access will be useful too, in case there are internet issues. Be prepared!