Kevin Curtis

1 Year of Remote Working: Building an Office

Published March 13, 2021

One year ago today, I started my first long term remote working time. Previously, I had often worked remotely once or twice a week, often biking to a local coffee shop or the library to work. But on that Friday the 13th, I found myself in a different situation.

The Thursday before, I found that my son was sick with Influenza-B, so I had planned on working remote that Friday anyways. With all the talk about the Cornavirus making it to Wisconsin, my co-workers and I were making predictions of when the office would have people work remotely. So as I left that Thursday, I made sure to have everything I'd need to work remotely for a couple days of staying at home.

With all the bedrooms taken, I had to carve out a little space in my unfinished basement in order to have a defined workspace. I had an old table, a dining room chair, and a second monitor to start off the remote life. Sadly, all the beer in the picture was expired. First Day Setup

That Friday, the email went out that contractors were to work remotely. I was glad that I had grabbed what I needed, as I wasn't sure I'd be able to come back to the office anytime soon. First thing I needed to do was to get an office chair in. Finding a full mesh one was a little bit difficult and I had to travel a bit outside my neighborhood to find one. In addition, I picked up a bike trainer to make sure I got some exercise during my remote working time. New Chair

After a bit, I decided to make some more space for myself and moved out a bunch of shelves into the rest of the basement. I put down some leftover carpet to make the space feel warmer. Getting a poster up and some of my kids work made it feel more like home. Cleared out space

In July, my company offered me a full time position, which I gladly accepted. When I stopped by the office to sign paperwork, I grabbed the pair of monitors and laptop dock from my desk. Two monitors is great, but three is optimal! Additionally, I brought out a small, old bookcase, a file cabinet, and a printer to round out the office. Every office needs a printer. Looking like an office with a printer

With the space opened up, I decided to add some bookshelves. This allowed me to make it feel more like a study, rather than a hole in the wall. I'm still working on making it better, but at least now it feels like a place I can work in even after the pandemic. Adding shelves makes this feel like home