The YouTube Version: Bears and Boundaries and Conference Calls – Working Remotely From Home With Kids!

The YouTube Version: Bears and Boundaries and Conference Calls – Working Remotely From Home With Kids!

Brett Burney

My guest today is someone very special to me because I’ve been married to her for almost 20 years … my wife Stephanie Burney!

This is a special edition of the podcast that we wanted to do together because we’re home together … and actually we’ve been home together for about 13 years since I work from home and Stephanie has been a full-time teacher, home-schooling our two children.

Because we know so many of YOU are working from home this week, I personally wanted to share some tech-tips & apps with you, and I invited Stephanie to share some logistical lessons-learned about being home with the kids!

While we have a routine that we’ve been following for a long time, we realize that having the kids home, and overseeing their academic endeavors is something that’s being forced on you, and we wanted to share some practical pointers.

We recorded this episode for YouTube so you can watch it if you prefer, so you can see some of the apps and tips as we describe them.

And if any of these tips are helpful, feel free to buy us a (virtual) cup of coffee!

Stephanie’s Logistical Tip #1:

Have a plan with articulable (and articulated!) expectations for everyone

  • 20% of today is a good tomorrow.
  • Momentum matters—if it’s not helping you, chuck it or change it.
  • Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit … wisdom is knowing that tomatoes don’t belong in a fruit salad.

Brett’s Techie Tip #1:

Tips for Remote Meetings (Zoom, GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts, etc.)

  • Prop your laptop up so that folks are not looking up your NOSE!
  • Good lighting is so important! Natural light from windows is best!
  • Know where the MUTE button is located!
  • In Zoom, you can actually press and hold the space bar for a “push-to-talk” while you are muted!
  • Craig Ball’s Zoom cheat-sheet
  • You can SHARE YOUR SCREEN! Great way to collaborate on documents before they are final! MUCH better than emailing versions and drafts back and forth.

Stephanie’s Logistical Tip #2:

Structure, Anchors, And Boundaries Help Everyone

  • Structure: Firm, but flexible. Have “Start” and “End” windows.
  • Anchors: Start the day with a family meeting to go over the agenda. Be intentional about meals and breaks. Have a “Quiet Time” for the kids so they miss each other for a while.
  • Boundaries: Have a dedicated workspace and put things away. Change clothes to signal the start and end point of every day. Never interrupt a person who is in “the zone.”

Brett’s Techie Tip #2:

Know how to use a VPN – a “Virtual Private Network”

  • Know WHEN to use a VPN – when you’re connected to an open, public, wireless network and need to send a private, confidential, sensitive email.
  • If you’ve NEVER used a VPN before, there are many to choose from but my best recommendation is to look at one called Tunnel Bear. It’s cute and memorable, and free to use up to 500MB a month. That’s plenty of data to get yourself familiar with how it works.
  • Download the app to your iPhone and iPad and next time you connect to an open, public wifi, and BEFORE you send that confidential email, open the app and turn it on. You’ll see a little bear dig a tunnel and it will be turned on.

Stephanie’s Logistical Tip #3:

Everyone Has Responsibilities, Chores, And Pulls Weight

  • Responsibilities are specific to the individual’s development
  • Chores are household tasks that get done for everyone’s benefit
  • Pulling weight is doing these things to the best of your ability
  • Webinars, conference calls, and such are a group effort (reduce noise like putting the dog in their cage, doing quiet work, don’t hog the bandwidth)

Brett’s Techie Tip #3:

Your Phone or iPad Hotspot

  • Many of you know that your Phone can act as a wireless hotspot!
  • For iPhones & iPads:
    • Go into Settings and towards the top you’ll see “Personal Hotspot” if your phone or iPad supports that
    • By default this is OFF and you should ALWAYS turn it OFF unless you’re using it because it can drain your data plan!
    • Change the Wi-Fi Password so that it’s something unique to you!

Stephanie’s Logistical Tip #4:

Balance ⚖️ 🧘‍♀️

  • Self-discipline is a skill; allow everyone the opportunity to flub in terms of productivity. It takes a lot of self-discipline to stay productive without bosses, colleagues, meetings, teachers, and grades.
  • Accept that roles will become more fluid, and that you will sometimes catch yourself wearing the wrong hat.
  • Occasionally chuck the whole thing and do whatever you want. It WILL be okay.

Brett’s Techie Tip #4:

Nextdoor www.nextdoor.com

  • Virtual neighborhood “hub” – kind of like a hyper-localized Facebook for your neighborhood.
  • For iOS and Android

PulsePoint www.pulsepoint.org

  • It’s connected in to your local 911 service, and local Fire/EMS agencies, so when a call goes in for cardiac arrest, local people that know CPR can be notified so they can help, but the app can generally alert you about ANY medical or fire emergency in your area.

Stephanie’s Logistical Tip #5:

Keep The Conversation Going

  • The worst-case scenario is that you change your mind—you can even change it back!
  • Have a thicker skin for the impatience and criticism of those who love you most.
  • Given a sufficient amount of time, boredom will cultivate inventiveness and transform itself into imagination.
  • Remember that this will all be a story told to your great-grandchildren. What do you want them to remember about you?

Brett’s Techie Tip #5:

SmartNews www.smartnews.com

  • There are variety of places that you can go for news but this is my favorite news aggregator. And it’s free!

Libby www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/

  • Fantastic free app that you can connect to your library account.
  • Quick tip:
    • Find an e-book in Libby
    • But instead open it in your free Kindle app
    • While you’re reading, highlight important passages just like you had a highlighter in your hand and your own copy to mark up.
    • Then you can visit read.amazon.com/notebook which gives you access to all those notes and highlights!!
    • Sometimes till run into export limits due to copyright 😉

And if any of these tips are helpful, feel free to virtually buy us a coffee!

Also if you have any questions at all please send me (us) and email at brett@appsinlaw.com