I love working from home hahaha I love it so much. No, that’s not the Stockholm syndrome talking, this is how I feel—really. I love working from home and I hate being around people during the day. The isolation doesn’t stifle my productivity! Not one bit!
When I say I’m an introvert, I’m doing it because I genuinely prefer to be alone and working from home helps channel that creative energy we all crave. None of this is sarcasm or irony or parody. It’s not like I worked from home freelancing full-time in a place where I knew no one for nearly three years before taking a nosedive into clinical depression and and and [redacted].
To prove how much I ADORE working from home, I’ve collaborated with the rest of the content team here at The Inventory to bring you Work From Home Week (3/16-3/20), featuring a star-studded cast of writers who, like me, are working from home. Not for any particular reason. Just ‘cause!
HR didn’t send out a companywide email “encouraging all employees to work remotely until further notice” because we’re based in Times Square and the city is in a state of emergency or anything. We just felt like sitting in our PJs all week, cooped up with our roommates, pets, and significant others in our tiny, barely livable let alone workable New York homes.
Work From Home Week: What We Covered
We ushered in a deluge of pure, unadulterated Content™ to help keep you on task through the next—let’s face it—six months or so spent toiling away in our beds.
To kick things off, Tres Dean, author of For Your Consideration: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, made his debut on The Inventory with our official Work From Home Starter Kit. Then, longtime Gawker/Univision/G-O contributor Jolie Kerr detailed her own Work From Home routine in the hopes that it might help you too (it’s certainly helped me) in a WFH-flavored Squalor.
Former Lifehacker EIC and friend of the show Whitson Gordon showed you how to build your own portable work-from-home setup. Resident outdoorsperson Heather Balogh Rochfort proposed a list of snacks to eat whether you’re working from home or out on the trail.
But that’s not all: In-house, we had a team of editors working on all sorts of new guides. These included food delivery service recommendations by Ignacia Fulcher and a newly revived Buy Committee from Tercius (No Known Last Name) which answers the question on everyone’s minds, “Should I Buy Animal Crossing” in these desperate, secluded times?
Oh, and I wrote some stuff too! Like, well, this page which I’ll update throughout the week with every new WFH post as it’s published (though you can also click the WFH Week tag!); a standing desk co-op that’s just ripe for the occasion, and DEALS DEALS DEALS on all the hottest, rarest necessities.
Now, let’s get to work.
The Inventory Presents: Work From Home Week
Working From Home? Here’s the Ultimate Starter Kit - Tres Dean
As a writer, I love working from home—except for all the times I don’t. Few career choices fluctuate so sharply between absolutely ideal and nearly unbearable. Pro: You can work in your pajamas. Con: You go four days without changing out of your pajamas. Pro: You don’t have to talk to anyone. Con: There’s nobody to talk to. It’s a difficult learning curve to navigate if you aren’t prepared, and with office closures multiplying around the country a lot of folks may be going into working from home unprepared. Let’s fix that.
Best Seller: Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard
Co-Op: What’s the Best Standing Desk? - Gabe Carey
I need a standing desk that is easy to set up but adjustable to my personal eye level. One that is ergonomic and, if possible, automatic. I need the best standing desk that’ll ship to my house because I’m certainly not leaving anytime soon. Will you help me find what I’m looking for?
Best Seller: TBA
Six Delicious Trail Snacks to Eat While You’re Stuck at Home - Heather Balogh Rochfort
Not only are we all setting up shop in our houses, but grocery stores are literally running out of food. It’s a weird world out there, folks. I’m not sure I can do much of anything about the global pandemic (aside from that social distancing thing) but I can help you on the work-from-home snack front.
Best Seller: Honey Stinger Organic Waffles - Caramel
I Work From Home and These Three Habits Give Me Structure - Jolie Kerr
I’ve worked from home for many years now, and I love it. And because I’ve done it for so long, I’ve given a lot of advice to friends and colleagues over the years about the ways I stay disciplined. I have not, however, ever shared these tips publicly and so today I shall do so! These are the three habits that I most often cite as being key to making working from home, um, work for me.
Best Seller: Caldrea Linen and Room Spray
You Need Some Chores - Jolie Kerr
Under normal circumstances, I believe in chores. I do wish they had a better name and/or branding! But well, chores are what they are and I believe that having chores is a good habit. Having a routine set of chores is the terribly boring secret to how those people who have “effortlessly” clean homes achieve that lofty state, in fact.
Best Seller: Utopia Kitchen Flour Sack Dish Towels
Six Cozy Styles That Make the Most of Your WFH Experience - Megan Collins
If you have ever worked from home (y’know, pre-global pandemic), you’ve probably heard the advice, “make sure to get yourself dressed every morning so you feel like you’re really working.”
Whether these words of wisdom come from well-meaning friends who telecommute or productivity experts, I say: I hear where they’re coming from, but also, well, fuck that. The world is burning and you might as well ride it out in your most “only to be worn at home” gear.
Build Your Own Portable, Packable Work-From-Home Setup - Whitson Gordon
If you plan on working from home, a dedicated office is ideal. But if you’re just starting to dip your toe into the telecommuting pool and don’t have a dedicated space for a desk, office chair, and desktop computer ... well, the dining room table will work in a pinch. You just need a few tools to make the experience more comfortable and compact.
Best Seller: Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
Six Clever Ways to Groom While You Work - Megan Collins
From leave-in conditioners and laissez-faire skincare tricks to low barrier-to-entry beard oils, check out some no brainer ways to set and forget your grooming routine while you WFH/stress-binge Netflix.
Best Seller: Davines Oi Hair Butter
Five Lap Desks That Lend Gravitas to Working in Bed - Jolie Kerr
A reality of working from home is that working from home often means working from bed, or working from couch. While not ideal, it’s likely to happen at some point in your work-from-home-day. If you regularly find yourself working from bed, or working from couch, or working from some place that does not involved a chair and a table or desk, investing in a lap desk can help to make the experience more comfortable.
Best Seller: Sofia + Sam Oversized Memory Foam Lap Desk
Five Inexpensive Add-Ons to Power Up Your Home-Built PC - Whitson Gordon
When building a PC, most people focus their attention on the core hardware: the motherboard, CPU, graphics card, and so on. But once your build is up and running, you can still make improvements. Here are five cheap accessories that make every home-built PC better.
Best Seller: Mini USB Fingerprint Reader for Windows
These Five Food Delivery Services and Apps Will Get You Through Social Distancing - Ignacia Fulcher
Picture this—you’re confined to your home indefinitely, it’s been three days and you’ve run out of snacks to eat. I’m sure we have all been there because we’re adjusting to a new normal.
Luckily, that new normal doesn’t exclude the food delivery services that we’re used to. Apparently they’ve adjusted, too! All the delivery apps and services allow you a no-contact option so you won’t have to feel nervous about being hungry and well ... eating. Not to mention waiving delivery fees so you can tip your driver for doing what needs to be done!
There’s Never Been a Better Time to Teach Your Kids to Cook - Ellen Lee
Working from home is challenging when you have kids interrupting you every 5 minutes. One way we’re keeping ours occupied—not to mention teaching them adulting skills for the future—is encouraging them to bake and cook.
Young kids love to help pour ingredients into a bowl. And for older kids, following a recipe and measuring ingredients can be a sneaky way to practice math, especially if the recipe needs to be adjusted.
Best Seller: OXO Good Grips Reusable Silicon Baking Cups
The Seven Best Standing Desks, According to Our Readers - Gabe Carey
“What’s the best standing desk?,” I asked, on a chaotic Monday afternoon earlier this week. Now that we’re spending so much of our precious time cooped up, working from home, and sitting on our asses all day, I figured now’s the time to start standing. After all, sitting is the new smoking, and everyone knows smoking isn’t cool anymore. (In this house, we vape!)
Best Seller: FlexiSpot M3B Standing Desk
The Five Best Snacks I’m Stress-Eating to Distract Myself Right Now - Gabe Carey
You see, physical activity is normally my default coping mechanism for anxiety. But since that’s no longer a viable option, at least not on an everyday basis, I’ve had the munchies. In the likely event that you do too, allow me to divulge my shameful snacking secrets.
Best Seller: Popcorners Snacks Variety Pack
Six Ways to Organize Your At-Home Work Space - Ignacia Fulcher
With everything going on right now, it’s hard to achieve a semi-sense of normalcy, especially if you’re used to working in an office. Whether your pets are a distraction, you watch too much TV, or general clutter is your issue, almost anything can be disastrous when you have work to do.
Here are a few tips so that you’ll (hopefully) make it through with your projects and sanity in-tact.
Best Seller: SimpleHouseware 6-Tray Organizer
Two Products to Help You Pound One Out Like a Champ While You’re Stuck Working From Home - Tercius
We’re in the middle of a pandemic and my non-committal stance on relationships really came back to bite me in the ass. And since I don’t have to commute and, for some reason, am expected to be more productive, I’d like to talk about masturbation.
Best Seller: Tenga Egg
Performance Wear Pieces to Upgrade Your Work-From-Home Wardrobe - Megan Collins
Whether you need a client-appropriate outfit for a video conference call (and honestly, I hope you do. The more life goes on through all this, the better), or you just want to feel slightly more put together than “sentient laundry pile,” our team pulled together the roundup for you.