Lights, Camera, Career!
WFH started as a forced experiment for me — then one change helped me fall in love with this way of working
It’s hard to believe I’ve been working from home for 18 months.
It’s harder to believe how much I love it and am actively working to make this more permanent.
There are two distinct phases of my wfh life.
One was introduced to me by force. It was early March, 2020 and I had developed a mild early spring cold, complete with sneezing and a runny nose. These symptoms were suddenly added to the list of things to watch out for in our Covid-19 world (a virus that had just been given its name a week earlier) and I was sent home until further notice.
Two days later, everyone was sent home.
We thought it would be done in a week. Then a month. Maybe end of quarter? The return date kept moving and I kept resisting setting a permanent wfh space, especially when it came to my Zoom setup.
I truly hated these video meetings. I never looked right, I struggled to be heard. Eventually I just sat there, silent, letting others take the lead. I found it hard to manage a team this way. I found it impossible to share my ideas.
I was not surprised to learn in February my “services were no longer needed”. My services weren’t being used to their fullest the entire time I struggled with what was supposed to be a temporary situation.
Looking for work in the middle of lockdown was hard. Making a strong impression when you’ve never given a second thought to your video setup is impossible.
So, six months ago I experimented with making a permanent home office setup in my 500 square foot condo, with a minimal footprint, and the ability to house a tiny, temporary TV studio to enhance my screen presence.
I had two goals: it needed to be budget-friendly and easy to maintain.
And I did it.
The difference is immeasurable! Not only do I have my old confidence back, but I have the professional presence to start a consulting business.
I’ve learned a few things along the way. For one, adjusting your professional life to one that’s mainly online takes effort and knowledge. It’s more than just “face a window” (although that’s still a good lesson). And two, confidence comes from how you present yourself. You could be wearing a lovely blouse, but if your lighting is off or your angle is too low (or worse, too high) you still won’t look right. What’s worse, you may not know why and this feeling of “this doesn’t look right” can turn into “this doesn’t feel right” to “I don’t belong here”.
I’m not going to lie, it takes some adjusting to build your own tiny TV studio. But I can tell you it’s worth it.
I know this platform has all kinds of “buy my course here” posts. This is one of those too. I put together my entire approach to creating a more professional shot on Zoom (or Teams, or whatever platform your office is using) and break down why it works.
If you’re like me and you’ve fallen in love with working from home, there’s no reason why a bad shot should get in the way of your flourishing in your career on your terms.
my-tiny-tv-studio.teachable.com/p/set-up-your-tiny-tv-studio-in-one-day
