Ten tips on working from home


There is a high chance that the Corona virus issue will force more of us to work from home – or at least remotely from wherever you regularly work . It is not an easy transition for people who are not used to doing it often and for what it’s worth – I thought I will share what works for me and maybe some tweaks will make it work for you too .

1. Upgrade to the best internet plan you can afford for your home office

It’s the equivalent of wearing comfy shoes when you have to walk a long time . You can thank me later 🙂

Goes without saying – make sure your VPN etc work fine on remote networks before you start working from home . Know the help desk number upfront and write it down somewhere easy to see .

2. Learn to walk and talk

Sitting for long periods of time is not easy on many levels . Get yourself good headsets and start walking and talking any chance you get . I often take calls from my backyard and just pace back and forth hundreds of times .

3. Let people know when you are available and when you are not

Unlike in a traditional office – working from home will need changes for schedule . You maybe able to get work done that you might otherwise we driving . So change the hours as needed and let people know explicitly via calendar , email etc . For the first few times – when mention it on your calls .

Similarly your break times maybe different . Since you start work early for example – you may take a longer break at lunch and then catchup again at normal commute hours . As long as everyone knows your schedule , you can minimize frustration

Remember – if you don’t draw boundaries around work , work will draw boundaries around you and it may not be pleasant

4. De-clutter like a maniac

You don’t need a lot of stuff around you to be productive . Keep your computer , notebook, phone , spare pens , beverage and snacks handy . Ask hard questions if you feel tempted to put anything extra near you and your default answer should be no . Again – you can thank me later 🙂

I also try to keep the printer at home away from my sight whenever possible . That has helped reduce the number of prints I take significantly .

You don’t need to work from the same location every time either . I often work from three or four different places within my home depending on what I am working on . The less things you need to be productive , the better your chances of changing the scenery . This helps me stay focused a lot longer .

5. Have a plan B and C for alternate locations

Distractions happen and you will need to work from elsewhere from time to time . Scout a few places and keep that list handy – and make sure you know how to access wifi from those locations and any limitations like whether you can talk freely , how long you can hang out there , what $$ you need to spend there etc

6. Gain agreement with your family – and neighbors too, if needed

You are still working and they need to know that you being there in person doesn’t mean that they have your attention . Develop a short hand and be consistent . Trust me – this is a lot harder than you may think at first .

7. Video is your friend when used wisely

Impersonal calls become a lot more personal when people can see you . But if you think video is a distraction – don’t switch it on . For early morning calls where you haven’t shaved and showered , just leave the video off . Similarly , don’t feel pressured to dress up for every single meeting . Remember you don’t need to switch on the video if you don’t want to

8. Work extra hard in the beginning

New environments come with new distractions . Compensate by working a bit harder till you find your balance . Your team shouldn’t have to compensate for your distractions . Get the job done and soon everyone will have faith that work from home actually is effective and efficient

Try to do some 1:1 type meetings in person even when you are primarily working from home . As much as collaboration tools are great – real face time helps !

9. Eat right and exercise

You should be doing it anyway – but it’s one of those things that easily falls apart when you are home more than you are used to . If needed , break the exercise time to two or three .

10. Careful when you drive

Work often tends to spill over to driving time . Nothing wrong with it unless it becomes a distraction and you keep glancing at your phone to see charts while someone is talking and you are driving . Pls don’t be stupid on this front .

Rest In Peace, Acha


Feb 23rd evening in Chandler, my phone buzzed with a WhatsApp call . It was the first time ever that my father called on WhatsApp . He had only started with WhatsApp about a month ago or so and have been taking baby steps with forwards and so on . I immediately answered .

He called primarily to console me on losing our beloved Hobo a few days ago .

He insisted that I buy a new puppy quickly . I told him I needed some time to grieve but I am definitely planning to get a new pup soon . He took it literally when I said “soon” and asked if I planned to get a puppy in the two weeks before I left for India 🙂

Till I left home after college , he used to indulge me a lot when it came to my love for dogs . My grandfather bought me my first fully and acha bought me everyone who came after .

He asked about our plans for our daughter’s 15th birthday and I told him about stepping out for dinner with her in a few minutes given the next day was a school day .

And then he asked me what only he considers a perfectly normal question – “How are your cars?” !

Achan was the biggest connoisseur of cars that I ever knew . Three years ago, when we needed a second car – I chose a Toyota over a Merc . And a month or two later , my parents visited at us Chandler for a vacation . Achan and I sat in our backyard and for hours we discussed pros and cons of engine design and the future of cars . Amma took this photo from behind us and later shared with me 🙂

Achan was a genuine mechanical engineer – someone who intuitively understood how machines worked . I became a mechanical engineer – not even half as good – because I wanted to be like him ! He taught me how to drive a car when I was 14 , over a summer vacation . He would park the car uphill , switch seats with me , and as I struggled to keep the car from rolling downward – he would ask me “tell me how a rack and pinion system works in the steering” or “explain how the clutch engages”. Needless to say , a few years later when I had to study automobile engineering in college – I aced it 🙂 .

He was a passionate driver , as is his maternal uncle who is only three years older than him . Between the two of them, it was common to go on 18 hour drives with Achan doing 9 hours of driving during day time and Maman doing 9 hours after sunset .

One of my fondest memories of childhood is sitting in the backseat of his white Fiat car and asking him to overtake a random car in front of us – and he would always oblige me !

When I was a little kid , he would often take me to the local vegetarian restaurants and we would have Dosa . Those were our dad-son bonding moments . And that’s a tradition we have continued over the years – with me taking him out for Dosa when he visited me in US or I visited him in Trivandrum . I enjoy Sambar with Dosa and he enjoys chutney with Dosa . So every time we eat Dosa outside – I take his bowl of sambar and he would take my chutney bowl . And we would always order two cups of filter coffee each – one before the dosas and one to eat with the Dosa . Those are habits that have stuck with me all these years .

It turned out that my daughter and my nephew – his darling grand children – both enjoy Dosa , and I think he has trained them both on the art of eating Dosa the same way as he did with me 🙂

When I was five years old, I learned to play cards from my paternal grandparents . But it was Achan who taught my little sister and I (and some of our cousins as well) to take up playing rummy as a competitive sport 🙂 . Perhaps playing rummy was the only aspect of his life where he played to win !

He had a very special fondness for my sister Lekshmi , and her husband Ravi was like a son for him, much like my wife Dhanya was a daughter for him .

Any time I visited him and left – I knew he felt bad . But when it was she – he would be downright depressed and his eyes would well up .

She was his favorite baby girl throughout !

Achan never met a stranger in his life . With his humor and humility and sense of fair play – he put everyone at ease immediately. He was one of those very few people that had no enemies and he never thought ill of anyone – even those that didn’t do right by him . While he got along splendidly with everyone – there were two cohorts of friends that he absolutely adored . The first were his pals from the 1970 class of College Of Engineering, TRIVANDRUM . And the other was his family of colleagues from ALIND where he worked most of his career .

I believe to this day that the best thing Acha ever did was to marry amma . They were inseparable for nearly 46 years through thick and thin . They never made a lot of money but they had an incredible life together through their (often comic and some times tragic) ups and downs . They gifted us kids the wealth of a great education and taught us their values .

He was an only child and absolutely was the eye of the apple for my grand parents . We all used to tease my grand parents for rushing to grab extra towels for him when he came out after a shower even when he was in his thirties 🙂 . When they passed away, he took it really hard and used to say “Now I am an orphan”.

His dad was an award winning historian and his mom was a trained classical musician . Achan probably inherited his love for reading and Carnatic music from his parents and he dutifully passed it to me .

I introduced him to the music of Sreevalsan Menon some years ago and he became a die hard fan . As he lay unconscious in the critical care unit of SK Hospital last week for several days, I played his favorite songs for him via the pink headset that my daughter had gifted him and I hope that he enjoyed it as he always did .

As it turned out, that 8 minutes and 31 seconds WhatsApp call on Feb 23 evening was the last time I spoke with him . And the last thing I told him was that my cars are doing fine 🙂 .

Yesterday night, I held his hand while he went into his final sleep peacefully . As the flames took his earthly remains today afternoon , I couldn’t help imagining his parents were waiting with open arms – and extra towels – in heaven for their favorite son !

We will miss you for ever, Acha – but you left us with such great memories for a life time that will keep us all going . I am sure you will be driving your favorite cars in heaven , and blasting your favorite songs !

Post Script

Many thanks to all our friends and family for all the kind words and prayers . A special shout out to Malu chechi and Hemachandran Chettan for going way above and beyond . And a lot of gratitude to the doctors (especially Dr Ravi , Dr Remya and Dr Renju) and nurses at SK a hospital for taking such good care of Acha and for answering all our questions honestly .

Hobo Vijayasankar – 12/31/2009 to 2/21/2020


Hobo joined our family on our daughter Shreya’s fourth birthday when he was about 8 weeks old .

We picked him up after her birthday party from his breeder Marci Sale’s house in Gilbert . He rode back home on Dhanya’s lap and I remember him squirming the entire way back. Sitting still was not his thing 🙂

Boss was five years old at the time and immediately took Hobo under his wings

Some of my most favorite moments those days were the time I spent with Shreya, Boss and Hobo in the backyard and in the pool at our old house.

They were inseparable – and so different . Boss was all brain and Hobo was all brawn . If I tossed an orange into the pool for them to fetch , Hobo would do a spectacular dive to get it back – and then at the last minute Boss will take it from him and deliver it to me 🙂

The only thing Boss really didn’t share very much with Hobo was me . It was clear to Hobo that Boss didn’t like him to be right next to me if he was around . He had to wait his turn . If I pet Hobo first – Boss would immediately sulk 🙂

But everything else was fine – Boss had no trouble letting Hobo share toys , treats , bedding etc . And unlike Boss , Hobo was not destructive when it came to toys – he just liked to carry them around .

Hobo didn’t like dog shows one bit . That was not his idea of fun . I am convinced he could have also been an obedience champion like my German Shepherd – and he was proofed on everything up to CDX when we gave up . I had no interest left in competing to win – so when o realized he didn’t like it, we stopped training .

He was the ultimate retriever . And fetching oranges from our pool was the one thing he didn’t mind doing a thousand times .

Eventually, I had to stop allowing him to swim after he started hurting and crying the next day.

Just as Boss did to him , when Ollie joined our family – it was Hobo’s turn to be the four year old big brother to the seven week old young gun . To be fair , Boss did his fair share in raising the kid as well .

I think what Hobo taught him first was to sit next to me and stare at me till I shared whatever was on my plate with them .

I am sure it was Boss who taught Hobo that it’s a foolproof strategy that works every single time .

When Boss left us for the rainbow bridge three years ago, Hobo took over immediately as my shadow . He was just there right next to me, checking on me from time to time and making sure I knew he was there for me .

Being a New Year’s Eve baby – Hobo’s birthday was the easiest to remember . And ice cream was his favorite birthday treat . We returned from Europe the day before his birthday last year to make sure we can celebrate with him .

He loved riding shot gun with me in the car .

We would have our silly conversations and he wouldn’t take his eyes off me throughout the drive.

When we celebrated his tenth birthday, he was still a bouncy young puppy . I don’t think he ever mentally grew up much beyond six months or so . It took very little to make him excited and jump around barking . Dhanya used to tease him with a new trash bag before putting it in the kitchen bin and he would go nuts .

Hobo enjoyed going for walks . Showing him the leash was a shire shot way of raising his excitement through the roof

Past his tenth birthday though, he started slowing down . He preferred sunbathing in the back lawn to playing fetch

He started having some trouble getting up , and he needed supplements for his joints and for his liver . But apart from a week or so where he lost appetite – he had almost returned to normal .

While I realized we didn’t have a lot of time left with him, I didn’t realize that it will come so soon . I had to fly to NY on Wednesday afternoon . As usual, before leaving I let him and Ollie our for a potty break .

Hobo was the first to come back in and we shared a banana . That was the last meal we shared . Today as I am flying back home, Dhanya messaged me mid air that he passed away in his sleep .

I am sure Boss is waiting at the Rainbow bridge for you dear Ojo-Bojo – May there be plenty of oranges for you to fetch and pools for you to swim . Till we meet again buddy !