One of the most important, decisions you can make as a telecommuter is where to put your work area. Even if you work on a laptop with a wireless connection, you need to pick a place for work. In my previous post, I mentioned how easy it was for life and work to start blending together. Here's your first line of defense: When you're at your work area, it's time for work. When it's time to do non-work tasks such as reading a novel, watching TV, feeding your pet monkey, etc. then go away from your work area. Trust me on this one! Here's why: Our brains are optimized to deal with patterns. If you condition yourself to do work tasks at your work area and to avoid doing non-work task in your work area, then it will be much easier to maintain the separation between work and life. Repeat after me: "work != life".... Say it! SAY IT!!! SAY IT AGAIN!! There... That's better...

There are some important things to consider when picking a work area. First, it's best if that area is out of sight from the rest of the house. A spare bedroom (or office) with a door is ideal. My office is in half of a finished basement. (The rest of the basement has cabinets and shelves and is primarily used for storage.) There are two important reasons for being out of sight: First, you don't want to be reminded of work when it's not specifically time to work. Second, if you have anyone else living in the house then you don't want to be easily accessible to them during work.

Having a more remote location for your work area also helps when there are conversations going on in the house. I started out in an unused corner of the living room. If you haven't figured it out already, meetings at Sun tend to happen right after lunch in California: 1PM Pacific, 2PM Mountain, 3PM Central, 4PM Eastern. Around here, that's right around the time the kids usually get home from school. Being within 15 feet from teenage daughters for the first 15 minutes that they're home from school is not conducive to effective participation in a meeting.

I do have one exception to the "only do work tasks at your work area" rule: When I'm talking on the phone to a co-worker and I don't need to be in front of a monitor (particularly if the conversation is more social or relationship-building) then I take the opportunity to get out of my chair and walk around. I might just walk upstairs to get another cup of coffee. I might walk outside and sit on the front porch (ask anyone I work with about our wind chimes that sound like church bells). Heck, if it's Spring and the urge hits me, I might even pull a few weeds around the house... Or throw a load of laundry in the dryer. (All-Hands Meetings are better suited for laundry, though.)

Oh... In case you're wondering what the difference is between a "social" call and a "relationship-building" call. If I'm on the phone for an hour with a co-worker and my wife asks me what it was about, I tell her it was a social call. If my manager asks me, then I tell him it was a relationship-building call.

Another important consideration: How "livable" is your workspace going to be? Being in an unfinished basement with no windows would get old pretty quickly. Particularly if the surrounding area is cluttered and/or damp and/or dusty. Having a place that's relatively free of clutter will help your sanity. Having at least one window will do two things: Give you a sense of time and a sense of something (weather, people) happening outside of your little world. Remember that you will likely spend about half of your day in that area.

I'll go into this in more detail at a later time, but I can't help but mention this now: Get out of the house at least once a day! Go for a walk, a bike ride, run an errand, something! People who go into the office naturally get some minimal amount of exercise. Telecommuters need to make a conscious effort to get even the most minimal amount of exercise. Keep this in mind.

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This takes a bit more thought than you might imagine. Here are some things to consider:

• Do you share the phone line with anyone else in the house?

  If you live alone, you might be able to get away with using your existing phone service. I have a wife and (at the time I set this up) two teen-aged daughters at home. Let's just say I needed my own phone line for work.

• Should I get a traditional phone service or use Voice-over-IP (VoIP)?

  I work with two engineers who use VoiP. When I'm listening to them, there are times that they sound like they're breaking up, but all the sounds come through. I suspect it's a problem with dropped packets. They sound a little like Max Headroom. If you don't know who Max Headroom is, then you *might* too young to be a telecommuter.

• What kind of long distance service should I get?

  This is subtle, but important. There are roughly three possibilities for long distance service with most carriers: No long distance service (really!), unlimited long distance (for a fixed rate), or something in between (packages of units, flat fee per minute, etc.).

  Being an effective telecommuter means that you need to be an effective communicator and the phone is "the next best thing to being there". Chances are, you're going to be dialing into meetings and talking with individual co-workers. Sun (and most companies) have a service that supplies a toll-free number and an "international" number for conference calls. The "international" number is simply a long-distance number and is typically cheaper to use than the toll-free number.

  If you're on the phone as much as you probably should be and most of your work-related calls are outside your local calling area then it's worth considering unlimited long distance. BTW, dialing co-workers on their direct line is cheaper than using the toll-free number and punching in their extension.

  Minor rant: I wish people would put their DIRECT number in 'namefinder'. Every other person I've look up lately only has their Sun extention listed. You're costing the company money, folks!

If you're going to be a successful telecommuter, you're going to spend at least a few hours a week on the phone in meetings, talking with co-workers, etc. Here's what you'll need:

• Corded phone

  A two-line phone with caller ID is ideal. Look for a model that lets you adjust the ring volume on each line separately. Also, you'll want the style where the buttons are on the base because you'll also need a...

• Corded headset

  Crading the phone between your head and shoulder is going to cost you a lot of time and money... at the chiropractor's office. You're going to type, move a mouse, flip through papers (or a magazine) while on the phone. Get a headset!

  Plantronics tends to be very reliable. Your admin can probably order one for you. You absolutely need a mute button and a volume control. The battery-operated models work well. Oh... and after 6-12 months and you hear the soft "beep, beep, beep" through the headset when you pick up the phone, that means you need to change batteries. (I'm sure several of you are saying, "Oh *that's* what that beeping is about...".)

• Cordless phone with headset

  I've had good luck with Uniden phones (2.4GHz models). I have one that has two lines but if I were going to buy another cordless phone, I'd go with a single line. Why? Because when I'm on my work line and the home line rings, then (a) the person on the other end of my work line can hear it and (b) I find it disturbing to have my phone ringing when I'm already talking on it. (Note that I suggested separate ring controls on the corded phone. I haven't found that on a cordless phone yet.)

  Let us not forget the all-important headset for the cordless phone. If it doesn't have a mute button then don't bother. (Trust me... You will be in a meeting and need to go to the bathroom. You get the idea...) Another must-have is a volume control. Some days people are yelling at you. Other times they sound like "Mumbles" from the Dick Tracy movie. Finally, a "mic gain" switch is nice, but I've found that I usually leave it set on high.

Why both corded and cordless phones? You don't want to miss an important call because your batteries went dead.

There are basically three options, depending on your work style and preferences:

• Full-blown desktop/workstation

  If you like to maintain your own equipment and work "offline", then this is the solution for you. Many development engineers also have their own lab at home: A workstation plus (ideally) one of each kind of platform.

  Advantages As long as you have power, you can work. If your ISP service is interrupted or the VPN concentrators at work have a meltdown, you can still forge ahead (as long as you had enough forethought to install all the tools you need). Also, if you do your own maintenance, then you never have to wait around for anyone else if something breaks.

  Disadvantages You're doing your own system administration INCLUDING backing up your data... You *do* perform backups, don't you? Oh, and it's noisy (fans) and can get a little warm. Watch that electric bill if you have a lab at home.

• Laptop

  If you do a fair amount of travelling, then this may be the option for you. A laptop has the advantages of a desktop/workstation without the bulk and it's portable.

  Advantages Plug it in at home or in the office and you've got everything you need. If you have a wireless network (and a laptop that supports wireless), then you can be virtually anywhere. (Yes, I've been known to work from my front porch on a nice day.)

  Disadvantages Expensive and a PITA to repair. Of course, if any part of it needs to be repaired, the whole thing goes into the shop. Oh... And please spend the $25-30 for a lock. These things tend to grow legs and walk off on their own.

• SunRay (thin client)

  If you'd rather get your regular work done and not have to worry about maintaining your equipment, then this is your solution. (This usually requires a VPN router and a decent monitor. Get a 24" flat screen, baby!)

  Advantages Two words: No maintenance!

  Disadvantages If the SunRay server goes down, if the VPN concentrators head South, if your network isn't working then you are dead in the water.

You'll probably want a printer, also. Your choices above and your personal preferences will determine what you need.

What do I use? All three! I primarily use the Sunray. It's quiet and it gets me to everything I need. If I can't use that (network problems, server problems, whatever) then I'll either use the laptop (running Solaris) or one of the other computers (that dual boot Solaris and that "other OS"). As I've mentioned, I'll occasionally wander outside with the laptop. FWIW, I tend to sit in the same chair in the same spot on the porch when I'm working. I like to think of it as a "remote office".

It's worth it to do a little research on ergonomics before you spend any money (yours or your company's) on home office furniture. If your company has an ergonomic consultant then by all means make a phone call and get some advice. Here's the bare minimum:

• Office Chair If you're going to spend money on anything, put it into a good chair. You're going to be sitting for a good part of the day. Make yourself comfortable by making the chair adjustable: Arms, seat height, seat angle, back height. Oh, and you'll want one of those plastic floor mats if you have carpeting in your office. Careful when handling them... They bite!
• Desk First priority: Ergonomics. Make sure that the keyboard and monitor are in a good position for you. As I mentioned, do a little research in ergonomics first. Aside from that, I'm not particularly fussy about a desk. Get something with enough space for yourself. I'm a bit messy so I use a lot of "real estate". If you have a "hutch" (nice to have some shelves close-in) then make sure you have enough room for that 24" monitor.
• Wastebasket Sounds obvious, but you'll miss it if you don't have it.
• Desk lighting I recommend a lamp with a full spectrum bulb. I've been seeing these at home improvement stores for a decent price. Fluorescent lamps are really hard on the eyes. Incandecent lamps are better, but they're remarkably "yellow" (compared to a full spectrum lamp). It will be easier on your eyes to go with full spectrum.

I recommend (cotton) flannel pajamas and a good pair of Eddie Bauer slippers in the winter and a pair of gym shorts and a tank top in the summer. Your mileage may vary. Oh, and when it comes to "Casual Friday", the telecommuter's rule is: Don't ask, don't tell.