erin tibo
Work From Anywhere in an RV
On this episode of the Work From Home Forever podcast, we chat with Erin T. Erin has spent nearly 20 years in the clinical research industry and since 2010 she has worked from home full-time. 6 years ago, Erin and her husband purchased a 5th wheel and since 2021, she has been working from anywhere in her RV.
1.4 Erin T, Associate Director, Clinical Research – Work From Home Forever
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Meet Erin Tibo
Erin talks about the tips and tracks working from her RV and how she maintains strong team engagement with unique virtual team building exercises and the routines she keeps to keep her focused on her team, her colleagues and her clients.
Key takeaways from our interview with Erin:
- Erin talked about using resources and available apps if you’re living the RV lifestyle. Her #1 travel hack was to have solid internet. And since she moves frequently depending on where her husband can find work, or where they have an interest in exploring, Erin recommends you call your service providers ahead of time. She wants to make sure she can stay connected with her teams and support her colleagues and customers seamlessly.
- Erin is a people leader and she talked about the creative ways she keeps her remote team engaged. She talked about the “fun” meeting concepts like the Paint-N-Sip party where the company ships all the supplies to your colleagues’ homes or having happy hours so the broader team can engage. Beyond the “fun” meetings, she does this on a monthly basis with her team. You can get a sense of her leadership style since she makes sure these engagements happen regularly and she sets the tone for her team that work is fun and it’s a time they can all get together to celebrate.
- Erin talked about how she listed her core work hours in her e-mail signature. What I like about it is that it helps you manage expectations with your colleagues and customers. Erin talked a little bit about how her company is global and she engages with people across multiple timezones. This best practice helps establish boundaries when you’re “on” and available and times when responses may be delayed.
- Finally, Erin talked about her past commute. She and I are both from Chicago and there’s an old saying that there’s only two seasons in Chicago: winter and construction. So that means long, frustrating commutes. And if you have a long commute or deal with traffic or both, you can sympathize with Erin’s comments about how the morning commute can wreak havoc on your headspace. She also talked about how the evening commute could also contribute to a bad mood that can spill over into your evening and home life. So, not surprisingly, working from home allows Erin to set the tone for her day. Without an hour long commute, she can read, journal, hit the gym or even start her day early. It’s that workplace flexibility that allows the employee to manage their day, as professionals, and bring their best each day.
Erin’s favorite remote team-building activities:
- Paint & Sip: Painting to Gogh offers team events that Erin has done with her team in the past!
- Truffle Party: Tiny B Chocolates hosted a virtual chocolate making classs for Erin and her colleagues.
- Pictionary: Erin’s team has played Pictionary at their monthly team events using whiteboard apps available on Teams and Zoom.
- Scavenger Hunt Bingo: Make a bingo card with random objects from your home and call them like bingo and if the person can bring back the item and share with the group, they can cross it off the list. This is great because you can usually get a gun story about the item!
- ‘You’re on Mute’: This is my spin on the game Hearing Things. I give someone a phrase and they put themselves on mute and the rest try to guess what they’re saying.
Connect with Erin
- LinkedIn: Erin Tibo
- Instagram: @rogue_warrior_349
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Q&A with Erin
Why did you want to Work From Home Forever?
I wanted to be able to travel. Working from home allows me the flexibility to work from anywhere!
How long have you been Working From Home, Forever?
Started in 2010, but have been WFH in my RV since 2016!
What tradeoffs, if any, did you make in order to Work From Home Forever?
A ton! Some good and bad, but mostly good. The money saved on clothes, gas, vehicle maintenance, going out to lunch, etc was a huge win. I did miss out initially on the social aspect, but there are so many great alternatives for meetings now that you can feel like your on an office even virtually.
How do you manage work/life balance Working From Home, Forever?
This is a funny question because I find myself asking those who work from an office ‘How do you manage working from an office!?!?!’ I keep balance by closing the laptop and not letting work become home.
What’s your best advice to others who want to Work From Home Forever?
Keep your routine, to some extent. While you may love working from your pjs initially, you’ll find that by keeping to a normal trout one that includes putting on real clothes will make it feel like your ‘office’ is just like any other office.
What are your three must-haves to Work From Home, Forever?
- Good internet!!
- Wireless headset
- Comfy slippers. 🙂
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