Remote Work in the Time of COVID-19

Many people and students who are able to are being asked to work from home, and online collaboration and meeting solutions are reflecting that sudden surge in bandwidth consumption. This will improve over time as resources are better allocated to suit this shift in demand, but for the time being that often means notable lag when joining online meetings, regardless of platform or provider. ​

I tend to be punctual and efficient in leading meetings, but one adaptation I've made this week is to reserve the first 5-10 minutes of online meetings for group intermission.  This allows attendees flexibility as they navigate bandwidth-related lag and delays.  This has been a little bit of an adjustment for me but it has paid dividends in alleviating one small stress for remote teams. I even include it right on the meeting notice:

Please note: In these changing times, online meetings are experiencing some lag on startup, so we'll aim to connect on time but understand it may take up to 10 minutes for all attendees to effectively gain access. Therefore, we'll use the first 10 minutes as intermission before effectively starting our meeting.  Thank you for your patience!

I may post additional tips and tricks related to successfully navigating remote work in the time of Covid-19.  What are some that you've encountered?