What Can Investors Do When Working From Home?

All any of us have read over the past two weeks is how the stock market is crashing, the Dow is down, the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA: VOO) is plummeting, etc. Then we see that Slack Technologies (NYSE: WORK) fell 20% after hours despite beating on earnings on Thursday night, while Disney (NYSE: DIS) is closing parks left and right and has fallen 28% since Bob Iger announced his resignation as CEO last week. Everyone is asking, when is the next recession? And it gets worse…

Business Insider, alongside hundreds of other outlets, reported on Thursday that the likes of Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Target (NYSE: TGT) are all selling out of toilet paper online, while in-store, companies like Costco (NASDAQ: COST) have sold out. 

Frankly, I’m getting sick and tired of all this (pun intended) sh*t news. It’s making my colleague Mike very sad, and I just can’t have that.

So let’s talk about something useful, something that the likes of Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and many other companies are setting in motion:

Working from home.   

Some working from home advice 

If you are lucky enough to be able to work from home during a pandemic such as this, as we are here at MyWallSt, then your workload will likely not change, but your habits might just have to. 

It seems that a ‘working-from-home guru’ is a thing now, with millions of so-called ‘veterans’ popping up on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) and the like to share their expertise. I hold such ‘experts’ in the same regard I would for Insta-famous ‘celebrities’ or TikTok teens. 

Here are some top tips from the REAL experts here at MyWallSt: 

1. Clear communication with your boss is essential to knowing what is expected from you. Software such as Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) can make this very simple, but it also makes it harder to hide the fact that you’ve spent all morning watching reruns of Jerry Springer, and not doing an ounce of work. 

2. Many people are tossing around the term: ‘treat it like a real job’. Apparently, when you cross into the mystical realm of remote working, your day-to-day tasks no longer qualify as a ‘real job’. Prepare to receive your paycheck in the form of Monopoly money when working from home. 

3. If you are living with multiple residents who share a Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) account, always ensure that you are the first online, so that you can’t be booted for ‘too many people using this account’. In a coronavirus apocalypse, you’ve got to be ruthless, and Netflix is more important than either your job or your housemates/family. 

4. Make sure you are up and active. You don’t want to squat around in your bed all day, typing away. When working remotely, it is assumed we become Olympic athletes. Despite doing little to no activity when actually in your office, you had better walk at least 200 miles per day (minimum) when working from home. It’s the only way to stay fit. Try walking to McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) for a burger, or get an extra sugary frappuccino from Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX). It’s all about staying healthy. 

5. Finally, you need to work at peak efficiency. Now that you are working from the isolation of your home, you do not have to worry about material worries such as showering or brushing your teeth. I’m sure your roommates/family won’t mind the green stink lines wafting from your sun-deprived body just 3 days into working from home. 

Some REAL personal and investing advice…

Ok, so perhaps much of that was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but there are some important things to consider when working from home, both for yourself and for your investments. 

For yourself: do stay in touch with people; don’t become lonely; stay active and take regular breaks and walks; try to create a routine; and finally, set up a workspace. This is merely advice, but everyone is different, so do what works for you. 

As for your investments, it’s understandable to be nervous, and even a little bit scared. Our best investing advice during the coronavirus sell-off: Don’t panic!

This rough period will pass, as all things do, and like working from home, you need to do what works for you. Sometimes it is best to do nothing as you ride out the storm, but everyone is different. If you’re unsure, have a read through our article: Best Investing Advice: Buy, Sell, Or Do Nothing. 

There may even be some upside to all this chaos, as the sell-off could represent a unique buying opportunity for expensive stocks, so you might even have a lot of fun.

Here are the 3 stocks I would invest in during a recession. 

So amidst all this doom and gloom, I hope this article could bring a little perspective and even a smile to someone’s face.

MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently holds long positions in companies mentioned above. Read our full disclosure policy here.