Remote working has been slowly gaining more traction in recent years. 2020 changed that, however.
This year, the pandemic has completely changed the dynamic of work. Remote working is now very popular in many businesses. Read our tips for adjusting to the remote working that is now becoming the norm.
Maintain Regular Hours
This is a lot easier if you are still working a nine to five shift, to be honest. But you might be like the writers at https://essaywritingservice.ca/, and can set your own schedule. If that is the case, this tip will be very helpful.
Try to maintain a regular schedule at home, just as you would at work. Set yourself ‘work’ hours, and be available during them. Working from home can make it difficult to maintain a work-life balance. Maintaining regular hours for work and play can alleviate this. Try to keep your work strictly within those hours only!
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Create a Morning Routine
This is one of the best working from home tips I’ve received. Create a morning routine for yourself.
Everyone who goes out to work has a routine: get up with an alarm, have breakfast, get kids ready for school… It’s important to have a routine when you work from home too. Routines are good for getting yourself in the correct mind set for work. It’s the same as said above – you need a way to differentiate between work and play.
Have a morning routine that will get you up and ready to work, and set yourself up for your day.
RELATED: A Working Mom’s Morning Routine
Schedule Breaks
One of the big differences between working in an office and at home would be the breaks. We’re all accustomed to taking short breaks to get tea, or have a smoke, or anything like that. A big question in how to work from home is how breaks work. Can you take breaks? How do these things work?
If you can, schedule some breaks from your work. It’s just as important to take a few minutes every so often to relax when you work from home. Make some tea, do some stretches. Whatever it takes to get your mind off things.
Leave Home
You should make sure to leave your house every day. Normally this is taken care of by commuting, but working from home takes that option away. A good tip for working from home is to get some fresh air. This could be a break from your work – you could take a quick walk round the block, for example. It could be a walk to some shops for some dinner. It could be anything, so long as you go outside.
The problem with working from home is that you can easily spend all day inside. This isn’t healthy – go outside more!
Don’t Hesitate to Ask for What You Need
Everyone is adjusting to the new way of working. Asking for what you need is not a failure on your part. This should be on every list of work from home tips. Do you need help setting up an office? Ask somebody for advice. Do you have problems gaining access to software? Ask for help. There’s no shame in admitting that you need help.
If you don’t have what you need, then you can’t work effectively. Nobody wants that, especially now that we’re all at home. These things can’t be fixed unless you ask for help. So don’t hold back!
Keep a Dedicated Office Space
One of the tips for working remotely is to have a dedicated office space. This is not always possible, unfortunately. This year has been full of problems with people needing to learn how to set up an office when they have no space for it!
The best reason to set up a dedicated office space is that you can have a physical divide between work and home. The second best reason is that you can get some peace, rather than trying to work in a crowded area. Keeping a dedicated office space allows you to completely focus on your work.
Group Meetings and Appointments
Working from home doesn’t mean that you should be a completely alone all the time! Make sure that you keep up with your co-workers just the same as you would. Working from home advice specifically tells people to avoid that situation.
Technology lets us all work together even if we are physically apart. Use things like google meets, Zoom, or Skype to keep in touch with people. The phone still works – you can set up conference calls if video is not an option. Keep up group meetings and appointments to make sure that you all feel included in work situations.
Use “Do Not Disturb” Mode
We are all using our mobiles more than usual these days. If you use yours for work, make sure to use the do not disturb mode. We’re all too used to being able to people being available whenever we want them to be.
The do not disturb mode on your phone is a fantastic way to keep your work from encroaching on your personal life. You might be working from home, but you are still only working for a set number of hours per day. Don’t get yourself into a position where you can’t switch off! That is very bad.
Embrace Video Calls
Embrace the power of the video call! We already mentioned Zoom and other online facilities above. Try and use video calls to connect with people. It is very easy to feel isolated when you work from home. Video calls can help to alleviate the isolation. It can help to keep a sense of normalcy, which we all need at this point in time. It’s amazing how seeing another person can feel so much different to simply texting them.
Find your “Productivity Playlist”
One of the best things about working from home is being able to listen to music! In an office you need to worry about whether or not you are disturbing other people, which is why headphones have been very popular. In your own home? Go ahead and listen to whatever you want (within reason). Try and see what music helps you work faster. It could be interesting to see what gets you going!
RELATED: The Ultimate Playlist
Are you Ready to Go?
So, you have read the tips and created your space. Are you ready for remote working? Are you all set up, both physically and mentally? It will be an adjustment – it’s an adjustment for everybody. Don’t worry if it takes some time to get into the flow – you’ll get there.
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