Around March last year, more individuals than ever started working from home, and it happened almost overnight. Companies and workers didn’t have enough time to plan for remote work or decide how to transfer teams, operations, and mindset to a digital workplace.
Many people have returned to their traditional office work, but many more are still hesitant to do so since the previous year has demonstrated that a lot of work can be handled from anywhere. Many businesses are realizing that permanent remote working, pandemic or not, is the best way to go these days.
Whether you’re new to working from home, perhaps due to the pandemic or maybe you’ve found a remote job, you may have discovered that you’ll have to adjust your usual ways and habits to achieve results.
Anyone who works from home must plan how, when, and where they will work, as well as consider equipment needs, professional advancement, learning possibilities, and creating relationships with coworkers.
Here are some tips on how to become more productive while working from home.
Prepare an office space
People who work from home should preferably have their own office space as well as two computers, one for work and the other for recreational use. However, not everybody has a spare space in their home to use as a workplace, and having two computers isn’t always possible.
Alternatively, you can set aside a workstation or desk space, as well as some office supplies, to be utilized solely for work. You might also need to partition your disk and create a work-specific user account.
Before you begin working, gather everything you’ll need in one location and, if possible, close the door. Make an effort to find a comfy place to work that you can identify with your job and leave once you’re done.
Maintain a routine
Although the flexibility of working remotely may enable you to work random hours all through the day, it is actually wiser to stick to a strict routine. Starting at the same time every day and working defined hours will keep you fit, efficient, and provide you more free time in the long run.
If you work for an employer that has a regular schedule of daily meetings, meals, and working hours, it can be useful to align your schedule with the office. To match someone else’s time zone, you may need to stretch your day or start early. Automated time-tracking tools allow you to monitor whether you’re staying on target.
Think about communication
It’s crucial to employ digital tools that can better imitate the in-person office environment and also enable efficient communication.
Set up a separate phone number for calls from co-workers and clients. It may be a landline or a separate cell phone, or you could get the most reliable VoIP service. You can better control your work-life balance by having a different phone number. You may also require a business email, particularly if you need to send lengthy communications with multiple attachments.
Use a VPN
Remote working poses a security concern in a variety of ways, one of them is because it provides cybercriminals with new attack vectors. Non – encrypted connections, for instance, can be intercepted by cybercriminals. User accounts, as well as sensitive information, can be intercepted and abused.
If you’re connected to a network that you can’t control like Wi-Fi available in coffee shops, hotels, airports, and other public places, always use a VPN. It’s a smart option to get into the habit of leaving your VPN active as much as possible since it’s always better to have it on.
Have a backup plan
If you work from home, you will need a backup plan in case your operation is disrupted. At home, a variety of interruptions can occur: loss of electricity or internet access, unplanned events, or loud work is being done just in front of your office space.
You’ll need to find another place to work. This should be near your home and provide you with a stable internet connection where you may work in privacy.
Also in case only your internet goes down, you can have a mobile hotspot through which you can utilize your cell data as WIFI on your computer, or even something as basic as maintaining a list of activities you can finish without internet access until you get back online.