10 Ways to Successfully Work Remotely
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to companies urging employees to work from home. This can be a new experience for most people and a lot of adjustments may have to be made at home setting up an office space, getting out pf pyjamas to go to this office space and interacting with family or housemates instead of co-workers.
Working remotely is becoming the new normal so withies here are 9 ways in which you can keep productive while working from home.
1. Set up your own workspace
Setting up an office area is very important for remote working, this could be a home office or a spare room, you will need to find a spot that is quiet, doesn’t have a lot of distraction and you will have privacy. Also since you will more than likely doing a lot of video calls get a place which doesn’t have anything you don’t want people seeing in the background and has a lot of natural light, this will also help you to stay focused.
2. Set boundaries with people in your space
More than likely there will be people in the same house as you whether this is family or housemates. Let them know that you will need your time in the home office to get your work done and that if the door is closed this means you are on a call and are not to be disturbed.
3. Develop a routine
Set a schedule up for yourself, wake up early and start at the same time as if you were in office and finish up in the evening at the same time also, this will help develop a better work-life balance. Try to get your more difficult tasks completed in the morning because this would more than likely be the case if you were in work. Dress for your job, mentally this can help you be more productive. Take your breaks during the day; your company has a policy for taking breaks so be sure to take them.
4. Over Communicate
Remote working require over communication, let your boss and your team know of your schedule and availability. When you have completed a project let it be known to your boss. All you have to do is just send a small message letting them know, this will show to them your initiative and you can know what’s to be expected of you from your boss.
5. Stay in contact with colleagues
Working from home can be lonely and can cause disconnect, especially in these times where social distancing is in place and socialising in general isn’t happening as often. Make sure to stay in contact with your colleagues be this through phone call, IM or video chat. It’s important to feel connected and stay included.
6. Use a VPN
Use a VPN whenever you are connected to a network that isn’t yours, including connecting to Wi-Fi in public places. Some companies might have their own VPN which remote employees will need access to for uploading documents, accessing servers and websites that are meant for internal use only. Stay connected to the VPN as much as possible but make sure when you are finished work to turn it off when browsing the internet for your own purposes.
7. Annual Leave
Although you are working from home and there is a pandemic don’t forget you are entitled to your time off. A lot of restrictions are in place and leaving the country might be off the cards but staycations are becoming the thing to do now. Take this as a chance to explore your own country; you would never know what great things you can find on your own front door step.
8. Look for training activities
When you aren’t in the office with your co-workers you might be missing out on the chance for training and skills development. Most companies now have a lot of training and skills course, these will be moved online. Rather than seeing this as a chance to avoid extra work learn a new skill now that you have this extra time, for example the time that you have saved on the commute to work can be replaced with the chance to learn a new skill, this can prove to be hugely beneficial for career development.
9. Leave your home and take part in activities outside of work
Getting out of the home office is vitally important to your mental health. Provided you can maintain social distance and stay safe do something as simple as go for a walk, gardening, cooking or even take an online fitness class on YouTube.
10. Don’t be too hard on yourself
This is a very stressful time for everyone and a lot of changed are happening very fast that we could have never seen coming. View this remote work as a chance to have more time with your family or housemates.
