If you’ve never worked from home previously, the transition to remote working can be quite a change. Letting employees work from home offers them a level of flexibility that can greatly benefit their lifestyles. Remote working can support existing health conditions, workers with young children and staff during times of crisis. For those continuing to operate during the coronavirus outbreak, it ensures full access to the programs and files that employees need.
There are several things to consider before you can start working remotely.
The first thing teams will need to do to effectively work from home is to establish a clear channel and schedule for communications. Regular catchups throughout the day will help team members keep a track of work progress. Frequent conversations can also give employers an idea of staff productivity.
If one form of communication fails, it’s valuable to have a second in place. This can include phone calls, text messages, messaging apps and video calls. It’s worth considering which forms of communication will work best for your business too. Messaging apps can be great for quick, brief updates but video calls can work more successfully for detailed discussions.
As it’s easy to miss calls throughout the day, it’s useful to set times in advance for your conversations. These chats can be with individuals or groups depending on what you believe is suitable.
Most of us are accustomed to switching off once we’ve clocked out of work at returned home. This mental association can play against home workers and lapse us out of a working mindset. Getting distracted is easy to do when you’re in a personal environment. For this reason, it’s important to maintain your usual work routine.
Waking up at your usual work times can help structure your day and to stop yourself being overwhelmed by the new normal. Diverting from your work habits can cause procrastination and have an impact on your overall productivity. Something as simple as having your regular morning coffee can prepare you for the day.
In the same strain, it’s also good to take your breaks at the same time. This way you will be able to finish your day on time rather than having to work late into the evening.
Whilst at home, it can be tempting to work from your bed or sofa. However, this sluggishness can transfer over into your work itself and is not recommended.
The best thing to do is to set up your own office at home. This area should be associated with work and no other activities. This way, as soon as you sit down your brain knows what it’s expected to do. It’s important to make sure you have everything you need to complete your work. This can include your standard mix of software and some stationery for notes.
Having your own space set aside can also stop you from being distracted by family or housemates. This can be trickier for workers with children but if it’s possible, it’s worth doing.
Old-school productivity methods aren’t limited to office spaces. You may find that creating a plan at the start of your day helps you streamline your workload.
The best way to construct a daily checklist is, to begin with listing everything you need to do. Once this has been done, you should reorder these tasks based on urgency and importance. In this case, ‘urgent’ refers to work that has a deadline or will have negative implications if not completed within a specific timeframe. On the other hand, ‘important’ relates to work that helps us achieve our goals.
From there, you should complete important/urgent tasks first, followed by important/not urgent, not important/urgent and not important/not urgent. Where possible, you should delegate tasks of lesser importance to other team members. This will help you manage your time efficiently.
Preparing your meals can be quite time-consuming. Your designated breaks are a time to switch off and you may miss out on this if you spend that time cooking.
The food you prepare in advance doesn’t have to be complicated. You may want to cut up ingredients in advance and have some ready to eat snacks available.
You can also lose time if you forget to buy food in advance. When you know you’ll be working from home, make the effort to stock up beforehand. If you fail to do so, you may end up having to rush out to buy food. This will take up all your break time when it could have easily been avoided by thinking ahead.
Working from home can become very difficult if you don’t have the files that you need. Additionally, some employees will rely on certain systems to complete work which may not be accessible from their home computers.
This is where cloud-based software steps in. The main benefit of cloud technology is that lets you access everything you need remotely. It provides incredible amounts of storage whilst securing all your files. It gives you access to all your office necessities from any desktop or laptop. Some software providers will even offer mobile options to assist you.
Another perk of investing in cloud-based software for remote working is its ability to enhance collaboration between teams. With everything stored in one space and real-time integration, you will receive updates instantly. This means that you will see only the most up-to-date changes to your files and systems. Cloud-based hosting software removes the risk of missed communications, strengthening team efforts.
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