As more people continue to or consider working from home, they are motivated by various reasons, e.g. avoiding the daily commute, better work-life balance, closeness to family, and so on. No matter your reason(s), it has its merits and demerits.
However, we’ve put together some tips to help you maximize the merits, and decrease the demerits of working from home.
Tips to Aid Your Working From Home
Have a Designated Workspace
Though you are working from home, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a designated room, workspace, or desk for your work. This helps your concentration while working, as you could be in a calmer space.
Another benefit of having a designated space is, you find it easier to switch your mental state to work mode. It also lets your family know you’re now at work, and vice versa when you’re done for the day.
Self-discipline
One demerit that comes with working from home is, there is nobody to watch out for what you’re doing or what time you resumed work for the day.
It’s crucial for you to stay disciplined because temptations will definitely creep in to make you start late, which can quickly become a routine.
A tip for you to start your day at the right time is to schedule activities around resumption time e.g. meetings, calls, emails. This will gear you to get ready for those activities.
Take Breaks
When you get so engrossed in what you’re doing, you won’t know when you’d spend hours at it and forget to a break. Unlike when you’re in an office environment, there will be interruptions one way or the other. The break lets you stretch your legs and allows your brain to settle.
Dressing/Clothing
Most persons take the advantage of them working from home to dress the way they like. What most people cannot understand is, dressing up has a psychological effect, when you dress the part, you can act the part.
If you continue to dress too casually/shabbily, it might make you feel lazy. Try to go through the same routine as someone going to the office, it prepares you mentally for the work ahead.
Don’t Isolate Yourself
Sometimes, you could go the whole day without talking to anyone from work. Do you know there is the possibility of you missing your colleagues when you work from home, which can make it isolating? Make efforts to communicate with your colleagues.
I have heard people say, it can’t be isolating when we have our phones and social media. But a banter about football or gist about a TV series face-to-face can’t be compared.
With the above, take it upon yourself to keep in touch, you can do conference video calls, visit customers around you, and so on.
Using the right Tool
To make working from home seamless, you’d need the right tool. This is where cloud-based business management software comes in. With cloud software, you can work and collaborate from anywhere, anytime and generate real-time reports.
Conclusively, clear your workspace for any disturbances and distractions so that you can remain focused on your work. Start with a to-do list, also implement a no touching of phone policy if you’re not working with your phone.
REFERENCE: Sage
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