Remote working has become the norm for so many of us, but where you work has a big impact on your productivity and overall well being, so it’s important to get the setup right. Even if you’ve been working from home for a while, you might not be making the most of your space and it could be hindering you as a result. Here are some tips on setting up a home office that will enable you to work more efficiently.
Stock up on Necessary Equipment
There’s more to setting up a functional workspace than just choosing a desk and chair – depending on the job you do, you’re likely to need more to be able to work productively. From pens and a notebook, and a headset, to storage for documents and paperwork, or a webcam that will enable you to carry out clearer Zoom calls, there’s always equipment that comes in useful for home working. Write out a list of what you need, or what you regularly used when you were working in the office, so you can stock up. This way, whether you’re working from your business premises or at home, you can work to the same standard.
Invest in Yourself
Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean that you and your employer can’t, or shouldn’t, invest in your development and education. There are numerous ways to learn remotely, from hybrid learning to training courses, that will enable you to enhance your career in a flexible way. There are remote courses in just about every topic, from methodologies and management techniques for remote teams to digital literacy and IT skills, that will ensure you can work effectively from anywhere.
Maintain Professional Relationships
Working from home can get lonely sometimes, but there are ways you can still interact with your colleagues, whether that’s working on projects, having catch-ups as a team or giving and receiving feedback on tasks. Email can be effective when it comes to sharing information, but make the effort to pick up the phone or jump on a video conference call to maintain those relationships and ensure processes stay in place.
Plan Your Time Around When You Work Best
You can’t always control when meetings take place, but in terms of your own schedule day to day, you can plan your time around when you’re most productive for greater results. If you’re a morning person and find your motivation slumps in the afternoon, schedule your priority tasks first thing so you can ensure they get done on time. Likewise, if your motivation picks up towards the end of the day, switch up your routine to accommodate
Leverage Collaborative Software
Zoom is just the beginning of the tools and software available to remote workers to create a collaborative environment. There are messaging apps like Slack to maintain conversations within teams, project management software like Trello and Asana, and file management tools like Google drive, to name just a few. Thanks to technology, working flexibly from any location in the world has never been easier, and there’s no reason that you can’t work effectively as part of a team with these tools in place.
Use a VPN
VPNs, or Virtual Private Network, provide a secure connection between your computer or device with another computer over the internet. In other words, they provide you with a secure way of accessing your work computer system when you’re not in the office. You should use a VPN any time you’re connected to a network you don’t control, such as in public workspaces, but you can also use them to connect to your organisation’s server to access information that is only for internal use.
Final Thoughts
With so many businesses working either partially or entirely remotely, it’s crucial that employees have processes in place to work as productively as they would in the office. Without a flexible and functional setup, you may find your motivation and wellbeing deteriorating over time. From scheduling your time, sticking to regular hours and taking breaks from the screen, to making sure you get involved in meetings and speak up when you need something, there are various ways to make the most of working remotely and create a setup that really works for you and your role.
