With almost everyone confined to their homes during this health crisis, a lot of companies are making the transition to remote work. Unfortunately, not all of them have the necessary systems in place to ensure the same level of, if not greater, productivity from their employees.
If you are having a hard time adjusting to the new system, we have listed a few tips for you so your transition won’t be as difficult.
5 Practical Productivity Tips as You Adjust to Remote Work
1. Establish a start-of-day routine.
Whether you take on an early morning shift, mid-shift, or graveyard, it is proven helpful to establish some sort of regularity to your routine. For instance, most workers get up early in the morning. Before heading off to work, people would usually get in a few sets of exercises, grab breakfast, and fix up before heading off to work.
Similarly, as you start working from home, you need to establish a routine to kick off your day. Treat this work-from-home set-up as you would any normal workday, only you don’t have to go out of your house.
2. Look for an ideal spot in your home to work from.
We understand that not all homes are designed and built similarly. However, there is always one spot at home that is ideal for setting up a workstation.
The things you need to consider in choosing the right area will depend on the nature of the work you need to do. If you’re into woodwork or metalwork, then doing your work in your bedroom is definitely a no-no. However, if most of your responsibilities at work require clerical or organizational tasks, then you can work in your office or study.
Most white-collar and freelance online jobs need a decent internet connection. You have to ensure that your workstation is situated in an area where you have a strong Wi-Fi connection or can directly plug into the network. Whatever the nature of your work is, make sure your area is conducive to productivity.
3. Set up your workstation with things you will need for work.
Now that we’ve figured out the spot, let’s talk about your workstation. Since you are at the comfort of your home, there are certain things from your workplace that you no longer have access to as you work remotely.
Make sure to identify which equipment and items you will need to fulfill your tasks excellently and gather them all. Organize your desk and its immediate surroundings to make everything you need to get the job done within arm’s reach. Equipment that helps keep you safe can give you peace of mind and help productivity too. If you’d like that extra security, lone worker devices and alarms are great additions to your workspace.
The goal of working from home is to make you as, if not more, productive under more comfortable circumstances in a controlled environment.
4. Learn as much as you can about working remotely.
During this time of quarantine, a lot of companies and websites are offering different types of training and seminars at discounted costs. Some of them even offer classes for free for a limited time.
You may choose between a meeting facilitation training, remote management class. leadership in times of crisis workshop, and a whole lot more timely topics. Make the most of these webinars as they can give you plenty of ideas on how to make the necessary adjustments to do remote work.
5. Take frequent breaks.
Breaks are designed to reboot and realign the brain and the body after a lengthy period of monotonous activity. As you take breaks at the workplace, don’t fail to take them as well when you’re working from home.
If you’re mostly working using your computers and laptops, apply the 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look far away and blink 20 times. This will help prevent your eyes from drying up and getting digital eyestrain.
Make sure you also get something to eat and drink during your breaks. It is recommended that you step away from your workstation as you take your break to allow your brain to recharge. You will find that when you get back to work, you are now more aligned and focused.
We understand that not everyone finds this set-up helpful but we all need to make the necessary adjustments to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading any further. While our frontline responders are doing their part to keep people alive, we take a step back into our homes and work to help keep the economy alive.
