Working from home – Read our best tips

Working from home is here to stay. Whether life will have a chance to go back to normal this year is still up for debate. Perhaps the new vaccinations will successfully combat the Coronavirus pandemic.

Even so, companies are beginning to realise the potential of remote working. There are some companies do wish their employers to come to the office. However, there are several jobs that are flexible with remote working.

So how can you make sure that you get the best out of working from home? Are there some ways to ensure that your productivity does not go down?

Scroll down to see some of our best tips for working from home.

Create and stick to a routine

Working from home does allow you to be more flexible with your working hours. But having a routine is still a good idea. Sometimes those small habits you have at work can help you to centre yourself. If creating a new habit means you have a separate ‘work’ mug at home, that can be helpful, as silly as it may sound. Consider this: if you use one mug through the day, you have less in your sink to wash, which reduces distractions.

Dress up

Working in your sweatpants is the ultimate luxury of working from home. However, the comfort of the clothing can come with a downside as well. When you are dressed down, and at home, it can feel like a day off. And that, in turn, can affect your productivity and make you just that bit lazier.

Of course, you don’t have to go all out. There is no need to pull out your office wear. However, at least change into some clothing other than your comfortable sweats or pajamas. At least you won’t have to waste time changing if there is an emergency zoom call in the middle of the day.

Keep in touch

During this period of isolation, most of us struggled with the lack of connections around us. When you are working from home, you may find that this can affect the way you work as well. After years of being in a productive office environment, the quiet of your home can feel jarring.

Fortunately for all of us, there are quite a number of ways to communicate with our colleagues. So take advantage and reach out to your peers, possibly every day. Whether you discuss matters that relate strictly to work or just send them a simple greeting, these interactions will go a long way.

Set some rules for your family

Just because you are at home, you are not free to help out your family members. This is something that you might have to be clear about. Being free to accept a delivery once is ok. But being assigned baby/ pet sitting duties might be stretching it a bit.

Invest in a strong internet connection

Back when I first started working from home, I had to upgrade my broadband package. What suited me fine when it was merely for my personal use was no longer enough when I started to work remotely.

On the same vein, make sure that your laptop or PC has the latest sofetware. Trying to work with outdated programmes is not going to make it easy on you.

Have a to-do list when working from home

It might be a hassle. But having clear goals for the day might help you to concentrate better when you are working remotely.

Take time for yourself

When you are working from home, it is tempting to extend some working hours to the weekend. However, that habit can easily blur the lines between your work and home life. You can certainly work during the weekend if the task is important. But taking a brief break for yourself will help you to refresh your mindset.

You should also take a few breaks during the work week. Even at the office, you would have paused your work to grab a quick coffee or chat with your colleagues for a couple of minutes. While these routines may not all transfer to your home office, work around them so that you have these tiny breaks.

Ask for support

If your company supports you working from home, ask them for support if you need equipment to do the job properly. For instance, if you need some software to carry out your job, request your company to arrange it for you. However, you need to speak up as soon as you realise what is needed. This will set the precedent on whether or not you are willing to speak up when the need is justifiable.

That doesn’t mean you can abuse the necessity. Be sure that your requests are strictly related to your professional needs.