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The Coronavirus pandemic has forced us to accept new ways of going about life. The need to curb the spread of this virus has made some businesses embrace telecommuting for staff, so they don’t have to come into the office. Working from home will decrease your chances of contracting the virus significantly while still allowing you to remain a productive member of your team. But making the transition from working in the office to working from home can be challenging. You may even notice a dip in your productivity as a telecommuter. However, there are some ways you can make your home office just as productive as your real office.
Strong Internet Connection
Without a good Internet connection, it will be virtually impossible to get any work done remotely. It would help if you were online to read and respond to emails. If you don’t have internet connection then you won’t be able to access your emails, you may miss out on crucial memos or be unable to transmit reports. You also won’t be able to communicate with your clients if you’re front-office staff. Systems you connect to directly over the Web or via VPN will also be unreachable, inhibiting your ability to work. It’s, therefore, essential to liaise with your ISP to ensure you have a reliable connection. If your current connection is not very stable, you may want to look at other options. Remember you can always upgrade your home WiFi to get faster internet.
Establish a Routine
A great way to keep your productivity up while telecommuting is to develop a daily routine. This will help you make the best use of the hours in your day, while also keeping you from falling into the temptation to overwork. Without a routine, it’s easy to oversleep and try to make up for it by working longer. Now that your supervisor is not close by to monitor you, you may find yourself taking long breaks for meals or getting distracted by household chores. It’s even more challenging to maintain your work hours if your family is at home with you. Follow a schedule that creates and improves a more productive work life balance.
If you want to come up with a productive routine, you will want to note the loopholes for time wastage in your current routine. Your posterior does this by having an activity log to keep track of every activity you engage in and how much time you spend on each. Next, come up with a timetable to deal with any wastages noted in the activity log and better prioritize tasks.
Make A Home Office
If you don’t already have one, set a space in your house where you can focus on work. This doesn’t have to be a built-up home office, it can be any space where you, and your family members, know you cannot be disturbed. Taking this step can help you establish boundaries between home life and work life, even though they’re all happening in the same building.
Find A Good VoIP Service
Some organizations will provide telecommuting staff and airtime allowance so that they can use their mobile phones to make the calls they would ordinarily make to colleagues, customers, or suppliers. A cheaper way of going about this would be using a VoIP service. In a nutshell, this service allows you to make voice calls over the Internet as if you were making them from your office extension.
But in this case, you can have the physical telephone set, or you can use a smartphone or even a desktop computer. Whichever setup you have, your VoIP service should offer clear audio with minimal interruptions. It should provide the same quality but be cheaper than making conventional phone calls. Look into Ooma reviews and pricing in addition to other service providers to find the best option.
Dress For Success
We talked about setting boundaries to make sure you stay productive in your home office atmosphere. One of these can be in the way you dress. Since you’re not meeting clients or colleagues, the temptation to slack off and not even attempt to dress up while working from home is high. Succumbing to it can be a mistake as you risk not being in the right mindset for work. Before settling down into your home office, tidy yourself up and dress like you were reporting for duty at work as usual. Even if that call to join a Zoom meeting comes abruptly, your colleagues will find you well prepared.
Be Your Most Productive Self
It is possible to be an even better contributor to your organization’s goals at home than when commuting daily. Even if you are telecommuting at work from home jobs, you can still be your most productive self. For one, you don’t have to endure that commute, so you can get to your ‘office’ earlier and organize your day better, plus working from home can be less stressful and allow you to get more work done.
