In the past, the prospect of working from a place beside a delegated office building was alien, and even when it was allowed, it was specific to industries, such as information technology and customer service. However, over the last few years, more companies have established work from home opportunities. And with the outbreak of Covid-19, the number of work from home roles and opportunities has only increased.
Still, while a remote role offers more flexibility and work-life balance, without proper guidelines and strategies, it could turn out to be an epic failure. Perhaps, you are one of the many people that have landed a remote role, congrats! With the right strategies, you are bound to be more productive and happier than you would have been if you were working on-site.
In this article, we will be providing the ultimate work from home survival guide for you. Keep reading to discover.
Staying organized while working from home can be daunting. It can be especially difficult when your supervisor or manager does not impose working hours. Still, its importance cannot be overstated. When trying to stay organized, the first thing you must do is to determine if you intend to work regular hours or create your working hours. Secondly, you must create a schedule that you can stick to. For example, working parents may decide to work during the hours that their children are at school.
Another step in staying organized while working from home is to separate work from home life. Sounds oxymoronic? Well, it is not. Working from home does not mean that home life and work must be intertwined. It all boils down to how deliberate you are about being organized.
If you live with your family members or have housemates, make them understand that you need to be able to go about your job responsibilities with no distractions. If you have to, come up with an arrangement that suits everyone. Additionally, you must schedule your time properly. This way, you are not tempted to do the dishes while you are on a Zoom audio call with your colleagues.
Other steps you can take include:
When working from home, there is never a shortage of distractions. Trust me, I know all about this. But to indulge yourself is to build a road to failure or more precisely in this case, job loss. But just like most work from home setbacks, with the right steps, you can overcome distractions.
The most important step would be to never multitask when working from home. Suddenly remembered that you have not done your laundry while listening to your manager’s voice recording? Take a breather. Now, add it to your to-do list for the following day or the day after and continue with all that you have set to do today. See that was not so hard, was it? You see, when you multitask, the possibility of getting mental blocks or even getting frustrated becomes higher. You want to ensure that you are doing things one at a time and finding the fun (however impossible that may sound) in every task that you do.
Another step is to identify your triggers and address them accordingly. Is it Netflix? Find an app that freezes it until after your designated working period. Is it calls from family and friends? Put your phone on Do Not Disturb. Is it social media? Turn off notifications from your social media accounts. You could also temporarily freeze the apps until you are done with your job responsibilities for the day.
Part of adhering to an effective work from home guide is finding a work and life dynamic that works for you. This includes making time to connect with others. An individual working from home runs the risk of isolation which has negative effects mentally, emotionally, and physically. We are social creatures and thrive off interactions with other people.
To connect properly with others as you work remotely, consider:
We already mentioned that you must have a dedicated workspace, but it is not enough to just have a workspace. You must make sure that you properly optimize your workspace for your job roles. Improve anything that will help make your day more enjoyable. Personally, I’ve grown to love working while sitting in chairs with wheels. In fact, I am currently sitting in one as I write this as I listen to some music with great speakers. I love that I, and not the design of the chair, decide what position it should be, plus the ease of moving around that it provides.
So, get any fixture that is going to make you feel comfortable. A bad chair that gives you back pain is going to become a bigger problem over time. Get beautiful wallpaper if you need to. Buy some flowers, create layouts, try out different designs and keep the chaos and clutter off your desk.
Additionally, make sure you have the right electronic devices. True, you may have to spend more money but anything that makes your work easier is money well-spent. For example, to simplify your computer (and workspace setup), you could get a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. You could also get a USBC/Thunderbolt 3 dock that allows you to connect (and charge) your laptop with a single cable to all your workstation devices. Optimize your workspace and have fun as you do so. After all, being able to work from your home office means that you can optimize your dedicated workspace however you want.
Check out the 800+ work-from-home jobs on Bayt.com right here and start applying today!
