Working remotely is no longer the future of working. It is the current reality, brought around by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it looks as though many companies are going to introduce remote working on a more permanent basis.
Whether you’d like to focus more on your work tasks, handle the drawbacks of remote work, or rather become a more adept professional working remotely, you’ll find the steps below useful.
- Protect Your Business
All businesses face challenges, and remote working poses a few others that will need to be considered. You should have a comprehensive business insurance policy regardless of where you are working. However, it is more important than ever to have one when home working.
It is also important that you are taking proper safety precautions with the likes of cybersecurity and GDPR. Mass home working means that there will no doubt be a portion of your workforce working from personal laptops which means you must be vigilant with sever safety and perhaps even considering running some cybersecurity training for your employees.
- Set up your office and lock the door
Make sure you have a good home working environment. Ideally, this should include:
- A nice and quiet private space or office in your apartment/house.
- A computer and high-quality internet access that can accommodate video calls (where possible).
- An office desk, working documents, and other vital stationery.
- Spacious, ergonomic chair. Standing desks are also becoming an increasingly popular alternative.
- Preferably, a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse (to minimise the pressure on the eye and wrist).
- Create routines and structure
Managing and controlling your projects might seem more challenging when you’re working remotely and unsupervised. To avoid such issues and keep operations running smoothly:
- Make routine short weekly or daily conference calls and online one-on-one meetings.
- Self-organise and maintain structure when planning your day – including working hours and breaks.
- Establish a reporting system to see how things are progressing.
- Use a calendar and scheduling apps to keep the deadlines in mind.
- Interact with other people
Remember, you work from home, not from the moon. It’s okay to occasionally take a break to socialise a little; communicate and interact with people around, even if they aren’t your colleagues. It helps to keep boredom and a feeling of loneliness, that could creep on you, at bay.
- Take time for self-care
If you’re not careful, you could easily get carried away and see yourself being more and more glued to your computer screen and the lines between “working” and “home” becoming blurred.
Such dedication might be important when you perhaps need to do some overtime in order to be able to complete a major and highly profitable project or finalising a big presentation. However, always make sure to give yourself time nonetheless for healthcare and self-care when working remotely.
A good suggestion to beat the urge is to actively engage in light, healthy exercise routines you love. Don’t skip on healthy meals and make a habit of eating a balanced diet, in addition to regular medical check-ups.
Conclusion
On a final note, if you work remotely, find ways to enjoy it. Embrace and explore the flexible opportunities it provides to improve your skills and expertise, live a healthier lifestyle and learn more.
