Given the circumstances of 2020, many of us are now experiencing a work from home lifestyle. Some individuals thrive in this new environment while others struggle to adapt. Going into an office used to provide forced breaks and a distraction-free workspace, but once a good balance is found working from home, productivity can be higher than ever. Here are some tips to help with both productivity and self-care while navigating this remote lifestyle.
1.) Take breaks
This is probably the most cliché tip that is given out for almost any form of work. Yet, no one seems to follow it. There are an immense amount of studies on the benefits of taking breaks. Increasing productivity or improving cardiovascular health are among many of the positive effects of taking a break.
Long work hours and fatigue can create an accident-prone environment. This logic applies to both physical and mental mistakes. The more errors made while working, the more a company or an individual will have to pay for it on the backend.
Taking a break between multi-hour tasks is crucial while working from home. Try filling these breaks with refreshing activities, like meditation or exercise to maximize their effectiveness.
2.) Use centralized document software
Cloud ERP software has opened a lot of new doors for remote workforces. An example is the ability to access and edit the same document from anywhere. Seamless collaboration is one issue that you need to consider when moving to remote work. Remote document editing is a tool to help collaboration stay the same even when working from home. Cloud documents allow you to see who else is viewing documents and what edits they are making. Anyone involved with these documents will always be up-to-date but can also see historical revisions of the document.
3.) Cloud-based software access
Working remotely makes access to your IT team more restrictive, and when you do manage to get support, it can be hard to navigate the issues over the phone or screen share. Cloud ERP systems provide an option to make all software accessible on a single remote server. This way, remote workers never need an IT team and don’t even have to bother with installing anything. Instead, they can log into the server and start using the maintained systems.
4.) Use quick chat applications
If you want to encourage communication and collaboration between team members, invest in quick chat applications. It’s cumbersome to send emails for every issue or subject that needs discussion. This may also lead to an unnecessary number of phone and video calls. Instant messaging applications provide a platform for easily tackling problems that do not warrant deeper discussion. This keeps remote workers focused and on task.
5.) Remove distractions
If you’re working from home, you don’t have coworkers or a boss to keep you focused. Not to mention, there’s plenty of stuff to do all around you. This environment makes it easy to lose focus. Household chores or quick errands become way more accessible as well. Quickly tackling these errands can sometimes be an awesome benefit of working from home but may also turn into large distractions. It’s important to make some rules and keep yourself from not being distracted. One tip is to move your workstation into a more remote area of your house and make hobbies not easily accessible from there. Another strategy is to mentally categorize your time between work and home.
6.) Automatic schedule notifications
Without having to go into a physical meeting room or picking up a phone, it’s easy to lose yourself in your work and forget about something on your schedule. Downloading scheduling software and tweaking the settings to create automatic reminders is a lifesaver. Having these notifications pop right up on your computer screen or phone will ensure you’re never late for a call or meeting again.
7.) Disconnect from work
When working in the office it’s easy to make a distinction between work and home life. When working from home, that distinction goes away. This can be both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it can be very productive to work a couple of extra hours to get a certain task done. But when your work is an endless stream, it’s easy to work late into the night on tasks that are meant for the entire week. When leaving the office and driving home it’s easier to mentally disconnect yourself from work, but this process never occurs working from home. It’s important to set boundaries and routines that let you make the most of your time away from work.
At Premier Computing, we have more than 60 years of experience implementing solutions to optimize businesses in Utah and beyond. Contact us to see how we can help boost the remote productivity of you and your business.
