The flexibility of working from home is a perk that not everyone gets to enjoy. It turns out it can be difficult to maintain the same productivity from home but many times the pros outweigh the cons.
A few reasons why working remote is better than being in the office…
Commute! Depending on how far you live from the office the commute can save you up to a few hours per day.
Interruptions. While having a lively office can be great sometime. Interruptions can be difficult to deal with while your in your flow state. Having a space at home to focus in can be really powerful.
Dressing casually. I’m actually not wearing any pants right now.
Breaks for exercise. If you’re working from home, why not work out at home too?
Spending time with pets and family. Having the dog at your feet all day just feels like winning.
While these things are great it can be more challenging to work from home too. You’ll need to get good at a few things to make this all work.
1.) Creating a good space to work is important. Many times we take for granted the spaces we have at work to use for different situations. In most jobs you will have dedicated areas for you to work alone in like an office. Places to collaborate or have meetings in, like conference rooms. And places to relax in like a break room.
Working remote you will need to dedicate a special area for work. Sitting at the kitchen table with your laptop can work but isn’t as valuable as your office at work. One of the problems with not having a home office is distractions at home. While being around family can be nice, they will most likely pull you away from work just like friends in the office. Having a room to go in and shut the door can be invaluable to maintain your flow state while working.
2.) Communicating with the people you live with about your working from home expectations.
A lot of times if you live with someone who does not work from home, including children, they will not understand that you being home is not the same as you working from home. You’re going to need to set boundaries with your housemates especially during your working hours.
3.) Communicating with people at work about work life balance. You may be a person that likes to wake up early and get a head start on the day, or you may be a night owl that works best after the sun goes down. Either way, if it works for your team, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to be like you. So it’s important to be clear with your coworkers on when you’re going to be available to collaborate.
A few tips to make this easier would be: marking your away status on your calendar or on your communication app. You can also keep your phone handy when you aren’t at the computer. While this might be an inconvenience, it could help in an emergency work situation.
4.) Surely you are going to be using technology in your new role working remotely. Your especially likely to be using either Google Hangout, Zoom, GoToMeeting or another software to attend video meetings. It’s always smart to get comfortable with your software before you need to use them in a group setting. Asking a coworker to do a mock run is always a good idea to get your feet wet and mess around with the functions.
Before your first meeting you are going to want to make sure you’re comfortable with a few key functions. Always confirm you know how to use change your audio and video settings and are comfortable troubleshooting just in case. Get used to using screen share, especially if you have a two monitor setup. Finally make sure you turn off notifications. It’s best to not have any distractions during your meeting.
5.) Finally I recommend finding alternative workspaces outside of your home! Just because you can work from home, doesn’t mean you have to work from home all the time. As long as your setup is mobile, try to find a few places nearby that you can work from with a good Wi-Fi setup.
Check out local cafes. Most have a good Wi-Fi and are a great place to be around other people so you don’t feel like a hermit. Also maybe stop in your local library. It’s literally designed as a quite place where people can get things done in.
