With more and more companies allowing their employees to work remote, achieving ideal work productivity is top of mind. The freedom and flexibility of working from home or on the go takes the right set up and setting to ensure you can do your job to your best ability. If you are a remote employee, here are five steps you can take to maximize productivity.
Create a solid workspace
For remote employees working from home, it’s important to designate an area that is most conducive to getting your job done. Pick a place in your house that is away from distracting areas, staying away from the kitchen or living room with the T.V. A large desk complete with a large-screen monitor set up, keyboard and mouse can also help you feel like you’re in a professional office space, and at the same time, can provide more comfort as you work throughout the day.
Set up a strong connection
When you’re working remotely, it’s essential to have reliable home internet service to ensure email communications and file transferring over a server can be properly executed. If you have splotchy internet, work does not wait for you. Doing your job may simply not allow for a break in connection so investing in fast internet service is one thing you can put on top of your priorities when it comes to setting up your remote work space.
Abide to a routine
Sometimes working from home can become a bit too unrestrictive. It takes some self-discipline to properly go about the non-traditional job setup. Establish a routine for yourself and some rules you’d like to hold yourself accountable for. Since no one is technically around to keep tabs on you while you work, you need to be your own boss in a sense. To get into work mode, try dressing as if you were going into an office, or at least getting out of your pyjamas to start the day. Make a schedule that allows you to get a good amount of work done in a focused amount of time. You can still take the breaks you like, and set aside dedicated time for errands or a workout during the day, but make sure you set time limits to outside tasks in order to keep working momentum going.
Remove distractions
Just like you would at the office, you need to set boundaries for distractions. For example, turn your phone on silent so you can avoid getting distracted by pop-up notifications, personal messages or calls that aren’t work-related. There are even self-control apps available that block out websites and emails that deter your productivity. If you need your phone on because your job calls for it, perhaps set up a separate landline or have a dedicated smartphone for work calls. If there are others at home during the time you work, make it clear that you are currently doing your job and would appreciate not being disturbed while you work.
Maintain continuous communications
Because you’re not physically near your colleagues, make it a point to be extra available for communications with them. You can do this by setting up regular conference calls, perhaps doing video conferencing so you can get more face-to-face time. Make sure you are easily accessible so that if they have any questions or requests you can immediately tend to them as if you would if you were in the same office. It’s important to establish this sense of teamwork and continual communication to feel as if everything is on track and moving forward with each job that needs to be completed.
Working remotely is one thing. Doing it successfully is another. You can effectively work remotely and reach maximum productivity by incorporating the proper steps and routine into your day-to-day. Once you’ve got the right set-up, you’ll be able to fully take advantage of the perks of working remotely and get the job done with finesse.
