The Covid-19 has changed working life for millions across the UK, with more people than ever now working from home. If you’ve found yourself now working remotely and are keen to make it a success, read on. Here are five top tips to help you adjust to working from home.
Maintain regular hours
Maintaining regular hours can help to make homeworking so much easier. After all, if you set yourself a schedule, you’re more likely to stick to it. Plus, having clear guidelines can help you to maintain a better work-life balance. You’ll know when to start and when to clock off, which means you won’t end up working when you should be relaxing. Time-tracking apps like Clockify can help since they let you check whether you’re sticking to your set schedule.
Schedule breaks
One of the biggest mistakes many people make when working from is forgetting to schedule breaks into their working day. If your contract specifies break times, make sure you take them. Don’t use this time on your computer scrolling through Facebook either. Walking away from the screen during your breaks can increase your attention span, productivity, and the quality of your work.
Have a dedicated office space
For those who are new to working from home, it’s not unusual for them to work at the kitchen table whilst their families potter around them. However, this spells bad news for your productivity levels. Instead, try to create a quiet space within your home where you can work privately. Although you may not have a separate office, it’s important that you’re able to work in a location away from high-traffic living areas. Creating boundaries between you and those you live with is essential during the working day.
Ensure your internet is reliable
When you’re working from home regularly, you going to rely heavily on your broadband to get stuff done. Make sure the service you receive is fast enough for what you want to do. Whilst email and web browsing are lightweight activities that your broadband should be able to handle, other tasks may take up more bandwidth. For example, if your job requires you to download or upload many large files, you may require the faster transfer rates provided by a fibre optic broadband connection.
Invest in a tablet stand
The main tech essentials that everyone needs to work remotely are a decent computer and reliable internet. However, there are few other pieces of kit which can make homeworking far easier. One of these is a tablet stand. A tablet has become an essential tool in the world of business, and it’s likely to be an important element of your homeworking setup. A tablet stand can support the device and give you a clearer view of the screen. Since it raises the tablet off the work, it not only provides the perfect angle for videoconferencing, but also significantly aids in the prevention of 'tech-neck.'
Working from home can be difficult to adapt to at first. However, following these steps can help you adjust to home working successfully, demonstrating to your employer than you can do your job just as well from the comfort of your home.