Here are five actionable tips on how you can work at home more effectively.
YOUR SCHEDULE CAN BE YOUR OWN
A lot of the work that can be done remotely nowadays can also be done on a flexible schedule. For example, if you’re a web developer or a content creator, you can most likely do your coding or writing whenever it suits you as long as you meet your deadlines. So, night owls, rejoice! You can still put in your eight hours without starting at 8 AM and drop the children to school as well as pick them up. The KEY however, is to plan your day and ignore with any interruption which will take more than 2 minutes to resolve. This “two-minute rule” is an efficient way to deal with interruptions.
TALKING OF INTERRUPTIONS AND DISTRACTIONS…
You need some to break the day, rest your brain and rest your eyes. But YOU plan them, not other people. Take them when YOU feel tired, or need a rest or a coffee.
If others try to intervene in your planned day, politely ask them to come back tomorrow, or not at all.
GET UP AND DO SOMETHING
If you do need to work specific hours, you’re sure to still have some break time—time you can use however you’d like! From nipping to the shops to getting some housework done! Even if you have just 10 minutes, you can do something that just wouldn’t be possible in a traditional office: bust those samba moves, play a few tunes on your guitar, or take a refreshing power nap. You’re guaranteed to come back feeling more refreshed than you would after 10 minutes at your desk surfing Facebook.
YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE ENJOYABLE AND EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
I bet you don’t know anyone who enjoys meetings. (No amount of free coffee and donuts can make up for having to sit in a stuffy conference room next to the pen-clicking guy from sales!) When you work remotely, you’ll not only be able to choose your breakfast and your seat, but you can also be much more effective. With just a few clicks, you can have 10 people on a video call that’ll probably last just 15 minutes instead of 45. And you can use the chat function in the video call to quickly share docs (forget making copies or having everyone search their emails) or to add important comments without interrupting anyone.
YOU CAN AVOID OFFICE POLITICS
There’s the old saying about relatives that “You can’t choose your family,” and the same goes for your co-workers. You might not be best friends with everyone when you work remotely. But, because idle chatting and time just hanging around the kitchen area isn’t possible, remote workers tend to skip the gossiping and posturing that happens in traditional work settings.
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