Working Remotely- A Complete Guide to Turn You Into a Pro

Over the last couple of years, remote working has passed a long way from a novel work arrangement that benefits both employers and employees to a new industry standard. Granted, the COVID-19 pandemic did a lot to force the hand of fate, but at the moment, 80% of the companies plan to allow their staff to work from home, while 47% will enable workers to stay at home full-time.

Тhis massive shift will inevitably cause some changes. The workload is going to increase, competition in the sector will become much stronger, and sheer commitment will no longer be enough to stay at the top of the food chain.

Let us then take a look at some of the ways to ramp up your remote working game and become a real stay-at-home pro.

Streamline communication channels

Emails will always be at the foundation of formal corporate correspondence. However, it is hard to deny that this channel is horribly off the mark when it comes to day-to-day chatter that actually gets the work done. So, do your best to expand your communication arsenal with the corporate staples like Slack, Zoom, Fleep, Workplace by Facebook, Twitter, and even GitHub if you are working in the tech sector. Also, keep in mind that a full-time job leaves very little time for video conferencing, so put your focus on chat, file sharing, and collaborative tools and features.

Supply yourself with the latest-gen gadgets

The goal here is to automate what can be automated, streamline the work processes and why not – create yourself a pleasant work environment where you will be able to attain a higher level of efficiency. Where to start? You can look for the same tools for starting a small business – automate social media marketing and email correspondence, let the AI handle scheduling workflow and project management, and ramp up cybersecurity. As for the things to get you going, you can always benefit from monitors with 3D drawers, smart markers, smart desks, and so on.

Find a way to handle Google contacts

Spend a couple of months working at home, and you will see this is an issue that requires careful consideration. The bulk of business correspondence still goes through and utilizes Google services. Keeping that in mind, hitting the maximum of 25,000 is very easy, while sharing them needs to be performed manually through spreadsheets. If you are working in any field that requires prompt sharing (e.g., marketing), this is a huge roadblock. Fortunately, you have an option to install some of the apps that allow you to share Google contacts with one click and leave this issue behind.

Try to find a functional work-life balance

Staying productive for 8 hours a day is probably one of the biggest challenges of working from home. No matter how hard you try, the option to organize your own work time usually slips into slacking, and even the work hours are riddled with distractions and low productivity. With the things as they are, most of your productivity will come by prioritizing the critical tasks (1 to 3 per day), avoid multitasking since it is a productivity killer, try to stay within the comfort of the 9 to 5 shifts, and always, creating the list of activities for tomorrow and make a clear break between work and home.

Use time tracking and time constraints

These two things are an excellent way to measure your efficiency, notice any performance drops and motivate yourself to push harder. Of course, setting up a manageable time frame will require a bit of trial and error, but once you see how fast you can plow your way through various tasks, you will be able to schedule your work hours like a pro. If you want to make this process easier, you can try using automatic time tracking tools like PaymoPlus that record everything you are doing at the moment (apps, tabs, idle time, etc.) go a long way in helping you assess your productivity peaks and lows.

Maintain a mental and physical health

Last but not least, working from home means you will spend no time commuting and have no opportunity to mingle with your colleagues. Sometimes this can sound like a welcome break, but in the long run, isolation at home (even if you are not living alone) can have a profound impact on your mental and physical health. That is why you should play up your social contacts, find a way to hang out with co-workers during off-hours (brainstorming is simply not the same online) and use the time you would spend commuting to do something for your physical well-being.

We hope these few guidelines will help you stay on top of the game once you move your work tasks home. Telecommuting sector is booming, and it will only continue to grow in the following years.

About Emma Worden

Emma is a digital marketer and blogger from Sydney. After getting a marketing degree she started working with Australian startups on business and marketing development. Emma writes for many relevant, industry related online publications and does a job of an Executive Editor at Bizzmark blog and a guest lecturer at Melbourne University. Interested in marketing, startups and latest business trends. Follow Emma on Twitter.