It is one thing to decide beginning remote work. It is quite another to get your home set up for this. Let us take a look at twenty-two tips to work from home effectively.
- List out your home office requirements
- Homing in on the right space
- Lighting up well
- Dedicated phone
- Ergonomics
- Get good equipment
- Instill office discipline
- Antivirus protection
- Invest in greenery
- Keep personal life seperate
- Set your limits
- Create a cheerful office space
- Keep away from social media temptations
- Think of ways to manage a baby/pet
- Get an app for time management
- Figure in distractions and how to manage them
- VPN access
- Arrange for a good backup
- Rope in family
- Keep track of time
- Ensure workspace comfort
- Work to a plan
1. List out your home office requirements
First things first, basically. Before you set out to get going, your home office needs to be in a state of readiness. And for that to happen, you will need to list out in detail what you would need for your home office. A dedicated phone, fast internet connection
2. Homing in on the right space
Of prime importance is zeroing in on a space where you will make your home office. This is where you will be spending very long hours each day working. This space ideally needs to be in a quiet corner of your house. It should be preferably a room with a door so that you can close it to the rest of the house and have your privacy. It will help your cause if the room is naturally well-lighted and cheery. That might be quite a demand in smaller apartments though. In case you do not have the luxury of a room to yourself, do not fret. A shared space in a bigger room can become yours when you lay down the rules clearly. Arrange to have some sort of an indication that is mutually agreed upon by the family, to let them know when it is okay to walk in and at what times would you prefer to be on your own.
3. Lighting up well
As discussed, your work space is an area of the house you will be spending a lot of time in. Not all of this time is going to be easy. There will be stressors at work, deadlines looming and the threat of a very long work day. How your work station helps cheer up the mood and boost productivity is vital. A very important role is played by good lighting. Remember that more than aesthetics; it is functionality we are talking about here. Bright natural light and a cheerful corner of the house do sound ideal. But as with most ideal things, it is not easy to achieve this in reality. What one can do is to install adequate lights at the workspace. Bright but soothing lights will help ease the strain on your eyes when you are working for long hours at a stretch.
4. Dedicated phone
It is essential that you invest in a dedicated phone for all your work-related requirements. Using your home phone might expose sensitive data to possible leakage or piracy. This will not be palatable for most offices. Data sanctity is a matter of zero tolerance and compromise with companies. The penalties can be severe if there is found to be anything lacking on your part, from financial repercussions to possible job loss. Having a dedicated phone for work eliminates this possibility to a large extent. In addition to this, there is the issue of disturbances and unwanted calls. Most of us find our phones pinging away at all hours of the day. This is okay when one is not working. When involved in serious work and with commitments and deadlines involved, answering odd calls can be very distracting.
5. Ergonomics
A very important aspect of working with comfort is the ergonomics of the office. This office space might very well be your home. But it will simply not do to drag in a chair from the next room and expect one to sit on it and work the whole day. Your discomfort will reflect poorly upon your work; that much is for sure. While setting up your home office, go the extra mile for yourself. Be selfish and invest in a well-designed chair along with a functional workbench. Make sure you have all additional equipment at arm’s length as well. The storage and drawers ideally should be easily accessible from your work station. Online work automatically means lots of electronic equipment and resultant wires and connections. Make sure that all of it is within your reach while at the same time segregated and
6. Get good equipment
Most work from home jobs require very little in the way of infrastructure. A phone, a working internet, a pair of headphones and a laptop is all one needs most of the time. It is important to get these in good order before beginning work. You will be on your own at home without technical support. Equipments in good condition ensure less breakdowns and smoother work environment. You might feel inclined to skimp a bit in the beginning when setting up your home office. But in the long run, an established brand will work better for you. There will be customer support and replacements within warranty that will ensure uninterrupted work flow for you.
7. Instill office discipline
Flexibility is all very good but it can lead you to get carried away. After all, you will need to put in hours. And get the work done too. A certain amount of discipline always helps in better focus. Working from home does not mean you are unsupervised at all times. There may be a need to report to your supervisor on the progress of a project or work. Making oneself disciplined and available for interaction is part of setting up a successful office from home.
8. Antivirus protection
Along with getting the basic requirements in place, you must think of investing in reliable antivirus protection. Your computer will be exposed to all kinds of websites. Through the course of your workday, you will need to visit multiple sites. Some of them might not be safe enough. Protecting your own system as well as sensitive data that is contained within is your own responsibility as well as commitment to your employers.
9. Invest in greenery
An essential part of setting your home up for a new work from home venture is to look after the work environs. You are all set to begin a fruitful career from home. A good work space is one which encourages a positive frame of mind while instilling focus and concentration. Along with this is the relief you need with staying cooped up in a corner of your house. This is the time to invest in some greenery around your workspace. There are different types of house plants which are well known for their calming properties. Consider having plants like peace lily, snake plant, pepper mint, bamboo palm and many such.
10. Keep personal life Separate
This is easier said than done of course. But it is no less important. The seamless shift from work to home when you are working on-site just does not happen from home. Try to keep to office hours, then shut down the computer and get back to family. In addition to this, make sure that your family members do not have access to your office work. Keep a separate computer if required. Otherwise it would be better to keep office work password-protected. Breach of security and data leakage is frowned upon in work. You need to ensure this does not happen at your end.
11. Set your limits
Family and friends tend to take home workers less seriously than normal. For them, you are around and you are available 24×7. The onus is entirely upon you to set strict limits. Set limits not only with your children, pets and family members, but also with friends and relatives. Impress upon them the fact that this is a proper job, and that you are answerable to someone. Maintaining office hours will help to enforce discipline.
12. Create a cheerful office space
Imagine sitting in a corner hours-on-end staring at the same wall day in and day out. The same pictures in the same frame and the same shade of blue stare you down whenever you look up. This can be quite a de-motivator.
13. Keep away from social media temptations
Constantly pinging phones and laptops can be very distracting for a home worker. If you are one of those that find it impossible to ignore a ping, it is better to keep a separate computer for work. This one should ideally let you communicate only with office. It should not have any social media shortcuts with you signed in. Keep all such distracting possibilities in your personal computer so that when you take a break from work and want to browse your social media messages, you will have to physically get up and go to the next room. This can act as a deterrent to the most enthusiastic worker amongst us.
14. Think of ways to manage a baby/pet
Working from home can be a challenge if you have a small baby to look after. Having a pet at home is equally so. This is because both need lot of attention and time. And that is something that a full-fledged job can ill afford. Once you have figured out what kind of job you will be taking up, you will know the demands of the same. If the nature of the job is too demanding and you figure out that you will have little time on your hands, you will need to find ways to manage baby. Some people have parents to look after their children. If that is not a viable option, look for childcare services and babysitting options so that there is someone to attend to your baby.
15. Get an app for time management
Time management is of utmost importance in the work from home setting. Accepting that fact that it is not easy to manage every aspect of home as well as stick to work demands is a first step. To be frank, getting everything done on time can get quite overwhelming at times. It is better to install a desktop app on your computer to help you with this. Trello is one of the most popular apps when it comes to virtual time management. Most home workers swear by this. There are others like Slack, Github, and Asana that do the same for you. Before you get started on your work, make sure you install one of these in your system.
16. Figure in distractions and how to manage them
Working from home can create any number of distractions. You have to accept this fact. There will be doorbell ringing at odd hours. People may feel free to call you at any time. Kids and family tend to take your presence for granted. And they walk into your space unhindered. All of this is going to happen when working from home. The easiest way to manage this is to set strict boundaries. Talk to your family first and let them realize this is important to you. Close the door to your workspace so that people stay off limits. That is not to say you are now on an island. Impress upon them that you are still available but only in case of emergencies, or when you are taking a break from work. If you do not set this mechanism in place, it will be tough to handle distractions.
17. VPN access
The aspect of security cannot be emphasized enough when working from home. You are answerable to the client for anything that goes awry. Why let this situation arise at all? Consult with your employer in order to have access to the office network in order to send or receive files and sensitive documents. This will have firewalls, phishing and anti-spam protection, hence providing a safer environment.
18. Arrange for good backup
As part of the security set up when you begin to work from home, go in for a good backup system. There are various ways in which you can lose valuable data and this is simply not done. It is a good idea to invest in an adequate external backup drive with a good capacity. This will help you in protecting your data at all times. In case there is any issue, you can rely on your external hard drive to reload all of your data. This is the best way to ensure there is no loss of data on your part.
19. Rope in family
Home is made up of family members. And you will need their cooperation and support in order to keep working effectively. Work does not after all mean banging away mindlessly on the keyboard, unmindful of everything that goes in around you. There will be issues that will crop up regularly. And being at home, you will have to be a part of it, whether you like it or not. Before you commit yourself to a job, have a frank chat with all your family members. Irrespective of their age and what they do, each member has a responsibility towards smooth working of family life. There are jobs that can be easily shared and done. Taking them into confidence and telling them how much your new venture means to you will help in the long run. Once it is all talked over and settled, family will understand your time and commitment constraints. They will then chip in with their bit and help with household chores.
20. Keep track of time
Working from home often leads to one getting distracted. Someone at the door, an unwanted call, or a bawling kid, anything can take away your focus. Or simply browsing the internet when you want to take a break can distract you. The problem with not having a boss breathing down your neck in the home setting is in losing track of time. How much time you spend away from your work station is very important to be documented. If you are able to track this, well and good. In most cases, it is tough to do so effectively. Use technology to help you; set alarms and reminders about looming deadlines or a scheduled meeting. The reverse is true as well. You need to work to time and then shut off for the day. Work from home often tempts people to just go on and on, the mindset being that since I am around, I might as well get that part of the job finished. And before you know you are deep into your work, with the family feeling neglected.
21. Ensure workspace comfort
Working long hours cooped up in a room or a restrictive space can get uncomfortable. Make sure your air conditioning is working right for the summer months and the heater is doing its job in winter. This ensures you feel comfortable in your space. A few snacks at arm’s length would be good too, provided you do not binge all the time of course. A coffee machine in the room is a bit too much perhaps, but having one down the hallway works great. You get to physically walk to the coffee machine to grab your cuppa, getting some blood flow into the legs as well as taking a break too. (Just make sure you have the best coffee – I personally use Bulletproof Coffee – Check out Amazon or Bulletproof)
22. Work to a plan
Once your home has been set up with chairs and desks, air-conditioners and heaters, lights and sights, you are almost there. All you need now is to work out a plan for
Remember that good planning and systematic execution helps you in the long run. When things are in order, you will be able to focus better and carry out your job responsibilities well. Granted there will be days when nothing will work to a plan. And that one cannot really predict such days. Keeping your cool and communicating your situation to your company will go a long way in weathering such crises.