Essential for working from home tech
Some people think that working from home is a perfect excuse for not working at all. The objective of work is not to be at work – it’s to get work done. But the truth is, making the adjustment from the office to your home can be challenging—even if you’ve done it before. With more workers valuing a work-life balance, the future of work is working from anywhere there’s Wi-Fi (and hand sanitizer, lots of hand sanitizer and toilet paper).
In 2016, I left my corporate job in the technology industry to work on my own business from home. It was a big adjustment and a hard choice for me.
As so many people are pushed to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m seeing a lot of the same adjustments.
While I didn’t have to make these adjustments during such turbulent times, I did so successfully and today I want to share a few tips for working from home that have helped me. Here are the best work from home essentials and tips that’ll boost productivity (and keep you sane from staying inside all day).
Hopefully, these tips will help you make sure that you’re successful, both at getting your work done and at maintaining your mental well-being.
1. Get Dressed
I’ve been working from home for a while, and there’s still the temptation to stay in my bed and lounge around in my pajamas. But I'll tell you - it won't get you far.
It might seem like a simple tip, but it’s a crucial one.
2. Have a Dedicated Work Area
The most important thing you can do is create a dedicated work area. I’ve found that having a dedicated space away from distractions has been key to feeling engaged and connected to my team. This can be a separate room in the house or a low-traffic corner of another room. The key is to have an area that is for “work.”
At some point, working from your bed can hurt your posture (and get a little too relaxing), so a decent office desk chair is a must. If you are lacking a table that can function as a dedicated workspace, I would go for the Autonomous standing desk. Boost your energy and productivity by just one click.
If you don’t have the space (or the need) to invest in an entirely new office chair, but would like to make any chair that you already own a bit more comfortable, consider a seat cushion as well as a chair mat from Vitrazza for smooth gliding and to protect your floors. If you have hardwood floors you will thank me later!
While a flat desk and comfortable chair is a great way to start, it doesn’t end here. I would invest in noise cancelling headphones. Microsoft has great options.
3. Take Breaks
It’s important to be accessible during work hours but don’t feel tethered to your computer. Most humans can only concentrate for 90 minutes at a time anyway.
We’re all looking at screens more, no shame here, but what's all this screen time actually doing? Humans didn't evolve to stare at bright screens all day. People are experiencing work, play, entertainment and relationships through digital devices and our eyes are suffering the consequences.
4. Adjust Your Plan As Necessary
Sitting in the office at specific times does not equal productivity – following a smart routine does. But different people require different routines, it’s important to define your everyday routine and manage it. Some things to ask yourself: Do you work better in the morning, in the afternoon or at night?
The best morning routine involves using a tool that will help you prepare yourself for the day ahead. I like reviewing my workload on apps like Toggl because it uses a visual timeline, which means it lays all your tasks out on the table for you to see clearly. You can even zoom out of your current work week and get a bird’s-eye view of the next month, 3 months, or even year.
I usually get up at 6 a.m. feed my son, work out and then eat breakfast, prepare coffee and in the meantime, I check my emails. Then I take a shower and dress like I would go to the office. A deep focus that you achieve in silence can do wonders to your working process, especially if you do creative things.
But not every day looks the same. I think it’s important to make your routine flexible, so when something else comes up, you can easily change your schedule. What you can do is set up strict hours for focused work without distractions.
5. Focus on Tasks That are Important
The important tasks are those that push you towards your goals. Unimportant tasks are those that distract you from your goals. Distraction is one of the big challenges facing people who work from home—especially people who aren’t used to it. That means that whatever you’re usually thinking about getting home to after work is now with you. It’s human to get distracted. But you need to be wary of how much you let yourself get distracted.
Even for the stuff you think you’re too close to let go of, you can get help. Hire a personal assistant to help you execute on the repetitive work that holds you back from making the biggest impact possible in your role or business.
6. Isolation
Working at home, alone, can be a benefit at first, but highly sociable people eventually suffer. Some people may feel lonely when telecommuting. The solution? Make an extra effort to communicate with non-work friends and family as well as your remote colleagues. Some ways you can overcome this challenge is organizing Zoom dates, video chats and “virtual water cooler” – a practice of getting the team together on a meeting to chat about the non-work-related stuff.
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Footnotes:
Business Insider. What staring at a screen all day does to your brain and body. Feb 2019. REF: https://www.businessinsider.com/screen-time-effects-health-vision-staring-at-screens-bad-for-you-2019-1?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=topbar
The Vision Council. Digital Eye Strain Problems & Conditions. REF: https://www.thevisioncouncil.org/media-room