5 proven tips for remote work

 

I truly believe that working remotely is the best way to take control of your time, but it can be a bit of a minefield. So if you are brand new to remote work, or even if you've been at it for a while, you are in the right place.

Doing all ten of them at once is probably going to be too much for most people. I recommend doing them in the order that I've laid out for maximum impact and minimal feelings of being overwhelmed. Let's jump into it.

 

Tip #1: Talk to your housemates about expectations.
 

It doesn't matter what your living situation is.

If it involves other people, you should probably have a conversation with them about what reasonable expectations are. A lot of times, if you live with people who don't have experience working remotely, they might make the mistake of expecting you to be available during work hours the way you are during the evenings and weekends, and you're just not during that time. It's work hours.

So work is your number one priority, the same way it would be if you were working in an office. Now, if you don't have this sort of conversation, you will probably end up in a situation where someone that you live with asks you to do something or makes demands on your time in a way that you aren't able to fulfill.

and that can create conflict. And that conflict is avoidable by going up front and having a conversation about expectations.

Tip #2: Create a comfortable, dedicated workspace that can be used as a home base

Now, a lot of first-time remote workers are surprised to find that their home life and their work life kind of meld together. But the reason that happens is pretty obvious.

 

These activities are happening in the same space. So the way to mitigate that is also obvious. Try to create a dedicated space where you do your work. Now, a home office is the pinnacle. If you can have a home office, that is amazing.

 

But a lot of people don't have that luxury. So if you aren't able to have a home office, see if you can find a desk, even if it's a small desk that will fit in your bedroom, where you can primarily set it up as your workspace. But sometimes even that isn't possible.

 

Don't just stop at investing in ergonomics. Consider investing in the appearance of your dedicated workspace as well.Think about color, texture, plants, and art.

All of these things can make the experience of working in your workspace far more pleasant.

 

Tip #3: Proactively identify and mitigate any distractions that are encountered during the day

 

When you're working from home, you are surrounded by all of the activities you normally do during your free time. And when you're not in an office, you don't have coworkers around you to provide that additional accountability to stay focused and on task.

 

So you have to take up the slack and make sure that you're being mindful and present and paying attention to how those distractions are affecting your performance during the day.

 

Is having the television on really helping your productivity? Are you checking your phone more than you normally would? How many trips to the refrigerator have you made in the last 2 hours? 

All of these sorts of distractions can keep you from doing your best, most productive work when you're working remotely. So pay attention, be humble and honest, and find ways to reduce how those distractions are affecting you.

 

Tip #4: Find an organisation system that works for you in your personal life and in your work life
 

It's really important to make sure that both aspects of your life are as organised as possible, because if one is disorganized, the other is going to feel disorganised as well. However, because I have a very strong organisational system, I am able to take those thoughts.Now, I don't want to say that your organisational system has to work for both places.

 

It's fine if you have one organisation system for work and another for personal life.It's even better if you have one that works for both. But you don't have to. Not everyone's situation is going to be conducive to that. 

The important thing is that both areas are organised so you don't experience distraction, feelings of overwhelm, or anything else that brings down your productivity as a result of having too many things to do and not knowing where they fit in your life.

 

Tip #5. Have a solid morning and evening routine

 

It is a classic work-from-home newbie move to roll out of bed a couple of minutes before you're supposed to be awake, aware, and present for work. That is a terrible idea. like a literal recipe for disaster. Do not do that.

 

Now, I'm not saying that you need to wake up at 5:00 a.m. And have a detailed morning routine. That works for some people. It works really well for me, but it's not for everyone. So think about what you need to do as a bare minimum to make sure that when you open your laptop and you're ready to start working, you are aware that you are awake, you are present, and you are able to do your job well from the jump.