Truth is, working remotely does not come naturally for many of us and that is okay.
It is an art that can be learned if practiced and trusted to do so. If you want to work successfully remotely there are a few things you must know, which are necessary to achieve productivity. I will like to share a few of these things with you based on my experience working remotely as a digital marketer.
Find a remote location that suits you
Most people mix remote work with only staying in the comfort of their home to work, but remote work can be done in many other locations. To prepare effectively for remote work, you need to make sure that your work environment is at least as good as, if not better than, your on-site work environment. The idea is to get a place that will help you stay focused and get more work done. I chose to work alone in an office different from my workplace office because I knew I would get more distracted and be less productive at home. Make sure this is also a safe space where social distancing is practiced and enforced.
Ensure there is Reliable Internet Connection
One of the most important things to get right when working remotely is your internet connection. Should you be in the middle of trying to focus on work when your internet connection suddenly dies, you’ll be left to rely on your internet service provider to fix your problem.
Make Sure You Have a Decent Computer
Next on the list of things that can make or break your remote working efforts is your computer. If you are lucky, you may have a sufficiently powerful computer provided by your job. However, it’s also quite likely that you won’t. If the latter is the case, then you need to make sure that your personal computer is up to the task. It would be terrible to get to the point where you can work remotely, only to have a severely underpowered computer that makes it impossible to be productive. Without proper and adequate resources you will become frustrated.
Time-Tracking Tools
I highly recommend using a tool to track your time. It’s really easy when working remotely to get into the habit of working too little or too much. Not to mention those additional distractions that come every now and then. For the first few weeks of remote work, it can often help a lot if you track all of your time, including your time off the clock, to make sure that you are keeping a reasonable balance between home and the office.
File and Note Sync
If you are working remotely, you also need to have a good mechanism for moving files between one location and the other. Additionally, you need a good way to synchronize your notes. The best way to accomplish these goals varies considerably depending on what kind of tool your company uses, and how you communicate with your team. The main goal of all this is to make sure that the inputs to your work process (things like specifications, notes, and documentation) are available in a location-agnostic manner.
Being reachable by phone
Keep your phone close when working remotely, especially if you are on the clock. Your boss or colleague may need to reach you. You don’t want them thinking you are off doing something else when you should be working, do you? While you may not want to be distracted with unnecessary calls make it a point to at least check your phone periodically for missed calls especially if your phone is in silent mode. Additionally, you should make sure that you are easily reachable by whichever chat programs are in use at your company ex: WhatsApp. If you are easy to reach in chat, most tech-savvy people won’t call you anyway. I personally really dislike the interruptions caused by phone calls, and I try to minimize those by being easy to reach in other ways.
These tips will not only keep your employer happy and make you a trustworthy employee, but they will also help to manage performance and productivity. Remote work is a great option for most workers and this is just a friendly reminder that if you have a proper and efficient set up before you embark on working remotely it will be a positive and rewarding experience. I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me.