- June 15, 2020
- Posted by: Turlock PC
- Category: How To
During these unprecedented times, we understand that many of us have had to adapt a new work from home structure into our lives. Although this can pose its own set of challenges, it can also teach us new skills we wouldn’t have learned otherwise that can be helpful moving forward in our jobs. To help with this transition, we have compiled a list of our top three tips for working from home.
- Create a Schedule & Stick to It
Having a set amount of hours each day can help you manage your time wisely giving you the ability to maintain a healthy balance between your personal life and work. When creating your work schedule, be mindful of when you feel most productive in a day and be sure to account for breaks throughout your time to help prevent burnout. Our next piece of advice is to start each morning off right. This step can be different for everyone. If you are someone who feels more productive when they change out of their loungewear and get ready for the day, work sometime in your schedule for a morning routine that allows you to do just that. Furthermore, just because many of our Summer plans are on hold doesn’t mean that calendars are obsolete now. We recommend writing down your tasks before the start of each day in either a planner or to-do list to give yourself a clear view of your daily goals as well as important deadlines that are coming up.
- Keep a Dedicated Office Space
Working from your bed can seem tempting at first but mixing work and leisure time can cause problems later down the line. Not only will you be more likely to become distracted, you can also begin to associate your bed with work which can make it more difficult to sleep at night. Ideally, this home office should be a space that you only use when working but if that isn’t possible, we suggest choosing a place that has either a desk or table and a chair. Other features that could be helpful in motivating you to keep working are access to natural lighting as well as fresh air, having a clear workspace, and being close to an outlet for charging capabilities.
- Communication is Key
Switching from face to face communication to digital communication can be difficult especially if your company isn’t already accustomed to using technology in business practices. With this being said, it is important now more than ever to encourage an open dialogue amongst everyone involved in the company in order to ensure that expectations are clear all around. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need at this time either whether it’s a VPN to protect company information while working from home, reliable WIFI, software specific to your assigned tasks, or something entirely different. This piece of advice also applies to personal needs as well. If yourself or a family member are struggling at this time and you feel that it may interfere with your ability to do your job wholeheartedly, be transparent with your management to avoid any potential misunderstandings. Lastly, in our current conditions, it is easy to feel alone or isolated from others. With this being said, we encourage you to reach out to your colleagues outside of regular office hours in an effort to continue making connections with one another. Some suggestions we have are to start a book club in your free time and to ask how they are handling transitions to see if there are things they are doing that you can incorporate into your life as well.
Whether you are brand new to the idea of working remotely or an experienced veteran in the field, we hope that you were able to learn something valuable from this installment of our blog. As always, if you have any questions or are in need of any PC/Mac services, feel free to contact us!