Working from home guide
Due to the spread of the coronavirus, many companies have switched to remote mode, which is a kind of stress for employees. Despite the many advantages that remote work provides, it is often difficult to organise it correctly. In this article, we share the most common mistakes, but also tips on how to work effectively from home.
Most common mistakes when working remotely:
1. Remote or round the clock
Mistake number one is associated with high volume and overwork. While working in the office or holding meetings with clients in a “live” format, you perhaps planned 4-5 meetings a day. 1 hour was dedicated to a meeting and one hour for the road. Now, when holding meetings in an online format using various communicators and platforms, you may think: since there is no need to allocate time for the road, you can set more meetings, the number of them can be increased to 8-9 meetings a day.
But what happened before, and what is happening to our brain now? During breaks or “road”, our brain rebooted, that is, made decisions, finished thoughts, rested, switched to other tasks, contemplated the overall picture of what was happening, analysed the solution of problems. Now it has to postpone all these “reboots” and spend 100% of the time in total concentration. You get tired, it is difficult to switch at the end of the day, and there are hundreds of letters and messages that are still waiting for a response.
Reduce the number of meetings and calls, conferences, etc. Make sure to leave time for analysing the results of meetings, posing or recording thoughts. Reply to messages or letters.
2. Unclear business goals
Mistake number two centres around dilution and blurring of business and project goals. Information channels have become thinner and non-verbal signals are not available.
Stay focused on business goals.
Make sure to have good communication with the manager. Allocate and ask for a few hours a week for this purpose. This time will be for setting goals and analysing results, as well as for actual feedback.
You must have individual hours on key questions regarding the purpose of the business: what are the results over the past week? What are the goals for the next period? What kind of personal help or support do you need?
3. Information noise
Needless to say, how much information noise is gathering around us. Social media feeds and messages from friends, holidays, 1000 identical cards and much more. All this distracts you from the necessary information flow. It leads to “mental gum” and experiences not only for situations worthy of attention but also for other people’s “false” hypotheses.
Make your own development plan based on personal and professional goals for the next six months or a year.
It’s time to concentrate on your growth zone! Turn off unnecessary news, unsubscribe from unnecessary mailings, stop supporting conversations and other people’s posts not related to you. Let your information field be cleared of all the noise, and you can better use the information you need.
How to work effectively from home
1. Create your schedule
You need to get used to the changed way of life. Give yourself time to rebuild. Remote working requires a high level of concentration and the ability to create your own time constraints. It is especially difficult to focus if you are doing new work that requires more thought and involvement in the process.
How to build a new work schedule? You need to allocate the time for breaks, time for the distractions and the time that you spend on the task. In a few days, you will find your new comfort mode.
2. Equip a comfortable workspace
Working conditions at home seem to be ideally flexible – for example, you can sit not on a chair, but in a soft armchair, not in office clothes, but in your favourite pyjamas. But this illusion will quickly dissipate because, in reality, ergonomics and “sharpening” things for work are important.
Think of a comfortable workplace for yourself: a chair with a back, a wide table on which elbows fit, remove anything that is not related to work.
3. Monitor the load
If you’re not in the office, the day can be busy. Keep interruptions to a minimum and focus on work tasks. This may be especially difficult for those who are passionate about their work: they may not have time for themselves at all.
4. Move meetings online
Should you do face-to-face meetings? A better solution would be to replace them with virtual ones. A web conference is the best choice for this. Thus, you will kill two birds with one stone: you do not have to spend your time on transport, and personal contact will remain.
5. Be careful with confidential information
In remote mode, the risk of confidential data being stolen is higher. Make sure that you check that your computers and smartphones are reliably protected, and the Internet connection is safe. It’s best to use a VPN. If you are trying new applications for online work, do not post your personal information there until you have received consent from IT professionals.
Conclusion
There is no point in arguing – “for” remote work or “against” it. It is the time when we need to learn how to adapt! The effectiveness of remote employees exists. Companies that implement the right methods and equip employees with the right tools can even gain productivity.
Make these simple rules of remote work a habit and when you need it, you can easily return to the office and be equally productive everywhere.
