We don’t know about you but it’s increasingly harder to work from home (yes, we’re homebodies whom enjoys lazing around at home) with all the temptations & distractions around us. After all, it is home a.k.a our comfort zone right?
However, here are some helpful tips that you can use to really maximise your working time at home; which is good to adopt should the day come when we’re hit by a zombie apocalypse or the next flu bug.
1. Stick to a schedule: Treat your days like a normal workday. You should not be setting an alarm for the morning and then hitting the snooze button repeatedly until you realise it is noon time! However, it is perfectly fine to have a coffee break during your working hours. For some people, working from home may be quite daunting because they see themselves giving up their own personal lifestyle by being on-call (contactable and available via mobile) the whole day…which isn’t necessary. Just maintain your normal working hours and your own email rhythm.
2. Set a to-do list: Identify all the tasks that you need completed. It really helps us to focus throughout the day, lest we get carried away watching too many YouTube videos online.
3. Reduce distraction with a wire-free environment: The office has a nice setup, likely created by your friendly IT guy, which may not be easy to replicate at home. Instead, consider simplifying your setup with wireless devices, such as the Logitech Wireless All-in-One Keyboard TK820 or the Logitech M235 Wireless mouse. A neat desk and work space helps to create a productive environment and a more welcome sight, especially when you might need to overcome the initial inertia to work at home.
4. Get outside: Take a walk outside your block, get lunch or coffee from your nearby kopitiam, or just chat with your neighbour next door. Most of us actually need to take short breaks during work, be it to rest our eyes or to collect our thoughts for a bit; so just do the same as you would in the office. There would be some initial adjustment since you’re without your friends and colleagues. Or if you prefer to change your work environment, bring along your tablet and keyboard so that you can still work at the park or café…which might be a good idea if you need to avoid the evil afternoon nap.
5. Use the cloud: Some of us may not like to work from home because the all-important documents are in the office’s servers. If possible, back up your documents on cloud services such as Dropbox or Google Drive which will allow you to easily access your documents.
6. Listen to some music: If you’re one of those who need something to listen to, feel free to play your favourite tunes without the worry of disturbing your colleagues. You can play your tunes from your smartphones/tablets with a wireless speaker such as the UE MINI BOOM or hook up a Bluetooth speakers like the Logitech Bluetooth Speakers Z600 to your own set up. Just don’t forget to turn down the volume while you’re at a conference call or audio/video meeting.
At the end of the day, remember that working from home is really just that…work. It means that you shouldn’t be entertaining friends or family members during your working environment nor should you have non-work appointments (e.g. grocery trips). Once you’re able to establish a comfortable routine, it’ll be a lot easier to maximise your working hours at home…like Dilbert (:
