In the current climate, so many people and businesses are now working remotely. Enabling us all to continue serving our customers during uncertain times, it is the ideal way to follow the UK Government’s guidance whilst still meeting business needs.
As brilliant as working remotely can be, it can often be difficult to strike a balance between work life and home life, as well as maintaining a good routine to ensure productivity. After all, working remotely brings a whole new meaning to bringing your work home with you. Here are a few of our favourite tips to make working remotely work for you:
Maintain Regular Working Hours
As tempting as it may be to have an extra hour in bed or an extended lunch break, maintaining your regular working hours can help ensure working remotely is effective for you. By setting a schedule you have clear guidelines on when you will and won’t be working, helping you to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Stick to a Routine
Similar to maintaining regular working hours, it is important that you have a set routine that you are able to stick to in order to maintain some normalcy throughout your working day. For some, working in your pyjamas may have no effect on your ability to work. But for others, it can be detrimental to your productivity. We believe that sticking to a routine, which includes getting dressed each day, is a positive approach to home working.
Have a Dedicated Working Environment
When working from home, much like wearing your pyjamas, it can be very tempting to work from your bed or even your living room. Bringing your work into an environment in which you are supposed to relax can have a negative impact on both you and your work.
Not only are you blurring the lines between work life and home life, but it can also lead to less work being completed and to a lower standard. By having a dedicated working environment, you can maintain clear boundaries between work life and home life. You are also able to put your work to one side and forget about it like you would if you were still working from an office.
Schedule Breaks
Taking regular breaks has been shown to improve worker productivity, especially when working remotely. We recommend scheduling regular breaks to ensure you get up, move around and have a break away from your screen, just like you would in the office. Whether it is grabbing yourself a coffee or calling a friend for some social interaction, make sure you take the breaks you need to nurture your body and mind when working in a new environment.
Communicate
Working remotely, particularly if it is something that is new to you, can be difficult. Not just in terms of productivity but your wellbeing too. Usually, when working in an office environment, we are able to interact with one another which helps boost morale. However, when working from home, we may feel frustrated, isolated or even lonely. To prevent you, or any of your colleagues, from experiencing this, we recommend having regular communication between staff.
Not only is communication good for the business, but it is also vital to employee wellbeing when working from home for prolonged periods of time. When working remotely, it may also be easy to forget to communicate with your customers. Maintaining regular contact with them is important and will benefit you in both the short and long term.
Take a Walk and Get Some Fresh Air
As mentioned before, working from home can have a negative impact on the emotional and physical wellbeing of employees. Sitting in one room alone all day can take its toll, which is why we think that getting away from your desk is important. By taking a short walk around the block, you are able to get some much needed fresh air and some exercise before getting back down to work.
Use the Right Technologies
Working from home often means that you don’t have the resources and support you would have if you were working in the office. However, with the right technologies, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Whether you use TeamViewer to remotely access your office computer or video chat to regularly communicate with your colleagues, you should use the modern technologies on offer to your advantage. If you need any assistance or support regarding these technologies, please give us a call on 01452 729 953.
Get Rid of Distractions
One of the biggest challenges of working from home is getting rid of the distractions that can make it difficult for you to complete your work effectively and efficiently.
Whether it is turning off the television or occupying the children, minimising the distractions in your home when working remotely is key to making it work for you. Though it can be difficult and not always possible, it is something that must be considered and taken into account when managing workload and customer expectations.
Stay Positive
Though it sometimes may feel like it, us all working remotely will not last forever. Having a positive attitude towards work life, home life and others during this time will make it a lot more bearable for everyone.
If there is anything that Brace is able to help you with during this time, please do not hesitate to get in touch by calling 01452 729 953 or dropping us an email at hello@brace.co.uk.
