As more businesses encourage their employees to social distance themselves, there has been in increase of employees working remotely from home. While this comes with many benefits, there are also challenges that you will face.

We have compiled our top 6 tips on how to successfully work from home.

1. FIND THE RIGHT WORKSPACE

People who try to work from their armchairs or couches quickly realize that this makes focusing hard. Getting too relaxed can make you tired or make it harder to focus on the task at hand. It can also be difficult to get organized if you are frequently having to move your materials out of the way of family, pets or roommates. Find a place in your home that no one else uses. This can be a spare room in your house or as simple as a desk in your apartment. By choosing one place to work from, this will trigger your brain that it is time to work. You will also be able to leave your papers where you left them, which will help you stay as organized as possible.

2. PLAN AHEAD

It is important to schedule your workdays in advanced. Having an hourly plan in place can help keep track of deadlines, meetings, and even remind you to take breaks. If possible, try planning your day around your most productive times. If you know you are a morning person, try scheduling your meetings earlier in the day. Don’t forget to also schedule the end of your workday. It’s easy to work late when you don’t have to drive home at the end of your day. Asking your spouse or roommate to remind you when it is the end of your day can help prevent burnout and keep you happier.

3. STAY CONNECTED

It can be hard to communicate with coworkers when everyone is working remotely. Setting up shared communication channels ahead of time can help ease frustrations. Apps like Microsoft Teams offer a central hub of communication for your whole team and will notify someone when they receive a message. You can also schedule daily team meetings right from the app to stay connected and up to date.

4. DRESS FOR SUCCESS

A benefit of working from home is that you can hang up your suit for a while but resist the urge to work in your pajamas. This can trick your body into thinking it is time to relax instead of focusing on work. Set aside a couple of work-appropriate shirts that you can work comfortably in and only wear for working remotely. Just as you would if you had to drive to work, force yourself to get out of bed at least an hour before the start of your day. By following your normal morning routine, you will feel more energized and focused when it comes time to work.

5. LIMIT DISTRACTIONS

Before working from home, take a moment to identify possible distractions in your home in order to find the best workspace. Consider choosing a workspace that doesn’t have a TV, or one that has a door to keep out pets. Be sure to address your distracting cellphone. If possible, turn it off until you take a break as to not be tempted. If you use your phone for work-related business, consider instead turning off in-app notifications for social media as to not get distracted. These measures are important to stay productive. A study done by the APA discovered that people who constantly get distracted or try to multitask are 40% less productive.

6. HAVE THE RIGHT MATERIALS

It can be difficult to know ahead of time what items you will need when working from home. Consider investing in a new set of pens or highlighters, so you can always find a pen when you need one. If possible, borrow a monitor from work or from a friend. This will give you an extra screen to work with and help maintain proper ergonomics at home. If you require any IT support while working remotely, MyTechOnsite offers over-the-phone assistance and can also set up remote connections so you and your employees can work from home.

Thanks for reading!

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