In today's connected age, many of us have various work from home opportunities. Some run ecommerce businesses, others are virtual assistants, and some do a combination of both. However, it takes more than an internet connection to be successful. We need to deploy organization and time management skills. Do you ever wonder where to start when looking to streamline things? There is so much information out there.
In this informative post by Auth0 they list 21 tips for work from home professionals and we cpicked out 12 of our favorite:
Communication
1. Communicate Deliberately
Tool: Slack. At Auth0, Slack is our primary mode of communication, as it is for a growing number of remote or local companies. With the ability to set up different channels for different teams, add integrations to make life easier, and keep everyone in the loop at all times, we can constantly communicate anything that the team needs to know (and in #random, plenty they don’t!).
7. Set up your work space
When your home is your office, it can be whatever you want it to be. But it needs to be a place of work. Setting your work space apart from your home space allows you to better delineate the two, and lets your brain know when it needs to be in work mode or home mode.
And within this workspace, productivity should be top priority. You need all your notepads, monitors and ipads/whatever ready to go and in a way that fits your personality! And of course office supplies and tech products can be ordered online faster and cheaper than ever.
8. Take Breaks
Breaks come naturally in an office environment. Coffee breaks and lunch allow for some respite and time away from the desk and screen. At home though, if you’re in the flow, you can easily sit at the same desk from morning to night.
Working smart is just as important as working hard. If you are not refreshed then the quality of your thinking will decline. Remember this and have a good mix in with your work.
11. Create a “to-don't” list
To-do lists are all the rage, but when working remotely, a to-don’t list can be just as useful. When you’re at home, then you’re acutely aware that there are other things you could be doing. Laundry, Dishes, Cooking. Online, it’s even easier to get sucked into the internet when there is no one looking over your shoulder. People who work remotely need solid intrinsic motivation, but everyone has been down the rabbit hole of following article after article online, finding that it’s an hour later and they can’t even remember how they got there.
12. Work in Sprints
Focus can be an issue for any worker, but remote workers feel it more acutely as there are so many distractions. To allow yourself dedicated time to a task at hand, work in sprints of no more than an hour at a time before you take a break. This way, your main task gets your entire focus for the allotted time, and then you can take a break for a few minutes to recharge.
13. Plan ahead
Don't leave things to chance. SOme things we cannot control but planning and having a map strategy whatever you want to call it pays dividends.
14. Create processes
When working remotely, creating processes the entire team can follow makes sure that everyone is performing at the same level no matter where in the world they are. This creates efficiency, but also means that everything from coding, to support, to finance, is done to the highest standard.
16. Set office hours
When there is no obvious divide between home and work, the two can blend together. Whereas when you leave the office at night, everyone knows you’ve gone for the day, if you're still green on Slack then your team can presume you're available, even when you’re at the dinner table with your family.
18. Get exercise
Whether a gym or even working out at home or isometrics there are a lot of inexpensive ways to take care of your energy even if it is just a bit.
19. Find your weaknesses
Are we honest with ourselves? We know what we are good at but can we also find our weaknesses and work on them?
20. Eat the frog
Not literally. Eat the frog means to start the day with the thing you most want to avoid. If you’ve got a call to make, make it. If you’ve got a report to write, write it. Whatever it is, get it out the way and then you can be more productive and positive during the day.
Haha this one is very humorous!
21. Have a retreat
Sometimes remote needs to be not remote. If you’re a small team or only some people are remote, a company should consider getting them into HQ once every few months to check in with the team and to have actual face-to-face meetings. If your team is large and 100% remote, then setting up an annual bi-annual retreat means people that have only ever met virtually can get together to have fun and work hard.
What do you think? Pretty good list right? Imagine nailing these components of a work from home situation! You would likely increase your production and actually free up some time also! Ultimately you have to find out which software tools you like even though some were recommended here. However, these seem like some good choices and as always happy entrepreneuring!
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