3 Tips on How to Optimise your Work Performance at Home
This week’s guest blog is from Anita Wong – Content Writer at GO UP.
Telecommuting, remote working… call it what you will, but the trend of working from home has boomed in recent years and it’s set to stay. For some, their job relies on full-time remote working, and for others it’s appeared in their life as a part-time presence, but most people agree that it’s a topic which they have mixed feelings about. The idea of getting to be at home – home! – sounds wonderful: lazy lie ins in the morning, long leisurely lunch breaks, no water cooler discussions to throw your concentration off-track… it sounds like a dream. Yet the realisation about the flip side sets in a few days later: there may not be any office gossip tempting you away from your work, but there are a whole other host of distractions to keep at bay. And they’re all in your home – and now your office.
If you’re the one in this position making the transition from office to home, don’t panic. Think about the following tips, remember that you’re still an employee, and whether you stay in pyjamas all day is something that’s entirely up to you.
‘The secret to your future is hidden in your daily routine.’
Mike Murdock’s pearls of wisdom might sound a little like a fortune cookie, but he’s correct nonetheless. If you don’t want your productivity levels to drop, then you’re going to need structure just as your office lifestyle demanded. Figure out where at home you work best, be it a desk, or the kitchen table, or maybe even in the shed. Then get yourself to that space at a time that suits you, and get to work. Just like mealtimes, your body works best with regulation and it goes for the mental aspect of you too – you’ll find yourself being able to settle down and the productive part of you kicking in quicker and quicker. Remember, there isn’t a direct supervisor around anymore to oversee it all, so any trick to help the efficiency to flow is worthwhile.
Technology is Your Friend…
…Don’t fight it. That typewriter may be awfully romantic, but the keyboard is probably a faster option. Make sure that you’re making the most out of technology so that you don’t compromise on time and energy. Of course Skype will become a dear friend for any online conferences and communication needed between your team, but there are also tools available such as HootSuite and Social Oomph which help to reduce the workload of updating and keeping track of social media platforms. Employee training sessions too don’t need to be an exercise in exertion – training courseware such as USB’s or even e-learning has cut down on travelling and promotes the self-directed learning approach for a more efficient process.
D Day is a Real Thing
Deadlines. They’re a dirty word, but they exist in your working-from-home life too. In fact, you will have even more than you did in the office, as you’ll have the official deadlines where you’ll need to turn a piece of work in by, and you’ll also need some personal ones too. Why? Because to measure and ensure your work proficiency you’ll need to set yourself a daily goal. Sure, you can still have the long lie-ins in the morning, as long as you complete your tasks of the day, even if it is something as small as ‘I will have written 500 words by the end of today.’ They may not need to be gargantuan, but they help to make sure you keep to a productive standard. You – and your manager – will be all the more happy for it.
About Anita Wong
An English graduate of University of Exeter, Anita Wong set up her blog as a) a way to be properly vain, b) contribute back to the blogosphere that continually inspired her, and c) share her personal style and experiences of fashion, food, travels, and other good things in life. The fondness for writing has lingered ever since multiple pretentious attempts at stories at age fourteen and she can only hope she has improved since. Her wish is to eventually write features for a lifestyle magazine.