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Across the world, business owners and employees are being urged to work from home. For some, it’s an effortless process, and one they may have already been doing to some degree. For others, it’s foreign territory that can take a while to navigate and explore. Here are a few different things that can help make that adjustment period a bit more comfortable:
Keep Your Professional Support Contacts
Working from home may mean you’re working in a different setting, but it doesn’t mean you aren’t going to face the same challenges as you would in your office. Don’t cut contact with those other businesses that keep yours going. Stay in touch with your small business IT support guru and remember to keep your accountant informed with business operations.
Everyone you needed to run your business at the office will still be required while you work from home.
Don’t Change Your Routine
Working from an office has always promoted a sense of routine. You rise at the same time every day, get in the car or jump on public transport, then spend the working week doing the same things. While your morning commute is now from the bedroom to the dining room, that doesn’t mean your work routine must change.
Wake up at the same time, have a shower, get dressed in tidy attire, and start the working day at the same time. The sameness of your routine can ensure you achieve the same level of work as you would if you were in your office.
Educate Your Family
Your spouses and kids know that when you’re at the office, you’re not available to make them lunch, help with chores, and answer the door when there’s a knock. After all, how can you do those things when you’re not home?
Once you’re working from home, though, it can be easy to forget that you’re in work mode. When the working week kicks off, offer a gentle reminder that interruptions can be disruptive to how much work you achieve. Of course, spend time with your family, but set aside a few hours of your day just for you and your regular work routine.
Be Comfortable
Most people have their work station set up ergonomically at their place of business. Once you get home, though, you’re more likely to learn over a laptop in bed or stare down your phone with your neck at a crooked angle. Working at home should mean the same ergonomic principles apply.
Use a comfortable chair and desk, keep your monitor an arm’s length away, and adjust your chair height, so your hips and knees are level with each other. The more comfortable you are, the more you can achieve.
Use Apps
Working from home can mean you go without some of the creature comforts of the office. You may not have the same conferencing software, dedicated room for meetings, or microphones and camera equipment. Things are different, but there are some apps online that can make your working-from-home experience better.
Try apps like Skype, Slack, Trello, and Calmly. Whether you need fewer distractions or a working platform for you and your team, you’ll find plenty of options online.
Working from home may not be something you are familiar with, but that doesn’t mean it has to impact how much work you get done. Stick with your routine, talk to your family, and keep your same professional contacts so that your business operates like a well-oiled machine. You’d be surprised at how convenient and effortless working from home can be.
