How to Work Remotely from Home
Working remotely is the dream. You can wake up whenever you like, you can work from wherever you want and ultimately it’s you making the decisions about how you want your life to be.
However, with great flexibility comes great responsibility 😉
It’s important to remember that to maintain this level of flexibility you have to ensure you are working effectively and achieving the requirements of your employer who is relying on you.
Most people when they first start remote working will work from home, so how can you ensure you are working efficiently, completing your tasks, and still living the flexible, remote working dream?
Remote working schedule
We all know the benefit of being organised when it comes to work, and so setting some time aside to focus on creating yourself a routine can really help to ensure you are the most productive with your day. Having your own schedule can significantly improve your effectiveness while still remaining flexible around your life.
So what could this look like?
Wake up at a consistent time
Well first of all it’s important to try and wake up at a consistent time. Obviously this doesn’t always need to be the case and you can still have late nights but if you want to deliver your best work then waking up at the same time is a great way to start the day.
Work in blocks of time
Dividing your time into blocks where you concentrate solely on one task at a time can be a great way to improve your concentration and delivery. This can be hugely beneficial to your remote working day as it helps to eliminate distractions and allow you to focus on a particular topic.
Bonus points: If you can, leave your phone in another room. This will ensure you aren’t interrupted and can properly apply yourself to a task!
Extra extra bonus points: Check out the Pomodoro technique for a killer time management technique.
Schedule breaks into your day
It’s important to work productively but don’t underestimate the importance of breaks within your remote working day. Scheduling in regular, short breaks will help you keep your focus and ensure you can continue to think creatively about your tasks. Being able to hit a time, say 11am, and knowing you can get up to make your second coffee of the day is a dream.
I’ve frequently found that having breaks actually allows me to think through complex problems away from a screen. As a result I usually end up finding better solutions that I might not otherwise have thought about.
Remote Working Setup
To be effective from home you want to have a setup that is comfortable and allows you to produce your best work.
This doesn’t mean you need to spend serious 💰💰💰 on equipment but at least have a space that is dedicated for your work. Working from the sofa or bed may sound great but I guarantee after 2 hours of it your back will be aching and you’ll be wishing you had a desk and chair to work from.
For some home office inspiration check out ‘This is what a remote office looks like’ from our friends at Zapier.
Make sure to move
Your body isn’t a machine and you are not a robot. You need to move to feel energised, creative and productive.
Working from home can mean that you’ll hit the end of the day, look at your step tracker and realise you’ve achieved the equivalent of walking across the road and back. This just isn’t a sustainable system.
It always amazes me how little movement you can “achieve” if you spend your whole day working at home.
To escape this bad practice try to schedule time into your day where you escape your beautiful work from home location, get out into the world and rack up some movement. I personally find lunch is a great time for this and where possible will even walk out of my way to ensure I feel like I’ve moved and am re-energised. If you have a gym nearby and can get to it then all the better.
In Summary
Now that you’ve nailed your working day, all your need to do is ensure that you frequently deliver tasks on time and you’ll be enjoying a remote working lifestyle, with all the flexibility and benefits that come with it, for as long as you want 😃
If you’re ready to start a remote job then jump straight into the action here:
Happy working from home!!
Originally published at justremote.co.
