We’ve Got 99 Problems but WFH Won’t Be One
As the Coronavirus outbreak doesn’t seem to be ending soon, we are all urged to stay home to prevent further infection of the pandemic. Face-to-face classes? Canceled. Mid-terms? Delayed. Weekend hangouts with your friends? Not a good idea. As university students, we are in a state of constant daze between the news and the circumstances of our school and school work.
The term “Work From Home” has been on the popular radar lately. As classes, assignments, and meetings are now to be conveyed online, we should be grateful that we are living in a time where technology has removed the physical bounds in how we communicate. With technology, teamwork and collaborations can be done remotely with little difficulty. From collaborative coding to conference meetings online, there are many things you can do productively at the comforts of your own home.
COLLABORATIVE CODING
Most coding assignments these days requires collaboration and teamwork. The era of re-zipping projects to share your code with your teammates are long gone. Online repositories, such as GitLab and GitHub, help teams develop and keep track of their projects no matter when and where. In recent years, top code editors have launched extensions and features for collaborative coding. The following are just a few of many others:
- Visual Studio Live Share is a free extension provided by Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code for live collaboration. No matter what OS you have, you can share your project instantly from the comfort of your own tools. Features such as audio calls, chat with peers, and terminal sharing are also available.
- Teletype for Atom is a package that aspires to make coding together as easy as coding individually. It introduces a concept for real-time “portals” for sharing workspaces. When a host opens a portal, their active tab becomes a shared workspace. There, the host can invite collaborators to make edits in real-time.
- CodeShare is an online web-service that strives for simplicity. It gives you the ability to talk over video-calls. CodeShare is mostly used to share simple programs, interviews, troubleshooting, and teachings.
CONFERENCE CALLS
No matter where you are, staying connected with your teammates or work friends is key for working efficiently. Establishing trust and good collaboration through constant communication is essential for a successful remote work environment. There are many online services that can provide you with the tools needed to hold online meetings. The following are considered to be the most popular ones:
- Zoom is an easy-to-use interface that lets you have conference calls with up to 100 participants or 500 using Large Meeting add-on. Combined with the low price and many features, it claims to have good audio. You can also integrate Zoom with other apps for additional functionality. According to tech.co, Zoom is considered “Best all-round”.
- Skype is not new to most people as it has been around for quite a while. Skype allows you to have conference calls with a comprehensive platform given its non-existent price tag. With an upgraded account, you can have unique features such as AI-Powered chatbots and compatibility with Alexa devices. The downside is without an upgraded account, you can only hold conference calls with 10 people at once.
- Google Meet is a convenient option when you need to talk to your team because nearly everyone has a Google account. It is compatible with Gmail and Google Calendars. But if you need to communicate on a regular basis, you’d be a lot better with services that have better audio and video quality. Google meets can now support 100 participants.
STAYING PRODUCTIVE
Now that you have all the free time and all the tools to help you work collaboratively, you should be ready to conquer your stack of assignments. With all the free time, you can finally be productive and finish everything on time. But then comes the enemy of all humanity: procrastination. Let’s face it, our procrastination is always looming around the corner. So, how can we stay productive? Here are some tips that might help you:
- Stay Connected with your peers. It is important to stay well informed when working remotely. Keeping up with your peers may help you cope with boredom too. However, be careful not to get distracted too much!
- Make Lists of the activity you plan to do. Plan when you will do certain assignments. Start by planning for the whole week, then break it down to daily plans. Having clear and feasible goals is key to staying productive.
- Establish a routine and stick to it. You can also continue previous routines that you established before working from home. A simple routine could be like waking up at a certain time, getting cleaned and dressed, breakfast, and then begin starting your day.
- Create a work environment where you are comfortable. Pick a place in your home and make it your designated workspace or home office. Try to establish a place that is clutter-free and has fewer distractions.
- Move around when you need to. Sitting down for a long time can be bad for your body. Moving around can help prevent cramp muscles and reduce eye strain. Take short breaks from your work by taking a lap around the house, finding some snacks to eat, or by checking on your family members.
When things get a little too stressful and intense you can always take a break and relax. Take a part of your day to do things that you love. You can finally finish that book you keep saying you’re going to read, watch the TV series that your friends recommended, or keep your health on point by doing exercises. Don’t forget to take the time to better ourselves by reflecting on our past achievements. With technology helping us do our work and the many choices of entertainment available, staying at home will never be a dull place.
Writer: Afrah Hardian
Editor: Alif Mahardhika, Yafonia Hutabarat
RISTEK Fasilkom UI 2020
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