remote work

Stay Safe and Productive: The Best Tips For Working from Home

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, more and more companies are encouraging or requiring employees to work remotely from home, including Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter. While occasionally disruptive, remote work serves as a great opportunity for employees and employers alike. To make the transition easy, here are some of the best practices to consider.

Set rules with household members:

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It's best to start by talking to your household about what you expect when on the clock at home. If other adults will be around, make it clear to them that you need to work and ask that they treat you as if you were in the office and not actually there.

Make a designated workspace

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If you don't already have a designated home office, you need to create a makeshift one to start working remotely. The best place is somewhere away from most of your house traffic where you will have minimal interruptions and can easily set up your work materials to stay undisturbed. A computer room is ideal, but other ideas are basement rooms (depending on if you have a finished basement), laundry rooms, or your kid's playroom(they'll survive having to hand over their play area for a while). If nowhere else, your bedroom works in a pinch.

When to work:

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Try to work the same hours you would in your office. It's easy to get carried away and work longer than your normal hours when doing so from home. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you when it's time to call it a day. However, with remote work comes flexibility. If you are a night owl, you may benefit from starting your work hours later in the day. Inversely, if you're a morning person, you might find you are more productive and can get work out of the way first thing in the morning. Additionally, it may help to write down your schedule or things you need to accomplish that day at the beginning of your shift.

What to wear:

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It's easy to get out of routine when you don't have to look presentable in front of coworkers and customers. When I first started remote work, I often sat down at my computer without having brushed my teeth or gotten dressed. As nice as this may seem, don't be beguiled by this newfound freedom.

The Wall Street Journal writes of the importance of dressing the same for home-based work as you would in the office, with the belief that "dress for success" also applies to working at home. Honestly, I don't see the true need for this unless you will be video conferencing with others. I do, however, believe that following a basic routine of getting out of your pajamas and practicing basic self-care and grooming leads to a better attitude each day.

Take breaks

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Even if you're self-employed, take advantage of your breaks. I repeat: Take advantage of your breaks! When I first started blogging and freelance writing, I was so excited to be back in the workforce after spending two years solely as a stay-at-home mom that I often worked long hours and skipped taking breaks altogether. At first, it was easy to do–but I don't recommend it. It's easy to get carried away with work and skip breaks when they aren't being enforced by bosses or supervisors. However, walking away and taking that break can make all the difference in your work! Stand Up is a great free app to take advantage of; it sends you reminders to walk away from your desk.

Use a VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) is a necessity when working remotely for a company that requires access to their business network. Your employer may give you a VPN to use for work, but if not, I recommend ExpressVPN, NordVPN, or IPVanish.

Video chat with coworkers

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Remote work gets lonely, even for the most solitary person. Even if you don't get along with your co-workers, I advise video chatting with them instead of emailing in certain instances. For one, emails leave room for miscommunication. And, as much as you might think to yourself "okay Karen" about that annoying co-worker in the office, you may be surprised at how much you miss socializing with the Karens of the world– if only for a brief moment.

In Summary

Not everyone responds to remote work the same way. Some people relish in this type of work. People who exhibit high levels of self-discipline tend to fare better, while others loathe the idea of having to work at home. The best advice for anyone transitioning from the office to home is to know what is expected of you and find what works best for you. Everyone works differently, and what works for one remote worker may not bode well for another.

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Not All Conference Calls are Destined For Disaster

Ah, the infamous conference call. What was once a technology touted for its ability to connect people without the convenience of distance, now bears the brunt of many jokes, like this gem from McSweeney's Internet Tendency. It sounded like a great concept, but unfortunately, too many conference calls are riddled with confusion caused by people speaking over each other. Being invisible also makes it easier to goof off. According to a 2014 study from Intercall, 65% of respondents have admitted to doing other work while on a conference call. What's even more frightening is 47% have said they've been going to the restroom and 43% were exercising. Without visual cues, it kind of just invites us to zone out. Here are some tips to help making your conference call run a lot smoother.

Get the time right, and confirm with all parties involved.

We can't tell you how many times we've heard of foiled conference call plans, especially when overseas parties are involved. Make sure you've correctly established whether time was in PST, EST, CST, or alien time. The best way to make sure you're right is to send out a calendar invite. At least 24-hours prior to the call, confirm by email.

Get the right number and pin.

It seems pretty hard to mess this up, but we've borne witness to random people joining our conference call because they sent out a conference line that was already in use. If your company uses one or two conference lines, make sure they will be clear before you schedule your call. Dial carefully!

Have an agenda beforehand.

Saying, "We're having a conference call to discuss X" leaves the whole line open to a free-for-all. Instead, designate a leader to prepare an agenda and send it to all parties. This person will then lead the discussion and act as moderator. Divide the agenda by parties who will be speaking on certain topics, and give them a devoted amount of time, like in presidential debates. This will ensure that people know when to talk and are not talking over each other, to much frustration.

Set a time limit.

The best meetings are brief ones. When you have an agenda, there is no room for tangents and diversions. People tend to get carried away when they don't see the bored faces of their compatriots yawning back at them. It's the moderator's job to help move things along and keep efficiency in mind.

Choose your party wisely.

Do you really need the whole 35-person marketing team on the phone? We highly doubt it. Choose only key players that have decision-making power to be included in the meeting. They can then relay the information to others. The more cooks in the kitchen, the more difficult it will be to get your point across.

Focus.

It's super easy to be doing other things while on a conference call, but we urge you to focus. Close your laptop, even close your eyes if need be. Excess stimuli will make it harder to concentrate and listen to the voice on the phone. Check your social media on your lunch break. You're working now.

Be specific.

Instead of asking a general question to the group, always address people by their names. This will lessen the confusion over who should be speaking at any given time. It's like calling "I got it!" in volley ball. Otherwise, everyone rushes into the ball and ends up on the floor.

Speak up.

If you have something to say, say it. Don't pepper the room with "excuse me"'s and "I'm sorry"'s. Own it. Also, speak loudly and clearly, so you don't have to keep repeating yourself.

Audio conferencing is somewhat a thing of the past, considering the new use of video conferencing at offices. But if you're going old school, do it right.

For more on the best conference call systems, click here.

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Working From Home Today? Here's How to Actually Get Work Done

Working from home, or "WFH" as the kids say, is one of the miraculous benefits that a lot of modern offices are granting to employees. Since a large majority of work can be done remotely—thanks to the innovations of web-based filing systems, online communication, and widespread laptop and mobile device ownership—just because you're not "in the office" doesn't mean you're not "at work." Get what we're saying?

The problem comes when employees misinterpret the privilege of working from home and think it means "sleep from home" or "do other errands while occasionally checking work emails" or "go to your kid's ballet recital" or "sleep until four." While you're not under watch when you work remotely, that doesn't mean it's a free for all.

Being at home can be distracting, though, as we all know. The dog is barking, your room needs cleaning, and someone's grilling a feast next door. Mmm. Here are some tips on how to make your work from home days just as productive as your office days.

1. Whatever you do, do not work in bed.

If you set up your office in your bed, chances are, you will shortly be asleep, your papers will be a mess, and you'll have an unsightly crease on your forehead from where it landed on your laptop keyboard. Being in bed tells you it's time to go night-night. So if you're planning on going through that 10Q report, you should probably be sitting upright.

2. Tell anyone around you that you are working, so you don't get random interruptions.

"Hey, everyone, I'm working from home today, so please don't bother me." Yeah, that should do. Find a room with a door to close and keep it closed. But that doesn't mean you have to lock yourself up all day. A vital part of productivity is taking time for a lunch break and other breaks throughout the day. When your kids start asking you to build a treehouse at three, resist. You'll have a good excuse to put that off until the weekend.

3. Stick to your schedule.

If you're usually in the office by nine, today shouldn't be the day you just open your computer at eleven after your spin class. In fact, you'll spend less time commuting, so if you really want to impress your boss, send an email at seven! That'll show them that you take working from home seriously. Working from home also means that you don't have to be working all night. When it's quitting time, it's quitting time.

4. Get out of your pajamas.

Working from home gives you the benefit of no necessary human interaction, and it may be tempting to stay in your pajamas all day. But we always find that getting showered and dressed makes us feel fresh and helps boost productivity. Staying in our comfies all day makes us just want to curl up in a ball. Dress for success, even when you're not leaving the house. No need for a suit.

5. Get your work space just right.

Open those windows! Natural light will help you be more productive and stay awake longer. If your abode is a basement, you may consider taking your work to a lively coffee shop or a (less lively) library. Being surrounded by productive-seeming people will be inspiring.

6. Don't sleep through your calls.

We can often lose track of time when we're working from home and not constantly looking at the time on our computers at the office. But make sure you don't neglect any calls that have been scheduled. Also, if you're on a call, it might be a good time to feed the dog so he stops barking while you're trying to have a professional conversation.

7. Don't go AWOL.

Just in case your boss calls! You can run out for a bit, but keep it only to what you would do at the office if at all possible. If you need to be out for an extended period of time, give everyone a courtesy head's up. But you know that already.

We all love working from home once in awhile. And who knows, maybe the better you work from home, the more opportunities you'll have to work from home! Want to find out where to find the best remote jobs? Check this out!

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