Top 6 Working Remotely Tricks That Will Help You Stay Focused

In these challenging times, the majority of businesses are forced to establish a new workflow for their employees. When working from the office is not an option anymore, gracefully, we have another option — working remotely. In the era of digitalization remote work has always been there but not all companies have actually had a chance to experience its benefits. I believe that every challenge gives us new opportunities to learn and grow which makes us stronger individuals, more experienced professionals and better people in general.

As working from home might seem a bit weird and uncomfortable at the first sight, I’m positive that after a week of such an experience you’d actually start enjoying it, especially if you have already started making use of all the perks that have become available to you and your family members.

Here’re the top 6 recommendations that will help you be as productive working remotely as you felt when working at the office:

1. Plan your day!

It’s all about planning, guys. Having a structured daily plan with the list of activities that you want to accomplish during this particular day will make a lot of sense, especially when you can be influenced by a whole bunch of distractions while working from home. By doing this exercise in the morning, you will save so much time and will be much more productive, believe me. A structured list of to-dos will boost your confidence and help you experience the sensation of actually working and getting things done as always. Besides, crossing out an item from the list will make you feel accomplished during the working day.

2. Stick to your normal working hours as you always do.

It’s important to stick to the daily working routine you used to while working from the office. If you used to work from 9 am till 6 pm, do the same thing and be available during these hours. Get dressed to feel comfortable and organized during working hours. Working in your pajamas might be a challenge, especially when you need to participate in conference calls or other online meetings.

3. Organize your work station and remove all distractors.

Set up your workstation to have all the necessary tools and stationary you need to use while working. Having a separate table with your laptop, a notebook, a pen or a pencil is a must to contribute to your productivity. You should also try to remove all distractions from your working environment if possible. This will help you to focus on work only and be productive.

4. Be online!

If you are working in a team and need to be available to respond or react to any notifications, stay online to make sure that other people can reach you instantly. Do not change your status to ‘away’ or ‘offline’ if you are actually in front of your computer. This is important to keep your status as ‘online’ as it shows that you are available and at your workstation, which at some point also motivates other people to focus on work as well. If you feel that someone from your team is dropping out and this influences the communication quality, don’t hesitate to bring this up and let that person know that you feel the lack of connection and this area could be improved by working on your remote communication plan and strategies. All issues should be escalated much faster when you are working remotely since we are already lacking the onsite contact with the person and the virtual one should be on top in this case. Remember that online conferencing can be fun!

5. Make use of proper corporate tools.

The toolset we use is of great importance as it influences the quality of our work, productivity level, and emotional well-being. If the tools are great and easy to use, they are not lagging and are available to workers from anywhere, of course with proper security measures, the results will be great as well. A good worker just needs a good toolset to be able to manage the work routine properly. If you do not have the need to use specific corporate tools, make use of those available on the market for free. Depending on your trade, you can find lists just googling for a specific tool that can help you be more efficient and productive.

6. Plan small breaks to recharge and play with kids or your pets during the day in case you have them.

When working from home, you might be affected by your family members, pets or others. This is inevitable unless you are living alone. On the one hand, this is a great opportunity to spend more time with the family, but on the other hand, you need to make sure that this factor doesn’t undermine your performance. If you are working remotely together with the spouse, it might be a good deal to agree on when each of you will spend time with kids or pets while the second parent will focus primarily on work. Establishing shifts will help to manage your schedule and get things done faster.

I’m positive, these pieces of advice will help you create a productive working environment at home and will show you how flexible a person can be depending on different external circumstances. In other words, we need to understand that our life consists of constant changes and it is up to us to adapt to them and decide how they influence us and our surroundings.

PS. Working from home can be fun! Here’s a shortlist of benefits you can enjoy:

• spending more time with your family;
• lots of food at the kitchen and ability to enjoy fresh home-made meals daily;
• limitless access to your pets to reduce stress at any time;
• a cozy environment that makes you feel good and you like to relax in at any time;
• no need in daily commutes which gives us more time for work and leisure;
• having a short fitness break at any time you want directly in your house or flat;
• being able to get in touch with any person by means of online conferencing and other digital tools instantly can be a fun and joyful experience.