It sounds great doesn't it? Miss the commute. Sit at home in your pyjamas with a coffee and bypass the noise and distraction of the office. But the reality is people end up being a burden when they work from home. They can't get to anything, they keep calling or emailing colleagues for information. They can't take phone calls. Well it doesn't have to be that way, it can be all pyjamas and coffee. Here are our top 5 tips on how.
Get online, anywhere
The first thing to do is to get online. For most people at home this is simple, but getting on the WIFi in a coffee shop isn't always so easy. It's worth investing in a mobile WIFi unit, which uses 3G/4G to keep you connected. It's like connecting to WiFi, but the little base station can sit in your bag and keep you connected without needing to borrow WiFi from wherever you are. It's faster, easier and safer.
VPN - like being in the office
If you have a company VPN it makes life a lot easier too. With a VPN you can work from home as if you are in the office. With the click of a button you can access your shares, print to printers, connect to servers and anything else that's on your network. You can even send your presentation to the conference room TV. No more asking people to email you the document you forgot, no more needing to remember a document. Now it can stay on the server, be backed up, and it's ready for you when you want to open it from anywhere, securely.
Keep connected
With apps such as Skype, Slack, Microsoft Teams and so many more, it's easy to stay connected. Everyone can see you're online, so you don't have to feel guilty about not making the commute. You can also keep in touch with them in real time, and silently, which means you aren't waking the kids, annoying the whole coffee shop or creating your own background noise. You can talk to teams or individuals and keep them in the loop with all the changes throughout the day.
Find a quiet spot
It sounds silly, but finding a spot in the house to dedicate to working can really help you switch modes. It's great to relax on the sofa with a cuppa and work for a while, but having a desk and chair stop your back and shoulders hurting. Having your own space means you aren't disturbing anyone else, and they're not distracting you. It needs to be warm, comfortable, but not sleep inducing (that means no working from your bed). Find a space, make sure it's quiet and see how much more you achieve.
Keep hydrated
A lot of people keep water on their desks in the office. They are also subject to tea/coffee runs from colleagues throughout the day. When you're getting through work so well at home, it can be difficult to remember to take a break. Stand up, get some water and stay hydrated. Getting up for drinks is a great way to make sure you're moving about enough, and keeping you hydrated staves off the otherwise inevitable headache by early afternoon.
Those are our top 5 tips for working from remotely. We can help you work from anywhere in most scenarios, so contact us if you'd like to work from home, or allow your staff to work remotely.