Remote work or study is a normal part of our daily lives. This kind of working way enables us to clear the inconvenience due to distance. For example, we have multiple teams which are located in different cities while we handle our working tasks perfectly. For those who are new to remote working, we want to share 5 essential tips on how we make it work. If you have tips to add, please share this article on Facebook/Twitter and add your comments so that we can reach out your opinions.
Tip No.1: Be Scheduled and Self-Care
- Get Started Early
When working in the office, your morning commute can help you wake up and feel ready to work by the time you get to your desk. At home, however, the transition from your pillow to your computer can be much more jarring.
Believe it or not, one way to work from home productively is to dive into your to-do list as soon as you wake up. Simply getting a project started first thing in the morning can be the key to making progress on it gradually throughout the day. Otherwise, you'll prolong breakfast and let the morning sluggishness wear away your motivation.
- Create a Workplace
Dedicate a space as your home office. A central location puts work-related material at the ready and keeps things from getting lost around the house—saving valuable time and sanity. The area needn’t be fancy, but it should allow sufficient room to perform tasks.
Tip No.2: Utilize Working Tools
- Record Important Meetings
Remote working teams often use video chat softwares to take online meetings, like Zoom/Microsoft Teams/Skype and more. Why take notes during an online meeting when you can refer back to a recording of the entire meeting? Use Filmage Screen to record the entire important meeting, not be afraid of losing key points from your boss anymore.
Filmage Screen = Screen Recorder + Audio Recorder + Video Editor + Video Format Converter + Video Player + GIF Maker + Media Management + Meeting Record
Filmage Screen is an all-in-one screen recording and video editing software which helps you create video tutorials to take QA test videos or make product operation demonstration.
- Make Work Paperless
While working remotely, signing a file or signing a contract can be an inconvenient thing. Using a PDF signer can save your time and avoid money waste if you need to travel far to find the boss to sign a file.
PDF Reader Pro, a PDF powerhouse that will fulfill your document needs, helps not only sign your name on PDF, but also enables you to annotate/edit/form fill/convert/create/OCR PDFs and more. Carry just your PDFs and make your presentations with them under the Presentation Mode, remote work becomes effortless and productive with lighter PDFs!
- Communicate in time
Working from home might help you focus on your work in the short term, but it can also make you feel cut off the larger operation happening in the office. Instant messaging and videoconferencing tools can make it easy to check in with coworkers. Use Skype/Zoom/Slack/WebEx and more online communication softwares to keep in touch.
Tip No.3: Keep Things Clear
- Develop a To-Do List
Get in the habit of creating tomorrow’s to-do list before calling it a day, while information is still fresh in your mind. Then, you can jump right into things upon your return instead of trying to remember where you left off.
- Clean Your Desktop Regularly
It’s always a good idea to get rid of files you don’t need, rather than just moving them somewhere else. Wherever they are, they’ll take up space. It’s much better to have a handful of folders properly organized than files scattered all over the place. You could start by creating folders for different types of file, say documents, photos, and application shortcuts.
Tip No.4: Reduce Distractions
From your comfortable couch and funny videos on YouTube, to playing with your pet cat, there can be endless distractions when you work from home.
- Explain to everyone in the house the importance of respecting a closed office door.
- Get rid of temptations. Close computer tabs not in use. Consider web browser plug-ins that block specific sites such as social media platforms during the time you’re working.
- Keep a pad of paper next to the computer to jot down extraneous thoughts and eliminate the fear that you’ll forget something if you don’t act upon it right now.
Tip No.5: Add Moments of Relax
- Interact with Other Humans
Remember: You're working from home, not the moon. It’s convenient to chat with others. Interacting with other people during the day is allowed, even if they're not your coworkers. In fact, it's a good idea to see another face during the day when most of your work day is solitary.
- Take Regular Breaks
It can be so easy to get distracted if you avoid breaks during the day of work. Don't let the guilt of working in the building you sleep in prevent you from taking five to relax. Rather than just opening YouTube and watching some comfort clips, however, use your breaks to get away from your desk. Go for a walk outside or spend time with others who might also be in the house.
