Remote Working

Remote working can bring significant benefits which can be split into the personal benefits and also work benefits.

It has been said that mindset is 70% of productivity therefore taking the time to get your mindset and focus on work when remote is something you need to pay attention to.

If you structure it properly, working remotely allows you to secure a better work life balance. It is important to seta start and end time so that work doesn’t merge into the rest of your life and you end up just working the whole time but maximise the time saving benefits of working remotely. It is therefore important to put in a similar routine to if you were going to work. It really is important to get ready and get dressed, plan in some specific time to warm up at the beginning of the day and also importantly switch off at the end of the day. Establish and stick to your set pattern that gets you into the routine to work.

You can look to capitalise on the opportunity to switch things up a little, go to a coffee shop or outside in your garden or a park or any different environment that will enable you to enjoy working more than just being in the office or at home. Thinking about what you are eating is a good idea as it is easy to start to develop unhealthy eating habits when working remotely. The differences in mealtimes can create bad habits along with deterioration in what you are eating in terms of snacks and therefore your diet can deteriorate.

It is important to be serious about your breaks, especially when you are working hard then it is important to set some ground rules around what you are and are not going to do during your work day. It is also easy when you are working remotely that you become disconnected from friends and colleagues so set aside time in your routine to allow you to stay connected.

Plan your social time at the end of the day as social activities will force you to stop working and focus on having fun. You may have a regular workout routine which you should stick to as it will help you to be more consistent and could also help you to start or stop and switch off from work.

It is important that when you are working alone at home to be organised. Things such as your to do list and priorities for the day need to be a focus, it is important that you get orientated for the day and to get into that productive mindset. At the end of one day start to outline what you want to focus on the following day.

If possible try and have a designated work area that enables you to in effect, go to work, while you are at home. Get any devices or technology set up in a way that will allow you to use them effectively

When you are working from home you have to do your utmost to minimise distractions. Try and work in shorter bursts that allow you focus and be productive for short periods such as half an hour. Do as much as you can in that period and then take a short break and either come back to it or do something else that you need to focus on. Time yourself on certain types of task and at certain times of day to see how long you can work without your focus breaking. You will quickly establish your own productivity focused schedule.