The practice of teleworking.
During the confinement imposed by the Government in March 2020, millions of people joined the practice of “home office”, a reality to which most of them were not used to. And if there is one thing that is clear, it is that teleworking is not an easy thing to adapt to, since changing a routine can be very complicated and not everyone is willing to do it.
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has made many companies realize the importance of remote work, and that “teleworking is here to stay “, and has now become one of the most widely used work methods.
Working from home offers numerous advantages for both the employer and the employee. Some of the most notable are the time savings in commuting, savings in office space and its consequent monetary savings, in rent/purchase by the company, and greater family reconciliation for the worker.
However, certain aspects of teleworking must be taken into account in order to remain productive and have a healthy work environment.
If you are teleworking and you still find it hard to adapt, don’t worry because, below, we are going to offer you some key tips so that you can adapt to this type of work in the best possible way.
Take note of all of them and install them in your day to day!
1.Create a routine and be constant.
Get up on time (don’t rush and wake up 5 minutes before the start of your day), take a vigorous shower with cold water (your skin will thank you), change your clothes and have a balanced breakfast.
Of course, you can wear comfortable clothes to work, but…. take off your pajamas!
All this will help you to create the right routine, to start the day well, with energy and with the feeling of starting your day being productive.
2.Create and use a specially designated space to work.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of having your own space for teleworking.
We should try to have a desk of our own, in a quiet area of the house, without distractions. It is vitally important to provide ourselves with this haven of peace so that we can concentrate and separate our work life from our personal life.
As much as the idea of working from the sofa or the bed may seem tempting at first, both options are designed and elaborated to relax, they are not designed to work for hours; and they do not have that versatility and multifunctionality.
It is easy to fall into a bad posture that in the medium term will bring negative physical consequences. It can be a punctual solution, but never habitual. We must be aware of the ergonomics of the furniture we use to work. Sometimes we sit for “a moment” and end up sitting for hours with our backs twisted and our necks bent forward.
Doing this for months is medically studied to cause damage to the spine, because it remains bent. At first it may seem comfortable, but over time the body’s health deteriorates.
3.Organization and schedules.
Teleworking can be a bit chaotic if you are not well organized.
Therefore, it is very important to create and learn to follow and respect a routine and work schedule. We want to make special emphasis on not procrastinating and leaving things “for later”.
Being at home can give us the false sensation that nothing will happen if we do things “later”, but…. don’t fall into the trap!
Postponing tasks and leaving them for when you are out of your schedule will generate frustration, take time and statistically it is proven to lower your performance as well as your productivity.
Don’t forget to notify your work schedules to the people you live with, making sure they don’t interrupt you. Set clear guidelines about the hours you work and stick to your schedule.
Make the most of and concentrate on your workday and your free time, enjoy, rest and do the pleasurable activities you enjoy the most.
4. Task management
Self-motivation is essential and if you don’t have it, it can be a big problem while working remotely. Working in the same physical space as other colleagues usually motivates us and keeps us “awake”, but being alone at home, we do not have that extrinsic factor.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to set small/medium daily tasks and accomplish them. Start each day by prioritizing the most important task on your “to do” list, and go, one by one crossing them off the list. It is a great feeling to be able to cross it off as “done” and in turn, it will put you in a better mood for the rest of the day.
5. Take breaks to clear your head.
Remember that productivity does not mean working non-stop all the time. A short break of 5 minutes every hour will help you to clear your mind and perform better the rest of the time.
Sitting at home all day can be exhausting and frustrating; we do not find a real physical disconnect between work and private life. Often when teleworking we take no more than 10-20 steps a day, basically the ones that separate the bathroom from the desk. Avoid this at all costs!
Force yourself to take a lunch break every day, just as you would at the office. Take advantage of this time to break the routine, go out to eat or simply go shopping.
6.Communicate with your coworkers.
Teleworking does not necessarily imply loneliness, we recommend you to maintain constant communication with your colleagues through messages or calls, the key to good teamwork is undoubtedly communication.
7.Have useful office tools.
It seems that being out of the office we can suffer the lack of tools to carry out our work correctly, but this is not the case. There are many tools that will help you on a daily basis. To highlight some of them there are document scanners and PDF Document Editors
If at any time you need to convert, scan and/or edit a PDF document, don’t forget that we can help you with :
- PDF Editor : Edit, sign, read, create, draw, protect and modify any PDF file
- PDF Scanner: Scan receipts, notes, invoices, certificates, etc. with your mobile camera and convert them to PDF.
- PDF Converter: convert, save, share, and view any text file
8.Take care of your diet.
Working from home offers the possibility of snacking between meals; a healthy snack from time to time is not a bad thing; as long as it is healthy!
Avoid at all costs sugars such as chocolates and jelly beans, and any ultra-processed, prioritize pieces of fruit or a handful of nuts.
Taking care of our diet is essential for good health and well-being, and not only when it comes to work. Healthy eating helps us maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
9.Mental separation between work and personal life.
Working from home often means, to a large extent, the impossibility of easily disconnecting from work. It is enough to look at your desk while having dinner to remember all the work that needs to be done.
To ensure your mental rest, we strongly recommend that you write down in a list all the tasks you have done, and which ones you have to do the next day. That way, you can go to bed more relaxed, knowing that you have everything under control, ordered and ready for the next day.
Do not hesitate to visit our Offiwiz website and contact us with any questions or problems you may have, and of course, take a look at any of our articles or blog guides and tips.