Unlike 18 months ago, the concept of remote working will not be a surprise to anyone. However, when it was first introduced, it was usually seen as a purely temporary measure for a month or two before the pandemic disappeared forever and everything went back to exactly the way it was before.
As we are all too aware, this is not what happened, and yet 18 months later, those still working remotely or using hybrid working as the ‘new normal’ are still stumbling along using the same resources (or lack thereof) that they had back in March or April last year. So, with that in mind, here are some ways you can take your remote working to the next level, whether you happen to be working for yourself or somebody else.
Look at your environment
With the news that many companies are opting for remote working permanently or using hybrid working as the best of both worlds solution, it’s time to start taking the concept seriously yourself. While getting up half an hour before you are supposed to start and opening the laptop on the kitchen table when you’ve just finished your cornflakes sounds appealing, it’s not viable long term.
You need a space free of distractions that you can shut the door on at the end of the day, so you’re not tempted to carry on late into the evening and risk burnout. The space needs to have a good source of natural light and painting it a calming color has been proven to help with concentration and stress levels. Once all of this is place, you can look at other aspects.
Using the right tools when working online
If your boss (even that happens to be you) is taking this seriously, too, then you are likely to find that much of the work you do (if it hasn’t already) has moved onto the cloud. While this opens up a huge number of doors when it comes to convenience when you are working with others remotely, there is a large and quite frankly scary laundry list of problems that can occur when migrating your data over.
As you might expect, there are companies such as www.avepoint.com who are experts at this, and engaging their services can save a lot of heartache in the short term and facilitate a lot of growth in the longer term.
To wrap things up
Remote and hybrid working is very much a win/win situation for both employees and employers. The employee avoids rush hour traffic, and employers can increase their headcount without having to pay for larger premises. Now that the majority of sensible companies have seen this, and adopted it in the medium to long term, then working processes need to be adapted to allow for this change.
So, by paying attention to your home environment and making it more work-friendly, and more importantly, ensuring that all of your tools and documents are accessible and safe, you can really take remote working to the next level.