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GETTING WORK-FROM-ANYWHERE RIGHT
GETTING WORK-FROM-ANYWHERE RIGHT

June 18, 2021

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A few years ago, most business leaders would scoff at the thought of shutting down their offices and migrating their organizations to the internet. But, owing to the unprecedented times we live in, that perception has taken a 360-degree turn. Countless business owners are contemplating making a permanent shift to remote work, even after the detrimental influence of COVID disappears for good. 

 

In such a landscape, it cannot hurt to know how to bring your A-game when working from home. Here are 8 tips from PERSOLKELLY that help you do just that: -   

 

Get ready for work as you would when going to the office.  

 

Human beings are habit-driven creatures. We find it easier to do things that we are used to doing. That is why the first month of a new diet is the most difficult, and the experience gets gradually easier with time. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, states that habit formation is triggered by cues. So, it is no coincidence that recovering alcoholics avoid going to parties where alcohol is served. We know it is an extreme example, but it puts the point across. Getting ready for work, even at home, will serve as a cue for your brain, and make it easier to get into a productive state of mind.  

 

Manage deadlines effectively. 

 

Nothing weighs heavier on a working professional’s mind than a stack of missed deadlines. That is why it is essential to approach work with tenacity and to design your remote work setup for maxing out productivity. The more focused you are, the faster you get things done. The faster you get things done, the less they pile up. Now, taking a planned approach to work is one way you can manage deadlines better. Try breaking your overarching objective into micro-tasks. Focus only on the micro-task at hand when you are engaged in deep work.  

 

Choose a quiet corner without distractions.  

 

It is near impossible to get things done when your attention is bombarded by the distractions in your affinity. That is why environment design is a vital component to getting the most juice out of remote work. When you are working from a quiet, distraction-free corner in your house, the results speak for themselves. The effort you put into environment design rewards you with an iron-clad focus, and your performance mirrors the same. But, when you are surrounded by interfering elements, you can slog away at work for hours and still fail to accomplish anything worthwhile.  

 

Manage productivity using technology.  

 

Nowadays, businesses make the bulk of their decisions based on real data. You can apply the same principle to yourself. But, before you can leverage performance data to your advantage, you need to collect it. So, invest some energy into tracking your performance throughout the day. Technology is your best friend here. Even a simple project management tool will help you keep a track of your daily productivity. Add time-tracking software and Pomodoro timers to the mix to get even more mileage out of the tech at your disposal. Based on the performance data you gather; you can even negotiate flexible timings with your employer.  

 

Have dedicated work hours.  

 

Failing to define clear working hours is like leaving the door ajar for burnout to enter your life. When you have no concrete working hours, your brain barely gets any space to breathe. Think about it this way. Not having explicit, time-based boundaries for work is like playing Russian roulette with your personal life. You may pull the trigger five times out of six and go unscathed. But your luck may run out the sixth time, exposing you to drastic consequences. So, if you want to make the most out of remote work, emphasize self-care and work only during clearly defined hours. Do not be greedy with your leaves and take an off whenever necessary. No number of extra leaves can make up for the emotional turmoil that living with burnout entails.  

 

Do not mix meals with work. 

 

Yet again, thriving at work-from-home is all about demarcating the boundaries between work and personal life. It is understandable to squeeze meals into work under extreme circumstances but do not make a habit out of it. Treat meals like their own thing and give them the respect and time they deserve. Moreover, a big perk of remote work is that meal breaks can double up as opportunities to spend quality time with your family. However, make sure that you do not get too indulgent. The rule about defining clear timings for work also applies to meal breaks.  

 

Effective communication and collaboration 

 

A business organization is nothing but a group of individuals collaborating towards some shared goals. So, it is obvious that effective collaboration is necessary for businesses to thrive. Now, effective collaboration will not happen if members of an organization do not communicate well. On the contrary, poor communication at various levels can even cause businesses to go under. So, make sure that you do not make room for poor communication at the individual level. Hold yourself accountable to the highest standards, and lead by example. Whenever in doubt, side with over-communicating instead of under-communicating.  

 

Maintain visibility.  

 

Despite its obvious advantages, remote work is not a flawless system. One of its most glaring disadvantages is an office-wide lack of visibility. When you do not share a roof with your colleagues, you tend to downplay their presence. When enough people do the same, lack of visibility becomes an organization-wide phenomenon. There’s only so much that team collaboration tools can do. But that is not to say that there are not ways to mitigate this problem. Tackling a lack of visibility requires nuanced and multi-pronged solutions. We have talked about them in detail here. Do check them out whenever you get the time. Until then, remember that a lack of visibility ceases to be a problem when individuals exercise self-ownership. It is hard not to stand out when you bring adaptability, resilience, and commitment to the table.  

 

Conclusion 

 

Many organizations across the globe have woken up to the many upsides that remote work offers. Thus, we are certain that several companies will choose to stay remote even when the clouds of the pandemic clear away. With such a future on the cards, the tips we have talked about hold immense value. We hope reading them gives you a clear perspective of what is to come and prepares you for the same. Moreover, implementing them in your professional life cannot hurt your present either, right?  

 

This article was originally published on PERSOLKELLY India blog here


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